TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –
Waldyvan Estrada went 4-for-4 with four RBI and
Richard Amion went 3-for-4 with three RBI to lead the Alabama State baseball team to a 17-4 win in seven innings over Florida A&M to sweep the two-game series at Moore-Kittles Field.
The Hornets (6-13 overall) scored single runs in each of the first three innings. Estrada's RBI singles in the first and third innings, sandwiched around
Emmanuel Marrero's fielder's choice grounder in the second, staked Alabama State to a 3-0 lead.
After Florida A&M (3-15) scored one run in the third and three in the fourth to take a 4-3 lead, the Hornets regained the lead in the fifth on Estrada's two-run double in taking a 5-4 lead.
“That's good to see for Waldy,” head coach
Mervyl Melendez said. “He's been struggling at the plate, and guessing a little bit too much. We've been working with the guys, and it's all a work in progress. We know the best is yet to come for this ball club, but I'm very happy for him to get out of his slump.”
ASU broke it open with a seven-run, seven-hit sixth inning. Amion's bases-loaded single, combined with a FAMU error, scored three runs to push the lead to 8-4.
Richard Gonzalez' RBI single,
Leo Rojas' two-run double, and
Manny Rodriguez' RBI single extended the margin to 12-4. The Hornets then scored five runs in the seventh for the final margin.
A total of seven different Hornets registered at least two hits in the season-high 19-hit attack.
“We've been talking about staying away from the big innings and creating the big innings; that's really what wins and loses ball games,” Melendez said. “We created a big inning, and by doing that in the sixth it set the tone for the game. Then in the seventh, we score five. Those big innings will make you a hero or kill you, and today that was the difference in the ball game for us.”
Greg Matthews (1-4) earned his first win, going the distance, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits, walking one and striking out four.
“Greg did an outstanding job,” Melendez said. “He had one inning where he got in trouble and came out of it with minimal damage. We played with a lead, we got behind and then we came back. That's the sign of a good ball club, to not get down on ourselves. We came back and we continued to fight.”
The Hornets return to action Friday night at Gardner-Webb in the first of a four-game series. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
