FROM STAFF REPORTS

The University of Montevallo baseball team (17-17) earned its ninth victory of the season over an opponent ranked in the top 30 nationally April 6 following a 13-8 win on the road at the University of North Alabama.

It is Montevallo’s second win of the season over the Lions, who entered the game ranked No. 28 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCAA Division II poll.

the Falcons (17-17) were led by senior Josh Dabbs, who was 3-for-5 at the plate with a run scored, a home run and four RBIs.

Junior Blaine Rosenberg, an Oak Mountain graduate, was also 3-for-5 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI.

Sophomore Austin Dubberly, a Pelham graduate, was 1-for-3 at the plate but reached base three times with two walks. Dubberly had an RBI and scored twice. Junior Heath Peterson drove in three runs as he was 1-for-5 with a home run and a run scored.

The Falcons used six pitchers in the game, with sophomore Devon Davis making the start. Davis went two innings with five strikeouts and three walks and allowed just one run without giving up a hit.

Junior Brett Roney, who earned the win and improved his record on the mound to 2-0, pitched the next two innings with two strikeouts and three walks while allowing one unearned run on two hits. Freshman Alex Guilford pitched the next inning with two strikeouts while allowing just one earned run on three hits.

Sophomore Michael Shreves pitched the next inning with a strikeout and a walk while giving up three earned runs on three hits. Freshman Edward Brandsema pitched the next inning with a strikeout and allowed one earned run on one hit. The final pitcher was junior Wes Rich, a Pelham graduate, who went two innings and allowed one earned run on two hits with a walk.

Montevallo opened the game with three runs in the first inning, as Peterson hit a three-run bomb that scored junior Chris Ross, Dubberly and himself. Both teams were scoreless in the second. Montevallo tacked on another run in the third inning, as Rosenberg hit an RBI single to score Ross.

North Alabama scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning to cut the lead to 4-2. Both teams were scoreless in the fourth inning and North Alabama tacked on another run in the fifth to cut the Falcons’ lead to just one.

The Falcons responded in the sixth inning with five runs. Freshman Will Fulmer led off the inning with a solo home run. After two walks and a pair of outs, Dubberly hit a single that scored freshman Pablo Martell. Dabbs followed up with a three-run homer, which scored Dubberly, Ross and himself.

The Lions answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to cut the Montevallo lead to 9-6. The Falcons scored a single run in the eighth inning. The run came off a single from Dabbs, which drove in Ross. North Alabama also scored a single run in the seventh inning to make the score 10-7.

In the ninth inning, the Falcons tacked on three insurance runs, two of which came off passed balls. The only other run came off an RBI single from Martell, which scored Rosenberg.

North Alabama tried to fight in the ninth inning with a single run but it was not enough.