STOCKTON, Calif. –
Tyler Howe threw eight shutout innings, and
Emmanuel Marrero's two-run single helped Alabama State to a 3- 0 win at Pacific and earn a split in Saturday's doubleheader.
The Hornets (5-3) dropped game one of the twin bill 5-3 earlier in the day, before Howe's nightcap performance.
The redshirt freshman scattered six hits over eight innings, walked three and struck out four, throwing 64 of his 107 pitches for strikes.
Hunter McIntosh got the final three outs to complete the Hornets' second shutout this week.
The final game of the series is Sunday at 3 p.m. Live internet radio will be provided at bamastatesports.com/showcase.
Game 2 – Hornets 3, Pacific 0: Alabama State got on the board in the third inning. With one out,
Raul Perez singled up the middle, and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. With two outs,
Richard Amion walked. Marrero then singled on an 0-1 pitch through the left side, scoring Perez and Amion for a 2-0 lead.
The Hornets' defense came up big again, with Marrero making several sterling plays at shortstop, helping to keep Pacific (4-4) from scoring. The biggest play came in the sixth with the bases loaded and one out.
Dexter Price fielded a sharp grounder near the bag, stepped on first for the out, then fired a strike to Perez at the plate, who tagged out J.P. Yakel for the inning-ending double play.
In the eighth,
Einar Muniz led off with a double to left. With two outs,
Waldyvan Estrada dropped a single into right center field, scoring Estrada for the final margin.
Game 1 - Pacific 5, Hornets 3: After trailing 1-0 after one inning, the Hornets took their first lead of the weekend in the second.
Estrada singled to lead off the inning, and was bunted over to second by Marrero. Estrada stole third prior to the second out, and after
Dillon Cooper walked and stole second, Price's two-run single to right field gave Alabama State a 2-1 lead.
Pacific scored a run in the third to tie the score, then scored two in the seventh to take a 4-2 lead. Estrada's solo home run in the eighth cut the deficit to 4-3 before the Tigers scored one in the home half of the inning for the final margin.
