Walks Doom Braves In Loss To Rebels

OXFORD, Miss. –  The Alcorn State University baseball program walked ten Ole Miss batters and hit four more with pitches as the third-ranked Rebels took advantage for a 11-1 victory in eight innings.

The Braves (3-1, 3-0 SWAC) used six different pitchers with none going more than two full innings and three of which being newcomers to the squad (two freshmen and a transfer).

Khalil Smith was able to provide the lone score for the Purple and Gold on the evening, muscling a Luke Baker fastball over the left field fence for a home run despite getting jammed on the pitch.

Kyle Jenkins was the only Alcorn player to reach base multiple times, drawing a free pass to go along with a long single.

Hunter Wilson saw his one hit go for extra bases, roping a double down the left field line that almost scored Tristin Garcia from first but was gunned down at the plate by an excellent relay by the Rebs.

Rounding out the hit column for Coach Richardson's bunch was Garcia, Jordan McGowan and Tyler Daniels.

George Osborne III got the start for the Braves, striking out one, allowed just one hit and one earned run in two innings while consistently tight roping out of dangerous situations.

Joe Smith and Andrew Meadows both tossed scoreless innings each, combining for three strikeouts plus one hit surrendered.

Ole Miss (11-2, 0-0 SEC) barely outhit the Braves (8-6) but its patience at the dish (10-1 in walks) proved to be a huge asset in the win.

Tim Elko had the one extra base hit for the Rebs with a two-RBI double, reaching base on four of five plate appearances with two hits, two walks and three RBIs.

Hayden Dunhurst did all of his damage without lifting the bat off his shoulder, failing to log an at-bat as walked on all four trips to the plate, scoring thrice.

Cael Baker drove in two runs without tallying a hit with a stat line of 0-for-3 with two RBI and two strikeouts.

The Rebels pitching staff piled up 14 punchouts on the night with the primary culprit being starter Josh Mallitz, earning the win with four hits allowed, a walk and six strikeouts over four scoreless frames.

The first two innings were relatively quiet on both sides with neither team logging a hit in the first and each registering one in the second.

The third inning was when the action started to pick up. After two quick outs in the Braves half, Garcia singled before Wilson smashed a double to the wall by the left field foul pole. Coach Richardson decided to wave Garcia around third but a perfectly executed 7-6-2 relay cut him down at the dish. The Rebels would take that momentum and carry it onto the offensive side as Cael Baker got hit with the bases loaded to start the scoring, Hayden Leatherwood knocked a bases loaded RBI single through the right side and Ben Van Cleve hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0 Rebs after three.

Both offenses took the fourth inning off from crossing the plate but Alcorn's Khalil Smith changed that narrative in the fifth. With one down, Smith stared down an inside fastball and somehow willed the ball onto the grassy berm in left field to put the Braves in the run column at 3-1.

The score would remain there until the bottom of the sixth when four Ole Miss runs would score as a manageable two-run deficit turned into six in the blink of an eye.

The rest of the contest was all Rebels from that point onward, as Alcorn did not reach base again and Ole Miss ended the ballgame early with four runs in the eighth to hand the Braves its first loss of the season, 11-1 in eight.

The loss stung but it ultimately does not affect the Baseball Braves' ultimate goal of a SWAC Championship and it will get a rematch with the men in Oxford on April 6.

Alcorn now must prepare for a huge showdown with SWAC Eastern Division rival Jackson State who will invade Lorman for a three-game weekend series starting at 6 p.m. on Friday in a matchup that will have huge implications.
 
NOTES

- The second all-time meeting between the Rebels and Braves went much differently than the first as while Ole Miss is now 2-0 in the series, last year's showdown was an extra inning thriller, 8-7.

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