LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State University baseball program surrendered 12 walks, five stolen bases and nine ninth-inning runs as it was swept in three games after falling to MVSU 14-2 on Sunday.
Freshman Tristin Garcia had his ninth multi-hit ballgame of the season, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored while sophomore Jamey Fabre scored the other Braves run.
Alcorn looked as if it would flip the script in the first inning, as Tristin Garcia walked, senior Brandon Barna singled, and Garcia motored home on an error by the second baseman to give the Braves its first lead of the series, 1-0. Valley quickly dispelled that notion, as a two-out walk and subsequent double by Marshall Parrish knotted the ballgame at one in the top of the second.
The purple and gold played small ball in the bottom half, as Fabre walked to lead-off the frame, followed by a sacrifice bunt and productive groundout to second base to move him to within 90 feet with two outs. Lady Luck seemed to be smiling on the home nine as an errant pick-off attempt from the catcher allowed Fabre to waltz home and give Alcorn the lead right back at 2-1.
The top of the third saw the Delta Devils regain its potent offensive form from the prior two contests, posting a three-run third to reclaim the upper-hand at 4-2. Two and a half innings would go by before either team would breakthrough for another run, with MVSU taking advantage of an Alcorn miscue to pad its margin in the sixth, 5-2 Valley.
Alcorn entered the ninth inning within comfortable striking distance and a reasonable shot at some late inning magic but Mississippi Valley State left no doubt of the outcome as the Delta Devils saw the first seven batters reach safely with 14 hitters coming up to bat in total in a devastating nine-run top of the ninth to blow the lid off the game and take a 14-2 game three decision.
Senior Bukhari Brown (2-3) received the loss, tying his season-high with 7 strikeouts and hurling 6.1 innings of five-run ball (four earned).
Alcorn baseball will get a chance to rebound quickly, traveling to Grambling State on Tuesday night with a 6 p.m. first pitch on tap.
