MONTICELLO, Ark. – Late inning scoring for the Arkansas-Monticello resulted in the West Alabama baseball team's 12-11 loss Tuesday at Weevil Field. Despite out-hitting Arkansas–Monticello 15-7 and going into the bottom of the ninth inning with an 11-10 advantage, West Alabama could not hold off the Weevils to fall to 0-5 on the season.
SCORING
T1/ After the first two batters in the lineup were sent back to the dugout on a ground out and a strikeout, Gavin Rogers stepped up to hit his first home run of the season to give UWA a 1-0 lead over Arkansas-Monticello.
B1/ Cade Thompson answered in the bottom of the inning for the Weevils. As the leadoff batter, Thompson homered to tie the game at 1.
T2/ West Alabama regained the lead in the second with two runs on three hits. Brayden Lyman singled to right field. Connor Christian followed with a single to center field. Jacob Messina singled to right-center to score Lyman, putting the score at 2-1. Jake Nemith hit into fielder's choice but sent Christian home to give West Alabama a 3-1 advantage.
T3/ Two Tigers connected with the ball in the top of the third inning. Rogers singled to the pitcher. Josh Bower followed and singled to right field. A pitch hit Connors to load the bases. Then, Messina collected an RBI on a ground out. UWA moved ahead 4-1.
B3/ Chase Cripps hits a home run for the Weevils cut into the West Alabama lead, 4-2.
B4/ UAM got its first lead of the game, putting up five runs in the fourth. The Weevils scored on a double, a sacrifice fly, and a fielder's choice and sent home two runners on a triple to pull ahead 7-4
T5/ The Tigers got within one of Arkansas-Monticello's lead in the next frame. Bower and Christian hit doubles in the inning and scored on two pass balls to trail the Weevils, 7-6.
B5/ The Weevils added another run with their third home run of the competition to improve to 8-6 over the Tigers.
T7/ West Alabama scored three runs in the seventh inning to take its first lead since the fourth. Lyman, Christian, and Messina recorded RBIs in the frame, scoring Rogers, Bower, and Lyman respectively for a score of 9-8. Rogers, Bower, and Christian hit for singles during their at-bat, and Lyman and Messina hit for doubles.
B8/ The action did not slow down in the last three frames of the match-up. The Weevils scored two runs on a second home run by Thompson to take a 10-9 lead.
T9/ Although down in the last inning of the competition, the Tigers continued to battle at the plate. Houston Kitterman scored Christian on a sacrifice fly, and Nemith singled to score Messina, pushing UWA to 11-10 over UAM.
B9/ In the game's final frame, West Alabama struggled to get the Weevils out. The side opened with three-consecutive walks and a balk to tie the game at 11. A passed ball with a runner on third base sealed the Tigers' fate, and Arkansas – Monticello completed the sweep of the Tigers, 12-11.
AT THE PLATE
Gavin Rogers had a great afternoon at the plate for West Alabama. The Soddy Daisy, Tenn. native, made five plate appearances for three hits, including his first home run of the season. The graduate first baseman also had three runs to tie Connor Christian for the game-high.
It was all threes for Christian. The Pelham, Ala. native had three at-bats and three hits for a perfect plate appearance to go along with his three runs.
Jacob Messina led the Tigers in RBIs. The Hammond, La. native tallied four at-bats for two hits (one double) and three RBIs. He also scored one run for UWA.
Other standouts include Jake Nemtih with 2 RBIs and Josh Bower and Brayden Lyman with two runs each.
ON THE MOUND
Austin Goode (0-1) took the loss on the mound for West Alabama. The senior from Alexandra, Ala., took over pitching duties in the bottom of the eighth inning for 0.1 innings. He faced four batters for three walks, one strikeout, and two runs (one earned).
UP NEXT
The West Alabama baseball team will return to its home field on Friday, Feb. 11, for a weekend tournament against Emmanuel College and Carson-Newman University. The first game is set for 12 p.m. at Tartt Field. The Tigers will take on the Lions of Emmanuel.
To stay connected with the UWA baseball team, follow @UWA_baseball on Twitter. General athletic news, along with game recaps and box scores, can be found at uwaathletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
