PENSACOLA, Fla. – The UWF baseball team split a doubleheader with Auburn Montgomery at Jim Spooner Field on Saturday, losing the first game 12-4 before charging back and winning the nightcap 12-4.
The teams will play the final game of their series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Cullan O'Shea had a very strong day at the plate for UWF (16-10, 11-3 Gulf South), collecting five hits with a home run and two doubles that amounted to three RBI and two runs scored.
Mark Townsend and
Trent Jeffcoat had three hits as well for the Argonauts.
"In the first game we didn't pitch well and didn't throw enough strikes," UWF head coach
Mike Jeffcoat said. "Give AUM credit because they put us behind the eight ball early and we couldn't overcome that while they kept tacking on runs.
"In the second game, we flipped the switch on them and started getting things going, especially in the second and third innings.
Trent Jeffcoat drove in four and
Cullan O'Shea had a great day in both games. We just had better quality at-bats with just about everybody getting two hits in the second game."
AUM (18-11, 8-6) was led by designated hitter Caleb Beaver's five hits and two RBI.
GAME ONE – AUM 12, UWF 4
AUM scored three in the first and three in the fourth to grab a 7-1 lead en route to a 12-4 win. Jackson Ceman led the Warhawks with three hits in the game while Brady Syer had a 3-run home run and drove in four.
Andrew Cronan (5-2) went 6.2 innings and struck out six Argos for the win.
Josh Pahlad (2-4) lasted just 2.1 innings and allowed four runs on six hits.
O'Shea had a single, double and solo home run – his fourth of 2022 – to lead the Argos offense. He has 18 career homers to rank seventh in program history.
UWF finished with just nine hits in the game, while AUM had 15 and left 13 runners on base.
GAME TWO – UWF 12, AUM 4
Salvatore Ferro was rock solid after a shaky first inning as he improved to 4-1. He struck out four and scattered eight hits over 5.2 innings.
Jacob Estes worked a scoreless 1.1 of relief.
AUM took a lead after the first inning for the second consecutive game. But Ferro worked around the 2-out RBI double from Zach Dew.
The Argos took their first lead of the day in the second when they produced four-straight hits, RBIs from
True Fontenot,
Brooks Mitchell and a 2-run triple from Jeffcoat.
They added to the lead an inning later with six runs that were highlighted by consecutive 2-run hits from Jeffcoat and O'Shea.
Jadon Fryman opened the fourth by hitting his first collegiate homer, curling the ball inside the foul pole down the left field line.
Luke Turner (4-1) suffered his first loss of the year as he faced 17 batters and allowed eight runs on six hits.
