HOUSTON – The Alabama State baseball team fell to Southern 10-2 Sunday in the third and final day of the Major League Baseball Urban Invitational at Minute Maid Park.
Leading 1-0, Southern used a five-run third-inning to break the game open, with six hits to push the lead to 6-0.
Alabama State (0-3) scored in the fourth when
Richard Gonzalez scored on a passed ball strikeout to cut the deficit to 6-1. However, Southern added a single run in the fourth, two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh to push the lead to 10-1.
“I felt good going into the game knowing that we had played good baseball even though we hadn't won a game,” head coach
Mervyl Melendez said. “We did a lot things wrong today and we kind of took a step backwards. That's why it's so upsetting to me. The pitching wasn't there. I don't think we had the intensity on the mound that we showed the entire weekend. Then on the offensive side, we just haven't done a good job. We need to pick it up if we want to be successful. We need to have some run support, as some days the pitching is not going to be there.
Our hitters need to make better, quicker adjustments for us to be successful.”
The Hornets added another run in the eighth on an RBI single by
Einar Muniz scoring
Jordan Mims, who led off with a double.
“It's about playing the whole entire game, not just one part,” Melendez said. “There's three parts – pitching, defense and offense. Right now, the offensive part needs to be picked up.
The Hornets will play their first home games of the young season Tuesday vs. UAB and Wednesday vs. Kennesaw State. First pitch both days is 4 p.m. at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
