Feb. 11, 2006

Final Stats

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Coming off the first win of the year and staring at two road games before beginning conference play, Alabama State baseball coach Larry Watkins wanted a win against Clark Atlanta to ensure a bit of momentum.

He got that and more with a thrilling 8-7 victory at Paterson Field, complete with Hornet players barreling out of the dugout and onto the field to celebrate a ninth-inning, game-winning rally.

"It was a great game," Watkins said, "but only because we won. We had a lot of chances to get ahead and we couldn't get that big hit...until the end, anyway."

With the Hornets down 7-6 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Watkins pulled struggling catcher Furquan Shamsud-Din aside and told him to get on base no matter what it took. Shamsud-Din did get to first, but he did it the hard way - courtesy of a fastball to the side of the helmet.

"Well, he did what I told him to do," Watkins smiled while standing next to Shamsud-Din. "He's just fine. He was a bit shook up so we pinch-ran for him. He's just a tough kid, and he'll do anything to help us win."

Before pinch runner Jonathan Adams could even stretch his legs, Josh Clemons laced a line-drive triple to right field that scored Adams from first. Then, freshman Terry Givens flared a single into short right, scoring Clemons and giving ASU the win that Watkins desperately wanted.

"I wanted us to have some momentum before heading down to South Alabama on Monday and with SWAC play right around the corner," Watkins said. "Some guys who were struggling really came through today. These kids are starting to grow up, and now we've gotta get them to grow together.

"They are beginning to understand what to expect from each other and what it takes to win at this level. After today, I believe we're going to be just fine."

Anthony Hall got the Hornets on the board early with a two-run homer to center in the third inning. But things looked bleak for ASU when Clark Atlanta answered with five runs in the four and another in the fifth.

Hall got Bama State back into the game, knocking in two as part of a three-run seventh inning. But the Hornets left the bases loaded, before the rallying to win in the ninth.

Marquis Hogue (1-0) picked up his first win of the season. Cleveland Brownlee took the loss for the Panthers.