HAMMOND, La. – The Alcorn State University baseball program gave up five stolen bases and three home runs to the Lions as it fell 13-3 in a chilly Wednesday evening affair.
Freshman third baseman Tristin Garica went 2-for-4 with two RBIs on the evening, bringing his hit and on-base streaks to 10 and 15, respectively. Senior Brandon Barna reached base twice and had an RBI double to the wall in dead-center while senior Kirt Cormier upped his on-base streak to a team-best 18 games.
Both the Braves and the Lions went hitless in the first before SLU put the first runs on the board. Lions second baseman Brennan Breaud poked a leadoff single through the right side of the infield, promptly stole second base and scored on a Braves error.
Alcorn went three-up three-down in the third and hometown Lions took advantage. Outfielder Preston Faulkner unloaded on a 3-1 fastball to start the bottom half, sending it sailing over the billboard covered wall in left-center. Senior starter Tyler Smith was able to set down the next batter with ease but two straight singles and a sacrifice fly by the green and gold gave Southeastern a 3-0 cushion.
The Lions opened the floodgates in the fifth with three walks, a double and a two-run homer which accounted for a four-spot on the board as SLU made it 7-0. The top of the sixth saw Alcorn's bats contribute some noise, as Tristin Garcia extended his hit streak to ten games with a sharp single back up the middle with one down. Slugger Brandon Barna would bring him around three pitches later, crushing a ball off the base of the wall 400 feet away for an RBI double to avoid the shutout, 7-1.
Southeastern Louisiana came roaring back during its turn in the sixth, as Kyle Schimpf (brother of current San Diego Padre, Ryan Schimpf) homered a solo shot to right with the Lions adding another one later in the frame to bump the lead up to 9-1.
Momentum began to build for the visiting Braves, as juniors Kyle Jenkins, Jordan McGowan and Micah Walker went station-to-station to load the bases with nobody out. SLU forced back-to-back strikeouts to give the home fans hope, but Garcia calmed smacked a two-strike two-out single through the second base-first base hole to trim the deficit to 9-3 Lions.
The home nine would put the final nail in the coffin, bringing four men across in the bottom of the seventh to end the game by way of the mercy rule, 13-3 in seven innings.
Starting pitcher Tyler Smith (0-1) was given the loss, tossing three innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks to go with two strikeouts.
Alcorn baseball returns to Lorman, Mississippi for a three-game home set with SWAC rival Mississippi Valley State. Game one will be at 6 p.m. on Friday night inside Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium.
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