MONTEVALLO, ALA. – The Cavaliers (4-4, 0-0 SAC) dropped both games of a double header against No. 24 Montevallo (3-3, 0-0 GSC) in its first road trip of the season.
Game 1: Falcons def. Cavs, 5-3
The Cavalier comeback effort fell short in the opening game of the pair of outings against the Falcons.
Montevallo got the game started as freshman infielder Payton Stephenson collected his first career RBI on a single to left in the second inning.
In the top of the third, Cavalier redshirt junior second baseman Jeb Hurst powered his first home run of the year to tie the game at 1-1.
Hurst started the season 0-for-10 in the opening four-game series against Shepherd. Since then, he's gone 3-for-10 (.300) with a home run, two walks and a pair of RBIs.
Montevallo would retake the lead by adding single runs in the third and fourth innings.
In the fourth, redshirt junior Mitchell Walker homered to make it a 3-1 game.
One inning later, the Falcons collected a pair of insurance runs thanks to an RBI triple from redshirt junior outfielder Khali Bell and a subsequent single from Walker.
After five innings, Montevallo held the comfortable 5-1 advantage.
The game would remain locked at that score until the Cavs had one final chance to comeback in the top of the ninth inning.
With the first two batters recording outs, junior catcher Evan Stanley was the last hope to keep the Cavalier's chances alive. Stanley reached on an error to extend the inning.
Junior shortstop Nick Badgett then got on with a single to right center. One batter later, junior outfielder DJ Dickson hit another single and the Cavs played station-to-station, loading the bases for senior outfielder Justin Reed.
Reed singled to right center, scoring Stanley and Badgett and sending Dickson to third.
Down to their last out, with the corners occupied, the Cavs had their best hitter stepping to the plate; senior first baseman Cole Harness.
After a Montevallo pitching change, Harness found himself in a 2-1 advantage count. However, he popped up just into foul territory where Falcon catcher Christian Kallaher made the catch to lock in the win.
Game 2: Falcons def. Cavs, 9-3
The Cavs held an early lead in game two thanks to a pair of unearned runs in the second inning.
After Harness and sophomore third baseman Morgan Miller both singled to start the inning, sophomore designated hitter Tyler Gorbett reached on error, plating Harness.
After a walk, redshirt sophomore catcher Jacob Boyle singled into center field, scoring Gorbett and giving the Cavs a 2-0 lead.
The lead wouldn't last long as the Falcons utilized a three-run home run from Kallaher to take a 3-2 lead.
The Cavs tied the game the next inning as Miller connected on his second home run of the season, making it 3-3.
That would be the end of the day for the Cavalier offense.
In the bottom of the third, sophomore left handed pitcher Bo Trantham struck out the first two Montevallo hitters in the inning before things got awry.
After the strikeouts, a walk and consecutive doubles from Kallaher and redshirt junior infielder Ethan Huddleston scratched two runs on the board for the Falcons.
Later, graduate infielder Ethan Lidde added one more run for Montevallo with an infield single that allowed Huddleston to score.
The Falcons added their final three runs in the sixth inning due in part to a Cavalier error and a bases loaded walk.
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The Cavs will remain in Alabama for one final game against the Falcons, scheduled to start Saturday at 12 p.m. ET, 11 a.m. CT from Bob Riesener Stadium.
