ITTA BENA, Miss. – Sophomore
Brandon Barna launched a pair of homers, and his brother senior
Justin Barna hit one to lead the Alcorn State University baseball program to a 11-3 win over Mississippi Valley State on Thursday at Magnolia Field.
The second half of the season kicked off on a high note for the Braves (8-21, 4-9 SWAC) as they outhit the Delta Devils (4-22, 3-13 SWAC) 17-5. Alcorn set season-highs in hits (17), home runs (3) and total bases (29).
Brandon Barna became the first Brave to hit two homers in a game this season. They were his first two homers of the year.
Justin Barna tallied his second long-ball of the season.
Both Barna's recorded three hits in the contest, along with senior
Walter Vives and junior
Wallace Rios Jimenez. Juniors
D'Vennio Warner and
Der'Vincent Hamilton each notched two hits.
Rios extended his on-base streak to 26 games, while Hamilton upped his hitting-streak to 11. Also with a hit in the game, senior
Kirt Cormier improved his on-base streak to 17.
Alcorn got a strong outing from junior
Jahborus Smith on the mound. He went 7.1 innings and struck out seven. He allowed just two earned runs and picked up the win. Junior
Razedrick Winters tossed 1.2 perfect frames in relief.
The Braves got on the board first with a run in the second inning.
Justin Barna and Hamilton led off the inning with hits, and Rios singled with two outs to pick up an RBI and score
Justin Barna.
Alcorn leaped in front 3-0 in the fourth. Both Barna's homered in the inning.
Justin Barna led it off and
Brandon Barna hit one with two outs.
The Braves tacked on another in the fifth on an RBI single by
Justin Barna with one out. It plated Vives after he singled and moved to second on a hit by senior
Jason Sanez.
MVSU came back with a rally in the bottom of the fifth, but Alcorn quickly answered with three runs in the sixth to stay ahead 7-3. The Braves cashed in on a pair of errors, and Vives delivered a double into the gap in right center to score Rios and
Brandon Barna.
Alcorn added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh to go up 9-3. After Hamilton doubled and scored on an error,
Brandon Barna hit his second homer.
The final tally came in the ninth. Junior
Christian Acklin pitch-hit and walked to lead if off. He advanced to third on a single by
Brandon Barna and scored on a ground ball by Rios.
Arrington Smith took the loss for MVSU after giving up eight runs (five earned) and 14 hits in 6.2 innings.
Game two of the three game series will begin at 1 p.m. Friday. The game can be heard on 91.7 FM with Charles Edmond on the call.
Quoting Alcorn head coach Bretton Richardson
Opening Statement
"Today was really about adjustments. That's what we've been preaching all year. Not only from at-bat to at-bat, but also from pitch to pitch. Today, we made the adjustments we needed to and laid off a lot of tough pitches. It led to us being able to take advantage of some pitches in the zone and we capitalized on them. It was definitely a good day for us and it shows that we are making the necessary steps and progressing. Hopefully this is the outlook for the rest of the weekend."
On the Barna's combining for three homers
"That's just a testament to those guys and how hard they've worked. It was situations again where they laid off pitches, got some in the zone and were able to put good swings on them. The home runs were really the icing on the cake today, but if they can continue to hit like that it will take us a long way the rest of the season."
On Jahborus Smith
"Early in the season he was a guy that we knew we were going to have to count on. We saw today what he can do on the mound. I would love to get 7.1 innings out of him every time he goes out there, but any time he goes six or seven innings it's a plus. He was able to get ahead in the count today and he made them hit his pitches. We were able to make a few plays behind him and he was able to come out with the win today."
Closing Statement
"Today was a very important game for us and we were able to come out on top. Though, today is now history and tomorrow is a new day. We want to come out tomorrow with the same focus, intensity and patience at the plate."
#FearTheBrave
