Columbus Falls to Montgomery 3-2 in Series Opener

MONTGOMERY, AL., — The Columbus Clingstones (12-16, 38-56) fell behind 2-0 early, rallied to tie the game in the seventh inning, but ultimately were done in by an eighth inning RBI from Will Simpson of the Montgomery Biscuits (12-16, 50-47) in a 3-2 loss on Tuesday night at Riverwalk Stadium.

Decisive Plays: Montgomery strung together a two-out rally in the second inning on an RBI double from Brock Jones and an RBI fielder's choice by Homer Bush Jr. to lead 2-0. A solo home run from Kobe Kato (4) put Columbus on the board in the fifth inning. David McCabe drove in Geraldo Quintero in the seventh inning to even the game at 2-2. Simpson brought home another two-out RBI for Montgomery in the eighth inning to give the Biscuits a 3-2 edge. Columbus went down in order in the top of the ninth.

Key Contributors: McCabe (3-for-4, RBI) punched in his sixth three-hit game of the season while Kato (1-for-3, HR, RBI) recorded his first home run on the road this season. On the mound for Columbus, Rolddy Munoz (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO) was strong in relief after starter Brett Sears managed just 1.2 innings. For Montgomery, the three RBIs were distributed amongst Bush Jr., Simpson, and Jones.

Notable: Columbus has dropped its last five one-run games which have all come in the Clingstones' last seven games. McCabe is batting .390 (39-for-100) in the second half, the best batting average over that stretch in the Southern League. Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. saw his career-best eight-game hitting streak snapped after going 0-for-3.

Next Game (Tuesday, July 29): Columbus at Montgomery, 7:35 pm ET at Riverwalk Stadium. RHP Landon Harper (2-5, 3.36 ERA) will start for Columbus opposed by RHP Ty Cummings (3-2, 3.17 ERA) for Montgomery. Radio Broadcast: 7:20 pm ET on Sports Visions 92.1 FM.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, August 5): Columbus vs. Rocket City, 7:05 pm ET at Synovus Park. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 pm ET on Sports Visions 92.1 FM.