Pair of big innings propel Falcons to victory
Published 10:04 am Thursday, March 3, 2011
FROM STAFF REPORTS
The University of Montevallo baseball team had two big innings March 2 and that was all the Falcons needed in a 12-4 win over Stillman College.
Montevallo’s bullpen also came up huge as four relief pitchers combined for 4 2/3 innings pitched while giving up just two hits, no runs and striking out four.
Sophomore Austin Dubberly, a Pelham graduate, was the star at the plate for the Falcons (9-6) as he went 4-for-6 with a pair of doubles, three RBIs and a run scored.
Junior Chris Ross, a fellow Pelham graduate, was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Senior Josh Dabbs went 2-for-6 with a double, a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Freshman Justin Burgess came in late in the game and had a triple, an RBI and a run scored in just one official at bat.
Sophomore Devon Davis got the start on the mound and went 4 1/3 innings with two strikeouts and a walk. Davis left with the lead but was unable to pick up the win because he did not go the full five innings required for a starting pitcher.
Senior Kyle Butler picked up the win in relief, going 1 2/3 innings with a strikeout and just one hit allowed. Butler improved his record to 2-0 on the season.
Senior Joey Noro, freshman Edward Brandsema and junior Brett Roney each pitched one inning of relief and each had a strikeout.
Montevallo struck first in the third inning, as they scored six runs off of five hits and one Stillman error.
Dabbs picked up a two-run double in the inning, while Dubberly had an RBI single. Freshman Alec Stiver also had an RBI single, while junior Josh Headley picked up an RBI on a bases-loaded walk.
Stillman responded with four runs in the fifth inning, but the Falcons answered with a single run in the bottom half as Dubberly hit a double to left field to score Stiver.
The Falcons’ second big inning of the game came in the sixth, as they scored five runs off of four hits and a Stillman error. Dabbs hit a solo home run to start the scoring and was followed by an RBI groundout by Headley that scored two Falcons due to an error by the Tigers. Burgess picked up an RBI on a triple to right field and then Dubberly hit an RBI double to right-center field.
Montevallo held the Tigers scoreless for the final four innings of the game, taking a 12-4 victory and sweeping the season series against Stillman 2-0.