TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –
Anthony Ricciardi pitched seven strong innings and
Richard Amion and
Einar Muniz each had two hits to lead Alabama State to an 8-2 win at Florida A&M in the first of a two-game mid-week baseball series at Moore-Kittles Field.
Ricciardi (1-1) picked up his first win of the season, allowing two runs and scattering nine hits, walking none and striking out five. Ricciardi allowed single runs in the third and sixth innings and was aided by a pair of double plays and error-free defense.
“No walks and no errors was the key to the ball game,” head coach
Mervyl Melendez said. “Whenever you do that, you keep the defense active and they don't get back on their heels. The defense did an outstanding job today; there were no freebees for the opponent. Usually when you do that, you're going to have a very good chance to win ball games and that's happened tonight.”
The Hornets (5-13) scored a run in the first as Amion scored on a balk for a 1-0 lead. ASU scored two runs in the third.
Waldyvan Estrada's sacrifice fly scored Muniz, who led off with a single.
Richard Gonzalez, who reached on a fielder's choice, came around to score on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 3-0.
Leading 3-1, Alabama State added a pair of runs in the sixth.
Darrion Pedro's RBI groundout scored
Leo Rojas, who walked.
Ryan Epperson's two-out RBI single up the middle scored
Emmanuel Marrero to give the Hornets a 5-1 lead.
After Florida A&M (3-14) added a run in the sixth, Alabama State added runs in the final two innings. Pedro's RBI triple to right center scored
Manny Rodriguez in the eighth. Gonzalez' and Rojas had RBI singles in the ninth for the final margin.
“We really wanted to hit when it counts with runners on base, and that's what we talked about, getting timely hits,” Melendez said. “When you have runners on second and third base, you have to get the timely hits and we were able to do that.”
The Hornets were on the run against Florida A&M pitchers, stealing a season-high seven bases.
“We want to play a complete game and make sure our guys create holes also by stealing bases,” Melendez said. “By stealing bases, you create holes in the defense and are able to hit and run and put the defense into panic mode. We did that and were very successful on the bases and put ourselves in scoring position.”
The Hornets and Rattlers complete the two-game series Wednesday at 2 p.m.
