Willoughby homers twice to lead Falcons past Miles College

Published 6:25 pm Thursday, February 28, 2013

FROM STAFF REPORTS

BIRMINGHAM – University of Montevallo sophomore Zack Willoughby homered twice in a game for the first time in his career Feb. 28 to lead the Falcons to a 10-7 comeback victory over Miles College in a non-conference game at historic Rickwood Field.

The Falcons finished with a season-high 10 runs on 19 hits, including four homers, in the victory.

Willoughby tied the game at 7-7 with a solo blast in the top of the ninth inning before senior Andrew Hill drove in sophomore Vinny Rodriguez with a go-ahead RBI single.

“I’m really proud of our resiliency,” said Montevallo coach Chandler Rose. “Our guys battled through a lot of adversity today and showed a lot of character. The bullpen did a great job and Willoughby and Hill were really clutch again.”

Willoughby led Montevallo (10-6) as he finished 4-for-5 at the plate with a pair of homers and a double. Willoughby drove in three runs and scored two runs in the victory.

Hill, who drove in three runs and scored three runs, went 3-for-5 at the plate with a homer. Junior Will Fulmer, who drove in one run and scored one run, also went 3-for-5 at the plate. Junior Todd Thompson finished 3-for-5 at the plate and drove in one run.

Rodriguez went 2-for-4 at the plate and scored two runs. Sophomore Chad Collum finished 2-for-5 at the plate and drove in one run.

Senior Austin Dubberly finished 1-for-6 at the plate with a solo homer. Freshman Thomas Bradey went 1-for-4 at the plate and scored one run.

Freshman Aron McRee (3-0) picked up his second win in two days after giving up just two hits with two strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings in relief.

Montevallo overcame a three-run deficit early to tie the game at 6-6 following a solo homer by Hill in the top of the eighth inning. Miles College took a 7-6 lead in the bottom half of the frame on a RBI single by Gary Mason before the Falcons continued their recent streak of late-inning comeback victories.

Willoughby blasted an opposite field homer over the right-center field wall to tie the game. Hill and Collum followed with RBI singles before Fulmer capped the scoring with an RBI sacrifice fly to left field.

The Falcons return to action March 3-4 with a three-game Peach Belt Conference series on the road at Young Harris College. The series was pushed back one day due to inclement weather expected in Young Harris, Ga. over the weekend.

First pitch in the series opener March 3 is set for 12 p.m. CST.