Falcons Fall in Doubleheader with No. 6 Columbus State, 8-4 and 12-9

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The University of Montevallo baseball team (6-18, 0-8 PBC) dropped a pair of conference games to 6^th-ranked Columbus State University (18-2, 2-0 PBC) 8-4 and 12-9. The Falcons were led by senior Kevin Garcia (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Dunedin) who went 4-for-7 with two homeruns, three runs scored and three RBI. Senior Chris Sosebee (Warrior, Ala./Sumiton Christian) led the Falcons in RBIs with four as he went 4-for-9 with a double, a homerun and a two runs scored. 

Junior Joe Prokop (Verbena, Ala./Chilton County), sophomore Duston Daugherty (Hoover, Ala./Hoover) and freshman Austin Dubberly (Helena, Ala./Pelham) all had three hits in the doubleheader. Prokop had a double and a run scored. Daugherty had a double, an RBI and three runs scored. Dubberly finished off the trio with three RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore Josh Headley (Gardendale, Ala./Gardendale) had two hits including a homerun.

Junior Kyle Butler (Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern) took home the loss in game one as he pitched 8.0 innings while striking out three and walking three. Senior John Michael Caraway (Trussville, Ala./Clay-Chalkville) took the loss in game two as he pitched 1.2 innings of relief. 

The Cougars took the early lead in game one as they scored three runs in the second inning. UM cut that lead to just two in the fifth but the Cougars moved it back to three in the sixth with a run of their own. Four runs in the seventh put the game away as the Falcons trailed 8-1. UM made a comeback in the ninth as Garcia hit a two-run homerun followed by a solo shot by Headley but that would be all they could muster as the Falcons fell 8-4.

In game two CSU jumped out early again as the Cougars scored three runs in the top of the first. A leadoff single by Daugherty eventually turned into a run as Sosebee drove him home to cut the CSU lead to two. 

The Falcons exploded in the second as they scored five runs to take a 6-3 lead. That inning was powered by a two-RBI single by Dubberly and a three-run jack by Sosebee. The Cougars tacked on another run in the third to make the scored 6-4. The Falcons responded in the fourth with a solo homerun by Garcia to make the score 7-4. Two runs in the fifth and five in the sixth gave the Cougars an 11-7 lead and control of the game. UM responded with a run in the bottom of the sixth and another in the eighth but that would be it. The Cougars added an insurance run in the ninth to end the game up 12-9.

The Falcons close out their series with CSU tomorrow, March 13 at 1 p.m.