BY: Justin Martin
AUM Baseball has a history of producing winning teams every season. Even with the difficult transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II status, AUM baseball continues to be competitive in a difficult conference.
The Warhawks opened the season with a tough matchup against No. 20 North Georgia. The Orange & Black played three games in Dahlonega, Ga., against the Nighthawks and dropped all three games to start the 2020 campaign. AUM was only able to gain 10 runs over three games, but allowed more than 10 runs in each contest.
With nowhere to go but up, AUM baseball set their sights to their Sunshine State foe: Embry-Riddle University. The Warhawks played ERU much closer than North Georgia in their previous series. However, the Warhawks still lost the first two games, falling to 0-6 on the year.
AUM was finally able to get into the win column for the first time this season in the series finale against the Eagles, taking down Embry-Riddle 9-6 in the third game of the series. The following three-game set featured the Warhawks’ first glance at Gulf South Conference play as the Christian Brothers Buccaneers traveled to Montgomery.
The Warhawks were able to use the momentum gained from winning their first game of the season to come out firing on all cylinders to start conference play. Simply put, the Orange & Black dominated the Buccaneers to open the GSC action. AUM was scheduled to play nine-inning games over the weekend, but the nine innings were only needed once during the three-game series.
In game one of the series, AUM exploded with ten unanswered runs, run-ruling Christian Brothers and registering the first-official GSC win in program history. The Warhawks were paced by pitcher Micah Henderson in game one and rode his stellar pitching to the victory.
Games two and three were much of the same for the AUM offense, as they had every answer for the Christian Brothers’ pitching. AUM responded after a 10-run outburst in game one with a 9-3 win in game two and an 11-1 drubbing in the series finale to sweep the Buccaneers.
The Warhawks were picked to finish eighth in the GSC pre-season polls, and it very well could be where the Orange & Black end up at the end of May. However, the start against Christian Brothers could prove to be an important confidence booster heading into their next conference series and the rest of the year.