The Alabama State baseball team split Saturday's doubleheader against Jackson State, winning 9-8 in 11 innings and losing 12-1 in seven innings in the nightcap at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
Alabama State (13-7 overall, 5-3 in SWAC), rallied twice from deficits to take the game one victory, before Jackson State (10-9 overall, 7-1 SWAC) took advantage of four ASU errors to win game two.
“We didn't come out to play today,” head coach
Mervyl Melendez said. “We battled in the first game, but we sat back. I think we're sitting back to much. This team needs someone to light a fire under their tails. We were flat. We had an opportunity to come in and defend our home turf and do something good in this conference, and we were flat. We had opportunities to finish the first game before extra innings, and we didn't. We'll figure it out.”
GAME 1 – Hornets 9, Jackson State 8 (11 innings): Emmanuel Marrero's RBI single in the 11
th was the game winner, scoring
Dillon Cooper who led off with a triple.
The Hornets battled back from a 4-0 deficit in the third inning and an 8-7 ninth-inning deficit to take game one.
Trailing 4-3 in the sixth,
Leo Rojas doubled to left center, ahead of Cooper's two-run homer to left field to give the Hornets their first lead. After Marrero singled and was bunted over to second base,
Richard Amion's RBI single scored Marrero to give Alabama State a 6-4 lead.
After Jackson State scored two in the eighth to tie the game at 6-6, the Hornets regained the lead on Brandon Castro's RBI double down the left field line, scoring
Marcus Swint who reached on an error, for a 7-6 advantage.
The Tigers scored two in the ninth to take an 8-7 lead before ASU rallied again. Price led off with a single, and advanced to second on a balk.
Waldyvan Estrada hit an infield single to third base. Following a short fly out, Cooper was hit by pitch to load the bases. Marrero then grounded out to second, scoring Price with the tying run. The Hornets nearly won the game in the ninth, but Cooper was tagged out at third prior to Estrada crossing home plate on a fielder's choice grounder.
Rojas went 3-for-6 with two runs scored in the opener, as Castro, Cooper, Price, Marrero and Amion all had two hits for the Hornets.
GAME 2 – Jackson State 12, Alabama State 1 (7 innings): The Tigers scored three runs in the first and five in the third to break the game open.
Castro and Marrero each had two hits for the Hornets. Amion scored Alabama State's lone run on a fielder's choice grounder.
