Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

PRATTVILLE – The Montevallo Bulldogs climbed out of an early hole to rally and defeat the Autauga Academy Generals 10-8 on Thursday, Feb. 27 on the road.

The Bulldogs got on the board to start the game as an error and a wild pitch gave them a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.

However, Autauga Academy’s first four batters reached base and led to three runs off a pair of RBI singles and a steal of home plate. While Montevallo recovered with a strikeout, each of the next four batters walked to plate two more runs.

The Generals played small ball with a run off a sacrifice fly before two wild pitches brought two more runners home, giving them an 8-2 lead at the end of the inning.

Montevallo recovered from there on defense, allowing no more runs for the rest of the game. After Kole Miller allowed just one run in his three innings of work, Grayson Duckworth shut down Autauga Academy, striking out seven batters and walking just two in 3.2 innings of one-hit baseball.

Montevallo started clawing its way back in during the third inning when Ethan Juarez got a lead-off single and made his way around the bases over the next two at-bats. Three batters later with two on and two out, Miller hit an RBI single to score Duckworth, and Evan Stone got hit by a pitch shortly after to cut the deficit to 8-5.

After a pair of scoreless innings, two one-out walks and a Duckworth single loaded up the bases for Bentley Howell. He got an RBI single before Crimson Hill tied up the game off 8-8 with a grounder to short that forced a fielder’s choice and plated two runs.

From there, Zachary Shores came up with a one-out single that led to an error in right field. That sent Juarez home for the go-ahead run.

Montevallo added another run off a Howell sacrifice fly to cap off the eight-run comeback and seal the 10-8 win.

Howell went 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBI and a run. Duckworth had three runs and an RBI in a 2-for-5 day while Juarez finished 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs.

The 2-4 Bulldogs will look to sweep the season series against Autauga Academy in their next game on Friday, March 7 at 6 p.m. in Montevallo before facing the Westminster School at Oak Mountain Knights on Saturday, March 8 at 2:15 p.m. at Heardmont Park.