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By: Josh Fuller

COLUMBUS – The Columbus State University baseball team capped off a three-game series sweep of Montevallo with a 13-7 victory over the Falcons on Sunday. The game took place at Burger King Stadium at Ragsdale Field in Columbus. 
 
The Cougars (30-10, 15-6 PBC) concluded the weekend with 35 runs on 42 hits. CSU has scored at least 10 runs in its past six games.
 
"Our bats made noise again today, but I thought the real story was Caleb Kutsche," said head coach Greg Appleton. "He threw really well and pitched deep into the ball game after two long games for our bullpen."
 
It was an inauspicious start for Kutsche in the first as Dane Hutcheon began the game with a double deep into the left-centerfield gap. After a groundout moved Hutcheon to third, Taylor Walker put the ball in play allowing the leadoff man to cross the plate for the game's opening run.
 
The Falcons threatened again in the second getting back-to-back singles to begin the frame. However, Kutsche didn't panic, retiring the next three hitters to get out of the inning unharmed.
 
Montevallo (20-22, 12-12) starter Jamison Roney kept CSU off the scoreboard for the first three innings but ran out of luck in the fourth as Columbus State put a five spot on the board. Christian Miller began the inning by taking a pitch to the opposite field for a single to right. Blake Edwards followed with a triple off the top of the left-centerfield wall and Matt Nettles nearly went deep himself banging a double off the right field wall to put the Cougars up 2-1.
 
After Roney got two outs, Tyler Fichter drew a four-pitch walk to extend the inning for Jackson Oliver. Oliver made the walk hurt as the senior launched a three-run blast to right to give CSU a 5-1 lead.
 
That would be all Kutsche needed. The right-hander retired 13 in a row from the third until one out in the seventh. The junior tossed 7.2 innings allowing just three runs on seven hits to pick up his third win of the year. He also struck out five.
 
While Kutche was rolling, the Cougars added insurance runs in the sixth with two solo homers. Justin Evans started the inning with a shot to left-center while Oliver connected on his second with two outs.
 
The two sides exchanged solo bombs in the seventh with Edwards collecting his sixth homer of the year for the Cougars to make the score 8-2.
 
After the Falcons scored a run in the top of the eighth, the Cougars put the game away with another five-run inning. Oliver picked up another RBI with a run-scoring single that plated Hunter Bowling, who reached on a one-out double. Mike McClellan added a RBI single of his own to make it a 10-3 game before Miller put the game out of reach. The slugger hit a towering three-run homer to right-centerfield to cap off the inning's scoring.
 
Montevallo scored four runs in the top of the ninth including getting a two-run home run from Jeremy Hyde.
 
Oliver went 3-for-5 and tied his career-high with five RBIs. Edwards was a single away from the cycle going 3-for-5 with a double, triple and home run. Four other Cougar players had two hits including Ihle and McClellan. Both players extend their hitting streaks to eight games.
 
Bradey was 3-for-4 for the Falcons with the solo homer.
 
Roney (5-2) took the loss allowing seven runs on nine hits.
 
Columbus State will take the field again on Wednesday, April 13 against Point. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. in West Point, Ga.