CLINTON, Miss. --- In a tough twinbill, the Mississippi College baseball team dropped its Gulf South Conference doubleheader to Auburn University at Montgomery on Saturday, Apr. 1. The Warhawks (16-19, 10-11 GSC) opened the day with a 12-1 victory and followed with a 3-0 win in the series finale.
 
The Choctaw (10-23, 6-12 GSC) struggled to get their offense rolling as the Orange and Black hurlers held the squad to just 10 combined hits and the lone run, which came on a sacrifice fly to right field in the fourth inning off the bat of Beau Kirsch.
 
Brandon Gardner (1-1) took the loss in the opening game as he allowed seven runs – four earned – on nine hits in 3.2 innings in the opening contest of the day. He added a pair of strikeouts and walked one. Gavin LeBlanc (0-7) was saddled with the setback in the second game as he held AUM to four hits and three runs – two earned – in three frames alongside three strikeouts.
 
Kolby McWilliams tallied the only multiple-hit effort of the day for the Blue and Gold as he posted two singles and drew a walk. The Luling, La., native added another hit in the series final to finish the day with three knocks on the afternoon.
 
AUM jumped on the board early with seven runs in its first four trips to the plate in the opener, headlined by a three-RBI, double from Kasey Clark in the fourth to cap a four-run frame. The Choctaw gathered their lone run in the bottom half of the inning with Kirsch's sac fly that scored McWilliams. The Warhawks held the six-run lead until the top of the seventh, when they added five runs to cap the scoring.
 
The Orange and Black got all the scoring it needed in one inning in the nightcap as he plated three runs in the frame. Three RBI singles led the way in scoring as AUM collected four hits and capitalized on a miscue to secure the victory.
 
Clay Slagle (3-3) and Lucas Baggett (2-0) picked up the wins on the bump with back-to-back, complete-game performances. Slagle fanned four as Baggett added a pair of strikeouts as each allowed five hits in their time on the bump.
 
Mississippi College returns to action on Tuesday, Apr. 4 as it travels to Russellville, Ark., for a non-conference, midweek affair with 20th ranked Arkansas Tech University. First pitch is at 3 p.m.
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