MONTGOMERY, Ala. – UWF baseball led 4-3 going to the bottom of the eighth but could not hold on vs. GSC rival Auburn Montgomery Saturday at the AUM Baseball Complex. The Warhawks scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth and held on for a 7-5 victory.
 
"You summarize this game with 18, 19 fly ball outs," said UWF head coach Mike Jeffcoat. "Maybe a couple of them were line drives, but there was a lot of living in the air… [AUM] had tons of energy. Credit Marty Lovrich and their team. From the get-go, they just out-energied us all day."
 
Trevor Payne, Joey Bend and Robert Lopez all had multi-hit games. The Argos got the scoring going early, plating a run in the first and another in the second. Lopez and Matt Sullivan each picked up an RBI.
 
Jared Hatch escaped trouble consistently early in his second start of the season. The transfer from Pensacola State allowed two baserunners in each of the four innings but did not yield a run until a two-out, two-run homer by Matthew Zielonko evened the score at 2-2 in the fifth. Hatch went 4.2 innings, scattering seven hits. He struck out three and walked three in a no-decision.
 
The Argos retook the lead in the sixth on the first home run of the season by Robert Lopez, a leadoff solo blast to make it 3-2. AUM evened the score against reliever Daniel Floyd in the bottom of the sixth only for the Argos to take a 4-3 lead on an infield single RBI by Bryant Harris Jr. in the seventh.
 
In the eight, the Warhawks got to three different Argo hurlers for a combined four runs. A key Argo error opened the door for AUM. Just two of their four runs in the game-changing frame were earned.
 
UWF looked to rally in the ninth but fell short. Payne picked up a late RBI base hit before the Argos stranded men on the corners to end the game. UWF left 12. AUM stranded 10. The Warhawks outhit the Argos 12-10 and won despite committing four errors.
 
Keegan Fairley (2-0) picked up the win for Auburn Montgomery after twirling three innings of four-hit relief. He allowed two runs (one earned) while striking out one and issuing one walk. Jared Middleton (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing three runs (one earned) in late relief.
 
The Argos (6-6, 3-1 GSC) and Warhawks (8-4, 3-1 GSC) will close the three-game set tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.
 
"We've got to gather ourselves up and see what kind of team we want to be," said Jeffcoat.
 
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