The Alabama State baseball team made a late-game rally against UAB but came up on the short end of a 3-2 score Tuesday at Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
Trailing 3-1 in the ninth,
Richard Gonzalez and
Waldyvan Estrada led off with walks. With one out, the Hornets converted a double steal, with pinch-runner
Richard Amion scoring on a UAB throwing error to cut the deficit in half. However,
Leo Rojas and
Darrion Pedro went down on strikes to end the game.
“Once again we're being competitive, but four errors is not going to win the game,” head baseball coach
Mervyl Melendez said. “I don't know what's going on with our guys' mental focus. The concentration is not there at times. Tonight is a prime example of what happens when you make errors. When you make more errors than you get hits (three), that's a problem.”
Alabama State (0-4) scored first in the bottom of the fifth on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze bunt by
Emmanuel Marrero, scoring
Marcus Swint.
UAB (2-2) capitalized on Hornet miscues to score in back-to-back innings. In the sixth, a two-out error by Pedro allowed Tyler Mims to reach base ahead of a Michael Busby two-run homer to give the Blazers a 2-1 lead.
Alabama State committed a pair of errors in the seventh, leading to another UAB run scored by Keith DePew.
“Our pitching was outstanding,” Melendez said of his pitchers, led by starter
Anthony Ricciardi who allowed just three hits and three runs in 6 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out seven. “We scored runs; we manufactured runs on a squeeze bunt and double steal. We have to do a better job defensively first and then offensively.”
The Hornets will look to get in the win column Wednesday afternoon vs. Kennesaw State at 4 p.m. at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex. Fans can watch the game live at www.bamastatesports.com/showcase for $5.95. Live stats will also be available at bamastatesports.com.
“I like our team. We're going to be really good when it's all said and done,” Melendez said. “We have to go through these games and learn from them. I really, really like this team. I like the competitiveness we have shown in a lot of the ball games, and if we clean it up we're going to win a lot of ball games. Right now, we're 0-4 and in three of those games we were within one base hit to win or tie the ball game. We have to finish those games and we have to play better defense.”
