LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn Braves baseball team honors two seniors in the final home series of the 2023 season. Tyler Daniels and Khalil Smith took the Bill Foster Field for the last time and helped Alcorn pick up a game in the three-game series.
Alcorn 0, Southern 3
The Braves lost a close one in the opening contest of the three-game series. Alcorn threw everything they had defensively at the Jaguars, cycling through seven pitchers on the mound. Despite the effort, the Braves were unable to get the offense going for the 3-0 loss.
Southern started early, putting a run on the board in the top of the first on a single to left field.
The Braves kept Southern at bay until the eighth frame when the Jaguars added a run on a single and a third run in the ninth on another hit to left field.
Four players for Alcorn connected for hits in the game. Khalil Smith had a double, and Tyler Daniels, Khalil Smith, Garrett Palladino, and Jaylon Lucky had one single each.
Alcorn 2, Southern 5
The second game of the series slipped out of the Braves hands as Alcorn fell 5-2. The Braves started strong with a run in the first inning and a second in the third, while Southern remained scoreless and hitless until the sixth.
In the sixth frame, walks and an error proved to be Alcorn's downfall. Coasting through the inning with no hits, the Jaguars scored two runs to tie the game.
Southern got its first two hits in the eighth inning but scored no runs. In the bottom of the ninth, the Jaguars scored three runs on two hits and an error to defeat the Braves, 5-2, and prevent extra innings.
Jaylon Lucky and Khalil Smith went 2-for-4 at the plate, and Lucky was credited with two RBIs. Smith also hit one double.
Alcorn 9, Southern 8
A walk-off double clinched a tight 9-8 victory for the Braves baseball team over Southern in the final contest of the three-game series, preventing the sweep.
The two teams traded scoring in the first and second frames to tie the game at one until the fourth frame.
In the inning, the Jaguars collected one run, but Alcorn scored two to take a 3-2 lead, its first lead in the contest.
The Braves extended their lead in the fifth, scoring three runs on four hits.
The 6-2 advantage did not last long. Southern rebounded in the top of the sixth, capitalizing on Alcorn's pitching miscues and an error to take an 8-6 lead.
Alcorn added a run in the sixth to trail 8-7, but a walk-off double from the bat of Tyler Daniels would give the Braves a 9-8 victory.
Kameron Hopson entered the game in the seventh inning for his first victory of the season. Khalil Smith led the team with three RBIs, and Nathan Gamez led with two hits.
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The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country. Currently, it ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.
Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, and Tennis.
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