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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

SELMA – The Montevallo Bulldogs made a massive offensive statement in their first area series as a member of Class 5A as they went down to Selma and smashed the Saints in a pair of commanding victories.

Montevallo won game one 23-1 before a 24-2 victory in game two to sweep the series on Tuesday, March 11 at Selma High School.

The Bulldogs kicked off game one in emphatic fashion with a nine-run first inning. After Grayson Duckworth scored on a wild pitch, Bentley Howell hit an RBI single to take the lead to 2-0.

Selma got the second out of the inning shortly after, but Montevallo continued to stay alive and score runs. Connor Shores got an RBI single before Howell came home, Blaine Graham scored on a wild pitch, Ethan Juarez got a two-run double and Duckworth finished it off with an RBI single.

The Bulldogs took advantage of a pair of free base runners in the top of the second to score off an RBI single from Jayden Quicksey. They then benefitted from three bases-loaded walks and three runs off wild pitches to increase the lead to 17-0 at the end of the second.

The Saints struck in the bottom of the second after an error and a walk led to a run off an error at home plate, but that would be their only run of the game.

With Montevallo still in front 17-1, it continued to pile on runs in the third inning, scoring off a wild pitch and RBI doubles from Duckworth and Keiston Ross before the first out of the inning to make the lead 21-1.

Three batters later, Shores got an RBI single, and after a hit by pitch on the ensuing at-bat, the Bulldogs scored the final run of the game off a wild pitch to seal the 23-1 win.

Montevallo would go on to no-hit Selma through five innings. Duckworth started the game with five strikeouts in three innings before Quicksey overcame six walks to finish the final two innings scoreless and hitless.

The Bulldogs wasted little time going back to work in the second game of the doubleheader. Once again, it was Duckworth who opened up the scoring, this time with a one-out RBI double in the top of the first. After Ross walked on the next at-bat, Howell and Shores plated three runs off two RBI singles to take the lead to 4-0.

Two more walks loaded up the bases and set up Evan Stone to come home off an error. That was the first of four-straight scoring plays as a Juarez sacrifice fly, Zachary Shores RBI single and Duckworth RBI double made the lead 9-0.

An error two batters later sent Montevallo to the bottom half of the first with a 10-0 advantage.

However, the Saints quickly struck on their first chance at the plate. After draw a lead-off walk and getting a stolen base, they got on the board with an RBI single, their first hit of the afternoon. Selma followed that up with another single before its second run scored on the ensuing play.

The Bulldogs would score the next 14 runs unanswered to take the 22-run victory. All of those runs would come in the second inning.

After two of the first three batters of the inning walked, Juarez kicked off a three-play scoring stretch with an RBI double. Zachary Shores then hit into a sacrifice fly that brought a run home ahead of Duckworth’s RBI single that made the lead 13-2.

Two batters later and still at two outs, Howell scored another run off an RBI double. All four of the ensuing batters reached freely off a pair of walks and a pair of errors with one run coming home off Tyre’ontae Sullens’ bases-loaded walk and two on an error off a Graham ground ball.

On the first pitch after a pitching change, Sullens scored off a wild pitch. Juarez followed that up with an RBI double later in the at-bat before another RBI double from Zachary Shores scored two runs.

An error off a Duckworth ground ball put the Bulldogs up 20, and Ross would then reach off another error to keep the inning alive. Howell and Connor Shores finished off the victory with RBI singles on back-to-back pitches as Montevallo saw out the 24-2 win over the next three innings.

Quicksey recovered from his first-game issues with walks to throw three no-hit innings of relief, striking out nine batters in the process while walking none.

The Bulldogs improved to 6-4 with the victories and 2-0 in area play. They will return home on Friday, March 14 for a 6:30 p.m. game against the West Blocton Tigers.