JSU Sweeps Alcorn In Error-Filled Contest

JACKSON, Miss. –  The Tigers used two home runs and five runs in the fifth inning to finish off a three-game sweep of the Baseball Braves in both teams' conference-opening series.

The Braves (2-6, 0-3 SWAC) left 15 men on base after racking up double-digit hits (11) for the fourth time in eight games.

Redshirt senior Kyle Jenkins moved into sole possession of seventh place on the program's all-time home run list with a two-run shot in the seventh inning for his 14th long ball of his career. Jenkins also went 2-for-3 with three RBI, a run scored and a walk.

Sophomore Tristin Garcia upper his on-base streak once again to 13 games after a two-hit afternoon as well as a walk and an RBI.

Senior Travaris Cole was 2-of-3 along with a walk and two runs scored while junior Jamey Fabre and redshirt senior Hunter Wilson also claimed two hits each.

Redshirt senior Jordan McGowan swiped the Braves' first stolen base of the campaign while getting an RBI on a fielder's choice and scoring once.

Jackson State (6-4, 3-0 SWAC) slugged five extra-base knocks including homers by Wesley Reyes and Jefrey Rodriguez, a triple by Chandler Dillard and two doubles.

Reyes had a standout offensive performance with a 2-for-3 outing with four RBI, two walks, two runs scored and the three-run home run.

Preseason SWAC Pitcher of the Year Nikelle Galatas (1-0) threw well enough to claim his first victory of the year, throwing six innings with four strikeouts and four runs allowed.

JSU got out of the gates with a two-run first inning after Preseason All-SWAC First Teamer Jaylyn Williams scorched a two-RBI double into the left-center gap for a 2-0 Jackson State lead.

Alcorn cut the deficit in half on the back of a Fabre RBI single in the top of the second to score Cole and make it 2-1 JSU.

The purple and gold held firm in the bottom of the second before taking the lead on an RBI walk by Jenkins and an RBI fielder's choice by McGowan to go up 3-2.

Each side tallied two hits but could not score over the next two innings as the Braves' advantage stayed put at 3-2 entering the bottom of the fifth.

Jackson State brought out the power bats in the fifth as Reyes put the home nine back on top with a three-run deep fly to straightaway left field to give the Tigers a 5-3 upper-hand. Two batters later, Rodriguez connected on a two-run shot to put a crooked number on the board and cap a wild five-run fifth with the score 7-3 JSU.

Coach Richardson's boys battled back in the seventh when Cole got hit by the first pitch of the inning which led to Jenkins two-RBI tater to trim the hole to 7-5. A costly error by the JSU third basemen aided the Braves in bringing home one more as it allowed McGowan to reach base immediately following the homer. He would advance to second on a Fabre single, steal third base and then score on an infield single by Garcia to put pressure on Jackson State as the Tigers lead fell to 7-6.

The blue and white boys from Jackson stepped up in the face of adversity in the eighth as three runs on three hits bumped its edge to 10-6 going into the final frame.

Fabre drew a full-count walk and sophomore Jaden Smith singled through the left side to start the ninth as the Braves looked to mount a comeback. Relief pitcher Steven Davila calmly put the game to bed as he froze three consecutive Braves looking on strike three called to end the contest, picking up his first save of the year in a 10-6 win for the Tigers.

The purple and gold will try to halt a five-game slide in a Tuesday non-conference tilt with the New Orleans Privateers at 6:30 p.m. inside Maestri Field.
 
NOTES

- The Braves fell to 101-161-1 in the all-time series against JSU.

- The eighth has been devastating so far for Alcorn, being outscored 10-2 in the inning in eight games this season after giving up three in the game this afternoon.

- The two teams combined for seven errors but only two of the game's 16 runs were considered unearned.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Bretton Richardson
 
On Braves batters striking out 12 times and leaving 15 runners on base:
"That's kind of how it's been this whole weekend, we had opportunities and we had our chances in all three ballgames but unfortunately for us we weren't able to capitalize on those."
 
On the five-run Jackson State fifth inning which included two home runs:
"In that situation [intentionally walking Jaylyn Williams to put runners on the corners for Wesley Reyes] we were just trying to setup the double play, got a runner on third base with one out and we wanted to walk Jaylyn to get to Reyes and setup a double play but unfortunately for us we weren't able to execute a pitch and he ended up hitting the ball out of the ballpark. That's baseball, I'd do it again in the blink of an eye in hopes of trying to get a groundball and get that double play ball to get us out of the inning, just unfortunate for us that it didn't work out today."
 
On the four errors committed today:
"Anytime you give the opposition more outs than required in an inning, it makes it a little tough for you. Not only did we have the four errors, we had two fly balls in the outfield that we misplayed that let them get some runs so we got a lot of work to do, hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate with us a little bit this week and we can get back on the field to be able to get some work in. Not making any excuses, Jackson State just outplayed us this weekend."
 
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