LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State University baseball program fell to the Alabama State Hornets by scores of 10-5 and 10-6 in the first two home games of 2019. While the three-game series was supposed to take place on each day, expected rain on Saturday changed the schedule to accommodate the circumstances.
Game one saw freshmen Jaden Smith (3) and Tristin Garcia (2) combine for five of the team's ten base knocks, with junior Travaris Cole recording two of his own. Smith wreaked havoc on the Hornets pitching staff, scoring twice during a 3-for-4 outing. Kyle Jenkins showed extreme patience in the opener, drawing three free passes.
Senior Kirt Cormier picked up his second multi-RBI contest of the season with a rocketed double to the left field wall, one of four Braves two-baggers on the evening. Senior Brandon Barna along with juniors Brandon Rembert and Travaris Cole all notched two hits apiece, with Cole and Rembert each accumulating a RBI.
On the hill for the purple and gold, sophomore Jacob Kieffer produced a solid 2.1 innings in relief of senior starter Carlos Lopez as he gave up only two hits and a run while fanning two. Game two senior starter Jose Fernandez pitched well enough to keep the Braves close, tossing six innings, allowing five runs, four hits, and got five Hornets to come up empty. Senior reliver Devon Key pitched a clean top of the ninth in the nightcap, striking out two of the four batters he faced.
Game One
Alabama State 10, Alcorn 5
Braves starter Carlos Lopez was dominant through the first three innings of Friday's game one, surrendering only one hit over the first ten Hornets. Sophomore Edward Jackson provided the first tally for either side, when he doubled to deep left, pushing across junior Kyle Jenkins to put the Braves on top 1-0 in the second.
Alabama State converted a two-out opportunity into its first run in the fourth, as a walk and a fielder's choice set the table for Noel Cheneau to bring around the runner on second as his bloop single tied things up at one. Alcorn would get back on track in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single down the line for Cormier and a Cole sacrifice fly gave Alcorn a 3-1 advantage at the halfway point.
The two clubs traded runs in the sixth (4-2 Alcorn) before a seven-run seventh for Alabama State basically spelled an end to this one, as the home nine could not recover from the five-run hole. Each side would tack on one more run in its final at-bats and Alabama State would come away victorious, emerging with a 10-5 game one win.
Starting pitcher Carlos Lopez (0-2) got the loss, allowing 9 runs (8 earned) on seven hits in 6.2 innings.
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Game Two
Alabama State 10, Alcorn 6
Alcorn State University began strong again in game two, bringing a run home on a double by Travaris Cole to once again go ahead 1-0 in the early stages. The visitors would remain dormant through the first six outs of the ballgame before dropping a five-run bombshell on the hosts in the third. A Cameron Hearn bases-clearing triple was the catalyst as Alcorn fell behind 5-1.
Three innings would come and go before the purple and gold found its offensive mojo, as Kirt Cormier drove home two in the fifth on his second double of the campaign to put the Braves back within striking distance at 5-3 Alabama State. The Braves would claw all the way back to knot the score, taking advantage of a Hornets miscue and a Garcia double to make it a brand-new ballgame at 5-5 going into the seventh.
The black and gold clad visitors pushed across one in the seventh and hung four on the board in the eighth to reclaim a five-run margin. Alcorn put up a heck of a fight in the bottom of the ninth, sending seven Braves to the plate, including the tying run, but ultimately fell short as a grounder with the bases loaded ended the comeback bid. Alcorn dropped to 4-10 and 1-4 in the SWAC with the defeat as Alabama State came away victorious in game two, 10-6.
Alcorn baseball will try to salvage one-of-three when the two meet again on Sunday as the Hornets and Braves tangle at 1 p.m. at McGowan Stadium.
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