MONTGOMERY, Ala. --- The University of West Florida baseball team took two losses to Auburn Montgomery in Saturday's double header on the road.
Darrien McDowell and
Jadon Fryman led the Argos with five hits and four RBI each.
Trailing 13-8 entering the final inning of the opening game, the Argos (26-18, 16-11 GSC) put up a miraculous five-run inning to tie the ballgame. Down to the final stretch, the Warhawks (29-17, 19-8 GSC) took a 14-13 walk off win.
Three home runs occurred in game one that brought in six runs. Fryman and McDowell grabbed a home run each and have now recorded the big hit in back-to-back games.
Trent Jeffcoat led off the game with a hit by pitch. McDowell followed with a walk to quickly put two runners on base. Fryman opened the scoring with a three-run home run. The Warhawks tied it up at three-all in the bottom half.
The Argos were held to no hits in the second inning whereas the Warhawks tallied a sacrifice fly to find a one-run lead.
UWF saw a glimmer of a lead in the top half of the third. McDowell and
Jackson Grabsky both reached base on a single.
Mark Townsend sent them home on a perfectly place RBI outfield single. Now at a 5-4 lead, Auburn Montgomery responded with a home run and another sacrifice fly that put the Argos to a one-run deficit.
A pair of home runs occurred in the fourth.
Brett Rowell shot a solo home run followed by a two-run homer from McDowell. This put UWF at an 8-6 lead – the team's largest lead of the game.
The Warhawks responded with seven runs in the following three innings while shutting the Argos out.
UWF entered the ninth inning trailing 13-8 but that didn't stop the Argos from battling. They gave the best answer they could give with five runs on three hits. The Argos matched AUM's 13 runs in 10 at bats for the inning. The inning began with a pair of walks, followed by a wild pitch to put both runners in scoring position.
Tyler Dowdy came in for his first appearance of the day and recorded an RBI single. Jeffcoat followed with an RBI single himself to bring UWF's score to double digits.
McDowell previous hitting showed to be a threat and was intentionally walked on loaded bases to bring in UWF's 11
th run and see a two-run gap. Hotz followed with a sacrifice fly RBI with Fryman capping the scoring with a tie-game RBI single. He led UWF with four hits and four RBI.
The Argos began game two with a similar three run opening inning performance.
Jackson Grabsky earned the opening two RBI on an outfield single.
Cade Easterbrook grabbed his first RBI of the day and capped the scoring with sacrifice bunt RBI. UWF reached went through the order in the final inning.
The Warhawks began their offensive appearance with a pair of outs. A single and a hit by pitch advanced a runner to scoring position. In the next at bat, AUM shot the ball to the infield. The Argos bobbled it and allowed extra seconds of time for the runner at second to advance home and take the game on a walk-off single.
The Argos began game two with a similar three runs scored in the first frame. The momentum came to a halt due to an hour and a half weather delay. Instead, the game turned into Auburn Montgomery's favor. The Warhawks tied the game and then some in the second inning. An RBI single, a grand slam and an RBI double put the Warhawks in a 6-3 lead.
UWF managed to shorten their gap with a pair of runs in the third. An error and an RBI double by
Riley Parker brought the Argos to a one-run deficit.
McDowell continued the scoring with his second home run of day, third of the series. The solo homer tied the game at 6-6.
The Warhawks pulled away in their final two offensive innings, scoring three runs on four hits.
Six total strikeouts were thrown between those on the mound for UWF.
Up next, the Argos take on GSC top-ranked Lee at home to conclude the regular season.