NEW ORLEANS – The Alcorn State University baseball program broke open a 3-3 tie with eight runs in the final four innings to defeat Prairie View A&M 11-3 on Saturday at Wesley Barrow Stadium.
The Braves (1-1) saw three student-athletes record three hits. Junior
Kirt Cormier finished three-for-four with a homer, four runs scored and a pair of RBI. Senior
Walter Vives ended three-for-five with a walk and a run, and junior
Nicholas Hayes-Saltare went three-for-six with three RBI.
Through two games, Cormier is hitting .833 (five-for-six) and Vives is .500 (four-for-eight).
Also with multi-hit games, junior
Der'Vincent Hamilton went two-for-four with two runs and an RBI, and senior
Jason Sanez notched a two-for-five games with a run and RBI.
Alcorn outhit the Panthers (1-1) 14-8.
Sophomore
Carlos Lopez (1-0) picked up the win after striking out six in 4.0 innings. Senior
Regynold Johnson got the start and struck out a pair in 4.0 innings. Sophomore
Conrado Skepple pitched an inning in relief and tallied a strikeout.
The Braves, who were the designated road team in the neutral site game, held a slight 4-3 edge in the top of the seventh when Cormier posted a leadoff double to left-center. He scored on a double down the left field line by Sanez.
The Braves poured it on with five runs in the eighth inning on five hits. It included an RBI double to right-center by Hamilton and a two RBI base hit by Hayes-Saltare through the left side.
Alcorn tacked on an insurance run in the ninth inning. It came off the bat of Cormier as he launched a homer to right field.
The Braves scored the first three runs of the game in the fourth frame. It included RBI singles by Hamilton and Hayes-Saltare. Alcorn also garnered a sacrifice fly for a run in the sixth inning by senior
Patrick McMahon.
PVAMU got all three of its runs in the fifth inning which included a two-run homer by Xavier Jefferson. Darrien Williams started the game and went 4.0 innings, striking out seven but surrendering three earned runs. Nic Campos (0-1) took the loss.
The Braves will look to duplicate their performance Sunday when they close out the weekend at 3 p.m. against Southern. Alcorn will play its home opener Monday at noon when it hosts Murray State at Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium.
Quoting Alcorn head coach Bretton Richardson
Opening Statement
"Once the game got tied, our guys really buckled down and starting having better at-bats. We became more patient and starting swinging at the pitches that we needed to swing at. That's how our offense needs to be. I felt at the start of this game, and for most of the game yesterday we were a bit too anxious. Though, late in the game today we waited for our pitches and were able to capitalize on them."
On Carlos Lopez throwing four innings of shutout ball in relief
"Carlos has been one of our mainstay guys out of the bullpen since I've been here. Anytime I bring him into the game he's been solid. He continued that effort again today and we're definitely going to lean on him as one of our main guys coming out of the bullpen again this season. I was really pleased with the way he threw the ball today."
On Kirt Cormier's hot start to the season
"He has definitely stood out at the plate. I couldn't be happier for him. We're talking about a kid who lost his father a little over a month ago after he passed away from cancer. To see him come back and have a start to the season that he's had is amazing. He's really been swinging the bat well. It's not just been the last two days, but he also swung it well in the fall and in the spring coming back. I just hope he can continue doing what he's done, and I'm really, really happy for him."
#FearTheBrave
