Mississippi Valley State Fends Off Alcorn Rally

JACKSON, Miss. – Mississippi Valley State erupted for nine runs across the eighth and ninth innings Sunday afternoon to pull away from Alcorn, 15-7, in a non-conference matchup at Braddy Field on the final day of the Jackson State Tournament hosted by JSU in Jackson, Mississippi.
 
Mississippi Valley State (2-7) overcame a tense seventh inning that saw Alcorn claw within two runs before putting the game out of reach with a dominant late-game offensive surge.
 
Left fielder Aiden Meyer was the story of the afternoon, finishing 2-for-5 with a grand slam in the eighth inning and five RBIs on the day. His towering blast to left field capped a five-run eighth frame that broke open what had become a close ballgame. Meyer also doubled in the third inning and came around to score, cementing himself as the offensive catalyst throughout.
 
MVSU jumped on Alcorn starter freshman Devin Kriley early.
 
The Delta Devils scored once in the first on an Isreal Ramos single to right and then sent 11 batters to the plate in a five-run third inning highlighted by a Kendall Brookins' two-run double and a two-RBI double by Meyer to boot.
 
A throwing error by the Alcorn third baseman Kanious "Spanky" Davis allowed two additional unearned runs to score, chasing Kriley, who fell to 0-4, after just 2.2 innings.
 
Alcorn (1-10) showed some fight in the seventh inning, scoring four times against Delta Devils relievers Clint Lafferty and Ethan Fuller, respectively.
 
Stepping in as a pinch hitter, Braves junior Julian Jarrett delivered the key blow, a two-run single up the middle that scored right fielder Keaten Hawk and the hot-swinging Cooper Harris, cutting the deficit to 7-5. An RBI single from Michael Bonelli chipped away at the deficit even further to make it a two-run game.
 
But MVSU starting pitcher Jace Jones had already done his damage early.
 
Jones worked three scoreless innings, striking out three in 54 pitches, before giving way to Lafferty, who earned the win to improve to 1-0.
 
Jaylyn Bennett had a strong day offensively for the Purple and Gold, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk. The second baseman was one of the few bright spots in an Alcorn lineup that committed four errors and walked nine Delta Devils batters.
 
MVSU added three more insurance runs in the ninth, with Brookins drawing an RBI hit-by-pitch and first baseman Chris Soeder adding a bases-loaded walk before Meyer's strikeout allowed a wild pitch to score another run.
 
Alcorn reliever José Cherena struggled in the eighth, allowing three earned runs on a wild pitch and a hit batsman.
 
The Braves look to get on track Tuesday, March 3, in the home opener of the 2026 campaign as Southern-New Orleans visits Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium at 6 p.m.
 
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