LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State University baseball program dropped got quality starts out of
Jose Fernandez and
George Osborne III but the bats went missing in 5-2 and 4-3 losses to Alabama A&M.
The Braves (6-15, 6-13 SWAC) were only able to push across five runs over 14 innings during the doubleheader despite outhitting the Bulldogs 12-9.
Jose Fernandez pitched well enough to earn a victory but received a loss, pitching a seven-inning complete game while allowing two earned runs on four hits plus seven whiffs.
George Osborne III had a solid showing of five innings of four-hit ball, giving up two runs as well to go along with five punchouts.
Tristin Garcia went a perfect 3-for-3 in game one, notching a double and a walk.
Tyler Daniels registered a hit and an RBI in each contest, scoring and walking in the "nightcap" while smoking a double in the opener.
Brandon Rembert had a nice return to action, coming back this weekend from injury to post two hits, two walks, a double, RBI and scoring once.
Garrett Palladino played a clean right field in game one and game two saw him use his legs to the tune of two stolen bases and a run scored.
Alabama A&M (9-12, 9-7 SWAC) used its speed on the basepaths to its advantage, swiping nine bags in game two alone and 12 total, averaging nearly a steal per inning.
The Maroon and White did not record a single extra-base hit in the first ballgame and only put one run on the board in four separate innings during game two but it was enough to walk away with the victory.
Teddy Bridges fronted the Diamond Dawgs on the bases, accounting for 33% of the stolen bases with four, Pierre Brewton had three and both Janmikell Bastardo plus Malik Frails grabbed two.
Game 1 | L, 5-2
The Braves staked an early two-run advantage in the third thanks to a Rembert RBI single up the middle and a Daniels double rocketed into the right-center gap that brought Rembert the full 270 feet from first base to the plate.
Unfortunately for the men from Lorman, that was the last time Alcorn scored as Alabama A&M put crooked numbers on the scoreboard in the fourth (2) and fifth (3) to seal the series win.
Game 2 | L, 4-3
The series finale saw AAMU steal its way to a lead in the opening frame as a perfectly executed double steal of second and home to go up one-nil.
The Purple and Gold would claim its first lead of the second tilt by way of two Bulldog miscues, as a fantastic six-pitch at-bat by Garcia in the third gave way to the pitcher pulling the first baseman off the bag to score then a passed ball in the fourth allowed Daniels to race home for a 2-1 Alcorn edge.
The Maroon and White would pull even in the fifth and go ahead in the sixth on a wild pitch before Alcorn tied things up once again on a hot shot back up the box by Daniels in the bottom of the sixth to make it three-all.
A bases loaded sacrifice fly by Dillon Roop in the final frame was the deciding run as AAMU escaped Lorman with a 4-3 win and a program-high seven-game winning streak.
AAMU claimed the season series with the sweep (4-2) but Alcorn is still in command of the all-time series at 100-46.
Coach Richardson and the Braves will attempt to snap a six-game skid on Friday when they welcome ASU to "The Reservation" for the regular season's final homestand.
#FearTheBrave
