FROM STAFF REPORTS

The University of Montevallo baseball team dropped its final series of the season April 28 on the road at Tusculum College following a 6-3 loss to the Pioneers.

Montevallo was led by senior Chris Ross, who went 3-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and a stolen base. While the Falcons battled in non-conference action, many of the Peach Belt Conference teams were in conference action. With losses by both Columbus State University and North Georgia College and State University, the Falcons clinched the No. 2 seed in the West Division for the upcoming conference tournament.

The Falcons will battle the No. 3 seed from the East Division, which will either be USC Aiken or Lander University. The game is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 9 in Columbus, Ga.

Freshman Zack Willoughby and junior Austin Dubberly, a Pelham High School graduate, each added an RBI.

On the mound, junior Devon Davis got the start and went five innings with a pair of strikeouts and a pair of walks. He allowed seven hits and four runs while taking home his second loss of the season.

Tusculum got on the board first with two runs in the second and a third in the third. Montevallo responded in the fourth inning, as Willoughby hit an RBI single to right-center field to score junior Vincente Andrews, who had reached on an error.

The Pioneers answered with a single run in the fifth. Tusculum tacked on a run in the seventh and another in the eighth to take a 6-1 lead. Montevallo mounted a small comeback in the ninth as junior Andrew Hill, a Pelham High School graduate, and sophomore Will Fulmer hit back-to-back singles after a lead-off foul out.

Dubberly provided the first RBI as he hit a grounder to the shortstop which scored Hill. With two outs Ross hit an RBI single to centerfield to score Fulmer and cut the lead to just three. Montevallo’s comeback ended with a groundout as the Falcons fell 6-3.

The Falcons split a close doubleheader April 27 with Tusculum in the series’ first two games. Montevallo won game one 7-5 after scoring five runs in the eighth to pull ahead. The Pioneers took game two with two runs in the bottom of the ninth to narrowly escape, 7-6.