JACKSON, Miss. – The Alcorn State University baseball program used high quality pitching performances to take both games of the twin bill versus Alabama A&M by scores of 5-4 and 1-0.
The Braves (4-7, 2-3 SWAC) shutout the Bulldogs in the nightcap on Saturday, the first time its blanked the opposition since run-ruling Mississippi Valley in a 13-0 slaughter in April of 2017.
Redshirt senior
Jose Fernandez went a career-long 8.0 innings and struck out a career-best 12 batters en route to earning his second win of the campaign in game one.
Redshirt junior
Jake Kieffer also pitched a career-high in innings (6.0) while tying his previous career-high with four strikeouts and allowing a career-low two hits.
Seniors
Joe Smith and
Devon Key both notched their first career saves, combining for 4.0 innings of scoreless and hitless baseball, striking out three and walking none. Key's save went a full three innings and he sat down ten consecutive Bulldogs.
Senior
Brandon Rembert provided the only extra-base hit of the day for the Braves, a towering home run to left field in the fourth inning of game one that proved to be the game-winner.
Junior
Jarius Colley was the lone player in purple and gold to log multiple RBI, posting one in each game with his RBI bases loaded walk in the second game being the only run of the ballgame.
Sophomore
Tristin Garcia, junior
Jamey Fabre and redshirt senior
Jordan McGowan logged an RBI a piece in game one with the latter two picking up three hits each over the course of the two games.
Alabama A&M (3-12, 3-2 SWAC) received fantastic pitching performances of its own from game one reliever Jose Figueroa and game two starter Peyton Baker.
Baker pitched a complete game (8.0 innings), picking up the loss despite not allowing an earned run (one run unearned) and holding the Braves to six hits with six punch outs.
Figueroa tossed 4.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, whiffing seven hitters and giving up two hits in the process.
Brandon Moore and Carter Duke were the only two Bulldogs to have multiple hits on the day with one of Moore's being a double.
Game One
Alcorn 5, Alabama A&M 4
AAMU looked to be taking control of the ballgame early as they opened the scoring with three runs in the second. Alcorn quickly retaliated in the bottom half as Colley singled home redshirt senior
Kyle Jenkins and Garcia lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center to score Fabre, cutting the lead to 3-2. The Bulldogs answered with an RBI infield single in the third to make it 4-2 before two RBI singles by McGowan and Fabre in the bottom of the third evened the proceedings at four.
Brandon Rembert would put the Braves ahead for good in the fourth with a no-doubt moonshot long ball into the trees in left field while the Braves pitchers shut down the Bulldogs, surrendering just one hit and one walk the rest of the way including seven strikeouts.
Game Two
Alcorn 1, Alabama A&M 0
The nightcap saw a minimal amount of offense from either side as the Braves and Bulldogs totaled eight hits with each squad contributing four walks each. The lone run of the evening came from a patient
Jarius Colley, drawing the bases loaded walk in the second to bring home senior
Travaris Cole for all the runs Alcorn needed to come out on top.
Alcorn will try for a three-game sweep of the Bulldogs on Sunday at 2 p.m. inside Smith-Wills Stadium.
NOTES
- Alcorn has dominated the all-time series with Alabama A&M, going 97-42 in 139 meetings. The Braves are 12-13 against the Bulldogs under Coach Richardson.
Quoting Alcorn head coach Bretton Richardson
Overall Statement
"I'm proud of the way the guys battled tonight. We didn't hit very well tonight but our pitching was outstanding. Looking forward to continuing that tomorrow."
#FearTheBrave
