TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Stillman College baseball mounted a furious comeback in the opener and earned a hard-fought split with the University of Tennessee Southern Firehawks on Tuesday, falling 13-12 in Game 1 before bouncing back for a 4-3 victory in Game 2.

Game 1 — Tennessee Southern 13, Stillman 12

Tennessee Southern jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first, but Stillman answered with one of its most explosive innings of the season in the second.

Trailing by four, Tory Huddleston sparked the rally and later scored the Tigers' first run on Daniel Salter's RBI single. Moments later, Jonathan Phillips crossed the plate on a Tennessee Southern throwing error, cutting the deficit to two. With the bases still loaded, Cameron Sipp scored on a walk by Kameran Belser, and Collin DuBose followed home on a sacrifice fly by Mekha Hicks. The rally was capped when Gavin Rehorn scored on Javian Rives' sacrifice fly, giving Stillman a 5-4 lead after two innings. 

Stillman kept the pressure on in the third. Tuddleston scored on a bases-loaded walk issued to Salter, and Phillips came home on Rehorn's sacrifice fly as the Tigers stretched the lead to 7-4. 

After Tennessee Southern trimmed the margin, Stillman produced another big inning in the fourth. Rives scored on an RBI single by Gage, and later in the frame, Gage and Sipp both crossed the plate on Sipp's two-run homer to left, pushing the Tigers ahead 10-5. 

Stillman added two more in the fifth. Rives scored on another RBI single from Gage, and Gage later came home on Huddleston's RBI single, extending the advantage to 12-8. 

Tennessee Southern responded with four runs in the sixth to tie the game and plated the go-ahead run in the seventh. Stillman put the tying run on base in the final inning, but could not complete the comeback. 

Game 2 — Stillman 4, Tennessee Southern 3

Stillman wasted no time taking control in the nightcap.

In the first inning, Belser and Hicks reached base and eventually scored on a Tennessee Southern fielding error, giving the Tigers a quick 2-0 lead. Huddleston later crossed the plate on J. Phillips' RBI fielder's choice, making it 3-0 before the inning ended. 

Stillman added an insurance run in the fourth when Phillips singled, stole third, and scored on a throwing error by the catcher, extending the lead to 4-0. 

Tennessee Southern rallied for three runs in the fifth to pull within one, but Stillman's pitching held firm the rest of the way. 

Caleb Vallejo worked a complete game, scattering five hits and allowing three runs to secure the 4-3 victory and salvage the split for the Tigers. 

Notes and Numbers:

• Stillman totaled 16 runs on 16 hits across the two games. 
• Robert Gage led the opener with three hits and two RBIs. 
• Tory Huddleston recorded three hits and scored twice in Game 1. 

Stillman College hosts Oakwood University for the start of Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference play with a single game set for Thursday at 1 p.m. and a doubleheader on Friday, starting at noon.