Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan fell to the Auburn Montgomery War Hawks in a thirteen inning battle that ended in an 8-6 final score.
The Warriors collected 13 hits in the game with Jack Dennison, Cam Mitchem and Caide Linker each picking up two hits. Tristan Tillman and Marty Grisso each had two RBIs. The Warriors walked five times and Ryan Postnieks was hit by a pitch. Tillman recorded the lone stolen base of the game for the Warriors.
Lukas Arvantides started on the mound for the Warriors and pitched 3.1 innings while striking out one batter. Kyle Dixon, Bryce Metts, Logan Brazell and Josiah Sizemore all came in to pitch in relief. Metts led the team with four strikeouts in the game.
Game Vitals
Final: Auburn Montgomery 8, Southern Wesleyan 6
Records: Southern Wesleyan (1-5) Auburn Montgomery (1-4)
How It Happened
The War Hawks went on the offensive early as several errors and a home run by Dew allowed them to bring five runs in to score in the top of the first inning.
Southern Wesleyan began to chip away at Auburn Montgomery's lead in the bottom of the first inning. Tristan Tillman led off the bottom of the inning with a walk and then advanced to second base on a ground out by Jack Dennison. Tillman then stole third to put him ninety feet from home plate. With two outs, Marty Grisso singled to center field to bring Tillman in to score the first run of the game for the Warriors.
The Warriors tied the game up in the bottom of the second inning. Caide Linker led off the inning with a walk and then advanced to second as Luke Taylor hit a single through the right side. With one out and two runners on, Nolan Evatt singled through the right side to load up the bases. Tristan Tillman hit a single through the left side to bring both Linker and Taylor in to score. A single by Jack Dennison to right field allowed the Warriors to load up the bases once again. Cam Mitchem walked to bring in the third run of the inning for Southern Wesleyan. Marty Grisso came up for his second at bat of the game and flew out to right field to bring Tillman in to score to tie the game up 5-5.
Auburn Montgomery brought in another run in the top of the fourth inning as a double down the left field line by Grier allowed Strachan to come in to score.
Southern Wesleyan struck again in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gage Shaver led off the inning with a single to right field. An error by the second baseman allowed Caide Linker to reach first base and advanced Shaver to second. Both Shaver and Linker advanced a base after a wild pitch by Reed. With two out, another wild pitch brought Shaver in to score to tie the game up once again.
The Warriors and the War Hawks went into a pitchers dual where the game remained scoreless until the 13th inning.
Auburn Montgomery attacked the plate in the top of the 13th inning as a single by Burns and a triple by Rooks brought two more runs across home plate to allow them to win the game in an 8-6 final score.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will take on the War Hawks of Auburn Montgomery on February 8. They will then take on the Limestone Saints at 6pm later on in the day. The Warriors will remain at home on February 11 as they host the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears at 5pm.
