The Alabama State baseball team split a home SWAC doubleheader against Alcorn State, winning game one 3-2 and losing the nightcap 7-4 Saturday at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
In the first game,
Joel Alvira pitched seven shutout innings, and
Waldyvan Estrada's two-run homer in the third inning powered the Hornets to an opening-game win. In game two, Alabama State walked 10 batters and left 12 runners on base, including two runners in scoring position in the seventh, and the bases loaded in the eighth.
“We can't win many ball games like that,” head coach
Mervyl Melendez said. “The effort by us was not there. There was no effort today. We need to find a way for our guys to play at the same level every single day. Bottom line – that's what you do. As an athlete, you're supposed to play every game with the same intensity and the same effort. In leaving 12 runners on base, it was not the same effort.”
The Hornets (12-18 overall, 6-5 SWAC) and Alcorn State (7-20, 6-5) remain tied for second in the SWAC's Eastern Division and will play the rubber game of the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
GAME 1 – Hornets 3, Alcorn State 2: Alvira (3-2) won his second consecutive start, allowing just six hits, walking four and striking out four. He pitched out of jams in the first inning and fourth inning, respectively, stranding a pair of Alcorn State base runners each time.
Alabama State scored in the first inning as
Richard Amion scored on an error for a 1-0 lead. In the third, Estrada hit his fifth home run of the season to left field, a two-run blast scoring
Richard Gonzalez, who had walked, to give the Hornets a 3-0 lead.
The bullpen again did the job for ASU in the late innings. Alcorn loaded the bases with none out in the eighth, but
Manny Rodriguez forced a grounder which led to a force out at home plate before inducing a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.
Alcorn State scored in the ninth on a two-run double by Joshua Powell. With the bases loaded and two out, Alabama State's
Emmanuel Marrero made a great play on a grounder to his right and threw back to second base for the force out to end the game.
GAME 2 – Alcorn State 7, Hornets 4: Missed opportunities hurt Alabama State, as they left multiple runners on base in the third, fourth, seventh, and eighth innings as the Hornets saw a six-game home winning streak come to an end.
The Hornets scored first, as Gonzalez' double to left field scored
Einar Muniz for a 1-0 lead. After Alcorn scored runs in the second inning to take a 2-1 lead, Alabama State tied the score in the fourth on
Leo Rojas' sacrifice fly, scoring
Darrion Pedro, who had doubled.
The Braves took the lead for good in the fifth on Darryl Parks' home run to left field, and added another run on a double play groundout to extend to a 4-2 lead.
Alabama State cut the deficit to 4-3 in the sixth inning when
Jordan Mims scored on a two-out error. However, Alcorn State broke the game open with three runs in the seventh to take a 7-3 lead.
The Hornets scored in the home half of the seventh as Muniz scored on a two-out error for the final margin.
