HAMMOND, La. – Alcorn couldn't overcome a shaky start on the mound Wednesday evening, dropping an 11-1 decision away to nonconference opponent Southeastern Louisiana in midweek baseball action at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field in Hammond, Louisiana.
Alcorn (8-33) dug an early hole when starter
Garrett Oswald lasted just two-thirds of an inning, surrendering two runs on three wild pitches before being pulled with two on and two out in the first.
Myles Dews inherited the mess and promptly allowed Southeastern Louisiana second baseman Ben Robichaux to score on yet another wild pitch, pushing the deficit to three before in the bottom of the opening frame.
Alcorn showed some fight in the fourth when right fielder
Keaten Hawk reached on a hit-by-pitch, swiped second and later scored on a balk against Lions starting pitcher Austin Minichino, thus representing the Braves' lone run of the night.
But the threat died there when
Nico Garcia was thrown out attempting to steal third to end the inning.
SLU (25-17) answered with three more in the bottom of the fourth, capped by a Justin Williams two-run double to the wall in right center off
Yoni Castro that pushed in Brody Capps from second.
The hosts padded the lead with five runs in the sixth, highlighted by a Williams two-RBI single and a pair of Alcorn errors that eventually led to three more runs coming across.
Alex Perry provided the offensive spark for the Lions, going 2-for-3 with a walk at the top of the order, a second-inning solo home run – his 12th of the season, and a double in the sixth. He finished with three runs scored and an RBI to boot.
A theme of the season, the Alcorn pitching staff struggled with command on the night, combining to issue seven walks and uncork seven wild pitches across six hurlers.
Castro was charged with three wild pitches alone before giving way to
Caden Wade in the fourth.
Nick Gisclair (2-1) earned the win in relief, tossing 1.1 clean innings with two strikeouts after taking over for Minichino in the fourth. Dalton Gray closed it out with two scoreless frames.
Oswald dropped to 0-1 on the season in 0.2 innings and just one it surrendered.
The Purple and Gold offense also received hits from
Michael Bonelli,
Chase Moore and pinch hitter
Chance Jackson, respectfully – the latter two registering doubles.
The Braves return to Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play Friday, April 24, with a series against league foe Grambling State that holds heavy implications for next month's conference tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. The opening day of the Grambling series will feature a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m., as the series has been adjusted reflecting impending inclement weather throughout the weekend in Mississippi.
Follow Alcorn State Sports on Twitter (
@BravesSports) for all the latest news and updates. Follow us on Instagram (
@AlcornSports) and YouTube (
Braves Sports Network)
for even further behind-the-scenes action across all Braves Athletics.
