MONTEVALLO, Ala. — No. 5 West Alabama Tigers baseball jumped out to an early lead but couldn't hold off a late surge, falling 6-4 on the road to Montevallo in a non-conference midweek matchup Tuesday afternoon at Bob Riesener Stadium.

West Alabama (21-5) wasted no time getting on the board in the first inning. Rashad Robinson led off with a double before Austin Thacker drove him in with a single. Thacker later stole home to give the Tigers a quick 2-0 advantage.

The Tigers added to their lead in the second when Layth Holiday launched his first home run of the season to left field, pushing the margin to 3-0.

Montevallo (10-17) chipped away in the third with a sacrifice fly, then evened the score in the fourth behind a two-run homer from Hollon Brock.

West Alabama briefly regained control in the sixth inning. After loading the bases, Robinson drove in a run on a groundout to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead.

The Falcons responded in the seventh inning, capitalizing on walks and hit-by-pitches to plate three runs and take a 6-4 lead they would not relinquish.

Holiday led the Tigers offensively, finishing 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. Thacker added an RBI and a run scored, while Robinson contributed a hit, RBI, and a run.

On the mound, West Alabama used a committee approach in the midweek contest. Beau Bryant got the start, allowing three runs over 3.1 innings. Ryan Ladner was charged with the loss after surrendering the go-ahead run in the seventh.

Despite the setback, the Tigers remain one of the top teams in the Gulf South Conference and will look to bounce back as they return to conference play on the road against Delta State in a three-game series starting on Friday, March 20th at 3 PM.