LORMAN, Miss. –  The Alcorn State University baseball program was sitting pretty with the first inning in the books up 3-0 but Jackson State outscored the Braves 10-2 in the final eight frames to take game two and the series, 10-5.
The Braves (3-3, 3-2 SWAC) laced four hits in the opening frame along but could only muster that same amount the rest of the way, ending the day with eight hits and four walks.
Kyle Jenkins eyed up a Mario Lopez fastball down the middle of the plate and sent that ball into orbit, putting him at 15 during his time in Lorman which is the seventh-most in program history.
The catcher from Jacksonville, Florida earned all three of his RBIs to make his one hit on the afternoon memorable while also drawing a walk.
Lane Gordon began the day on the bump for the Braves posting a solid line of five innings, three earned runs allowed and four strikeouts to go along with two walks.
The two Tylers (Daniels and Smith) registered the team's other two RBIs with Daniels doing so via a sacrifice fly while Smith did his work through a keen eye at the plate with a bases loaded walk.
Smith has proven to be an on-base and speed specialist, stealing a base for the second straight contest, and working two free passes.
Khalil Smith and
Tristin Garcia had near mirror-image like stat lines for the Purple and Gold, both notching two runs and two hits with the lone difference being Garcia reached base one more time after being drilled by a pitch.
Jackson State (9-5, 5-0 SWAC) continued to run wild on the basepaths, securing four steals for the second night in-a-row with four separate individuals doing the honors once again.
Out of its 12 base hits, two were of the extra base variety and both were triples courtesy of Chenar Brown and Ty Hill.
Half of the team's run production came off the metal sticks of Brown and Wesley Reyes, combining for five RBIs on just three hits.
Austin Campbell earned the victory, closing out the game after coming on with two outs in the fifth to shut the Braves out and surrender two base knocks.
The start of the ballgame looked extremely promising for the home nine as back-to-back singles by
Khalil Smith and Garcia setup Jenkins' towering tater to put Alcorn ahead by three without a single out being recorded in the opening inning.
No runs in the second or third but three pushed across by the Tigers during the fourth and fifth tied the score at three.
The Baseball Braves rallied right back after seeing its lead vanish, scoring twice in the bottom of the fifth while threatening for more saw the reclaim the edge at 5-3.
The Blue and White team from Jackson would do the rest of the scoring from that point forward, putting at least one run on the board over the final four frames to claim the series victory, 10-5.
Coach Richardson's crew will attempt to salvage the final game of the series Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. as it looks to hand JSU its first SWAC defeat of 2021.
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NOTES
- Alcorn fell to 101-163-1 all-time against its rivals from the capital city.
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