AUM wins season opening series vs Tennessee Wesleyan
The No. 13 Auburn Montgomery baseball team split its doubleheader against No. 14 Tennessee Wesleyan Saturday, winning the opener 2-1 and falling in the nightcap 4-1. With the split, the Warhawks earned the series victory, taking two of three games against the Bulldogs.
NOTES
• The Warhawks now stand at 2-1 on the season, while the Bulldogs fell to 1-2.
• AUM improved to 13-5 all-time against Tennessee Wesleyan.
GAME 1 STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Senior Dalton Kelley drove in a run and finished 2-for-3 at the plate.
• Junior Deric Boone was 1-for-2 with a walk, RBI and run scored.
• Junior Brandon Davis recorded his first double of the season.
• Junior Trey Matherson scored a run for the Warhawks, reaching on a walk and being hit by a pitch.
• Junior Kade Suther allowed three hits and one run in 3 1/3 innings of work on the mound. He struck out two and walked two in a no-decision.
• Senior Brady Eldridge tossed 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, striking out three, to earn the victory.
• Junior Jed Carter allowed one hit and struck out three in 1 1/3 to pick up his first career save.
• Pedro Barrios was 3-for-4 with a run scored for the Bulldogs.
GAME 1 HOW IT HAPPENED
• Tennessee Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning, when Wardy Polanco drove in Barrios with a sacrifice fly. Barrios led off the game with a double, before moving to third on a wild pitch.
• The Warhawks pushed across a pair of runs in the third inning off Bulldog starter Chevis Hoover. Matherson was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning before a sacrifice bunt by Houston Davenport moved him up a base. Boone followed with a single through the right side to tie the game at 1-1. John-Mark Cosby singled up the middle, moving Boone to second, before a flyout by Davis allowed Boone to move to third. Kelley plated Boone with a bunt single, giving the Warhawks a 2-1 advantage.
GAME 1 INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Tennessee Wesleyan stranded 10 runners in the contest, compared to six for AUM.
• The Warhawks committed a pair of errors in the victory, while the Bulldogs did not commit a miscue.
• The Bulldogs turned the only two double plays of the game.
GAME 2 STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Boone led the Warhawks with a pair of hits and a run scored.
• Kelley drove in the lone run of the game for AUM.
• Polanco finished 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs, three RBIs and two runs scored.
• Chris Washington tossed six innings of two-hit ball to pick up the victory for the Bulldogs.
• Tevin Johnson added a solo home run for Tennessee Wesleyan.
GAME 2 HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead in fifth inning, using a solo home run by Johnson and a two-run homer from Polanco. Johnson’s home run came off AUM starter Cole Goodwin, who allowed two runs on two hits in 4 2/3 innings. Goodwin struck out six in the tough-luck loss.
• Tennessee Wesleyan added a fourth run with a Polanco solo home run in the eighth inning.
• The Warhawks avoided the shutout by pushing across a run in the bottom of the ninth. Boone led off the inning with a single back to the pitcher, before moving to third on a groundout and TWC fielding error. Kelley followed with an infield single, before Reed Bright retired the final two AUM hitters to pick up his first save of the season.
GAME 2 INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Warhawks used a season-high five pitchers in the game – Goodwin, Clark Gray, James Dean, Chance Calloway and David Carter.
• For the second straight game, TWC turned a pair of double plays.
• AUM stranded five runners on base, while the Bulldogs left three on base.
• Tennessee Wesleyan committed a pair of errors, while AUM committed one miscues.
UP NEXT
• The Warhawks will return to action Tuesday, Feb. 9, when they host No. 8 Georgia Gwinnett at 3 p.m.
