LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State University baseball program gave up seven runs in the sixth as Grambling State doubled up Alcorn for a 14-7 cross-divisional victory.
Junior Kyle Jenkins launched his team-best fifth home run deep into the Lorman night in the seventh inning while scoring three runs, driving in two RBIs, stroking two hits and reaching on a walk.
Sophomore Andrew Meadows had the Braves only other extra-base hits on the night, pounding out two doubles to go along with knocking in two runners.
Junior Jordan McGowan rounded out Alcorn's multi-RBI performers, as he also accumulated two RBIs on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single as well as scoring a run.
Junior pitcher Abdallah Salman worked an efficient 1.2 innings, fanning three Tigers, allowing one hit and one run.
The starting pitchers seemed to be in control early as Grambling's Ryan Evans and Alcorn's Austin Atwood held the opposition scoreless over the first two frames. GSU struck first in the third, using a Braves error, a steal and a double to capitalize on the miscue, moving ahead 1-0.
The Tigers added another run in the fourth inning to extend the advantage to 2-0 before the home nine clawed two across of its own in the bottom half via a McGowan sacrifice fly and sophomore Jamey Fabre's RBI single right back up the middle to tie the ballgame at 2-2.
Nothing of note went down in the fifth but the black and gold threw a haymaker in the sixth, pushing seven runs home with 12 Tigers coming to the dish to blow the game open at 9-2, Tigers.
Alcorn would not go away without a fight as McGowan notched his second RBI of the game with a single and Meadows brought around McGowan and senior Brandon Barna on his two-RBI double over the centerfielder in the bottom half to inch back to within striking range at 9-5, GSU.
The purple and gold saw the deficit shrink to two at the conclusion of the seventh inning stretch with Kyle Jenkins cranking a first-pitch fastball into the pitch-black Mississippi night and over the wooden purple fence in left to put the pressure on at 9-7, Grambling.
Grambling State responded to the added pressure with an authority, tallying a run in the eighth and four more in the ninth to effectively put the game on ice as the Braves fell by a final score of 14-7.
Junior Austin Atwood (2-1) received the loss in his first career start for the purple and gold, striking out five over 5.1 innings while surrendering seven runs (six earned) on nine hits.
Alcorn baseball will play its final SWAC road series of the 2019 campaign this coming weekend when it heads to Itta Bena for a three-game tilt with Mississippi Valley State, beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday.
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