LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Alcorn State University baseball program had its bats silenced in a consistent rainfall on Tuesday night as McNeese State won going away, 8-1.
Senior Brendon Barna was the Brave providing most of the offense on the evening as he accumulated three of the team's five hits including an RBI triple which he sent sailing into the rain-soaked gap in right-center.
Junior infielder Micah Walker tallied Alcorn's other two hits, his first multi-hit game of 2019, and swiped two bags. Senior infielder Brendly Martina saw his eight-game hitting streak snapped but did manage to keep the on-base streak intact, reaching on an error by the third baseman in the top of the second.
McNeese State opened the ballgame forcing the Braves to go 1-2-3 and tacking on two in bottom of the first to set the tone for the evening. Sophomore Starter Jacob Kieffer settled in to begin the second, tossing consecutive hitless innings to corral the Cowboys hitters.
McNeese would strike again in the fourth as a bases loaded sacrifice fly by Reid Bourque and a perfectly executed delayed steal plated two more runs to give the Pokes a 4-0 advantage. Alcorn had no answers for McNeese pitchers Hunter Reeves, Jonathan Ellison and Brett Payne as the trio held the visitors to only two hits over the first five innings.
The Cowboys drove in an insurance run during the bottom half of the fifth with another sacrifice fly to center field to up the lead to 5-0 McNeese. Alcorn was able to break through on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth as Walker slapped a single into left, and Barna cranked a triple to the power alley in right to bring home the Braves first and only run of the contest.
McNeese State would bring across two runs in the sixth and one in the eighth to wrap up the victory and send the Braves to 3-6 on the campaign.
Jacob Kieffer (0-2) got the loss, giving up four runs and four hits over four innings, striking out three Cowboys. Senior pitcher Devon Key came on in relief, hurling three innings of three-run ball on three hits and setting down three Cowboy batters. Senior reliever Zachary Perez closed out the game, allowing a run on two hits in his lone inning of work.
Alcorn baseball will get its first taste of SWACtion this coming weekend as the Braves travel to Huntsville to battle the Alabama A&M Bulldogs for a three-game series. All three matchups will be 1 p.m. starts, beginning on Friday and going through Sunday.
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