BATON ROUGE, La. – The Alcorn State baseball team closed out the 2022 season with a three-game series at Southern University Thursday – Saturday. After dropping Thursday's game, the Braves closed the series with back-to-back losses on Friday and Saturday. Alcorn fell 12-2 in the second game and 9-1 in the finale.
Across the two contests, Khalil Smith, Jamil Betancourt, and Tyler Daniels connected for two hits each. Smith, Betancourt, and Daniels also had doubles.
Austin Guzman (2-7) took the Friday loss on the mound. He pitched for 3.0 innings for five hits, eight runs (seven earned), four walks, and two strikeouts. Jermel Ford (0-9) was credited with Saturday's loss. The freshman from Hattiesburg threw for 5.0 innings, allowing three hits, three runs, and six walks while delivering five strikeouts.
In Friday's competition, Alcorn remained scoreless throughout six innings while Southern collected two runs in the first, four in the second, and four in the fourth.
In the top of the second frame, Ire Tolbert singled up the middle to score Clay Wright, and Garrett Palladino recorded an RBI on a ground out that brought Tolbert home.
Southern scored two more runs in the bottom of the seventh to close the game with a 12-2 victory.
On Saturday, the Jaguars struck first with two runs in the first frame. The Braves answered in the third on a ground out that gave Smith a ribbie and scored Ford to bring the score to 2-1.
Southern would continue to score, sending one runner home in the fifth and several in the sixth for a final score of 9-1.
The Braves close the 2022 season with a 2-39 overall record and a 2-28 record in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Southern improves to 24-29 on the season and 21-9 in league play. The Jaguars finish regular-season competition as No. 1 in the SWAC West and will take the No. 1 seed in the conference championship tournament next week in Birmingham, Ala.
For the latest on Alcorn State baseball, check AlcornSports.com for the latest news and scheduling information, or follow the Braves through Twitter (@BravesSports), Facebook (Alcorn State Sports), and Instagram (@AlcornSports).
