Senators pound out 16 hits, outlast Eagles
April 29
COLUMBUS, Ga. - Auburn Montgomery began its bid to earn a berth in the NAIA national tournament on a positive note here Wednesday, ripping Faulkner pitching for 16 hits en route to a 10-7 victory in the first round of the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament at Golden Park.
The fourth-seeded Senators (33-19) will face the winner of tonight's game between top-seeded Berry and eighth-seeded Brewton-Parker at 3 p.m. Thursday, while Faulkner (33-21) will face the Berry-Brewton-Parker loser at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Auburn Montgomery took little time to rough up Eagle ace Austin Adams, scoring three runs on three hits to take a 3-0 first-inning lead. The lead grew to 4-0 before Faulkner strung together a four-run fourth to the game at 4. The Senators answered right back, however, plating four of their own in the bottom half of the inning to take control again.
The Eagles had their chance in the sixth, but reliever Brock Piper preserved the 7-6 Senator lead by retiring the heart of the Faulkner order with the bases loaded. Piper earned a save in relief of winner Stephen Yates, who improved to 8-3. Adams fell to 5-2 with the loss.
Montgomery native Bruce Alter led the way for the Senators, going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two RBI, with Clay Booth producing a 3-for-4 afternoon. Cody Chizmar added a pair of hits and three RBI, while Cody Shields, Justin Williams and Tanner Williams added two hits apiece.
Faulkner was paced by the two-hit, one-RBI performance of Michael Colley. Kevin Leslie, Chris Myles, Winston Stone and Cody Bridgman all added RBI for the Eagles.