STOCKTON, Calif. –
Normando Valentin threw 5 2/3 innings of clutch relief, and Alabama State scored three runs in the ninth inning to beat Pacific 5-2 Sunday afternoon and gain a split of the four-game weekend series.
Pacific had scored a run when Valentin came on relief in the second inning with the bases loaded and two outs and a 2-0 count. He pitched out of the jam without allowing another run, and held the Tigers scoreless until the eighth.
"He was amazing," head coach
Mervyl Melendez said of Valentin's career-long outing in which he threw 48 of his 69 pitches for strikes, allowing five hits and one run, walking none and striking out three. "He gave us the lift we needed. I know our hitters stepped up late in the game, but it would not have been possible with the performance of Normando on the mound. He pitched flawlessly, he kept us in the game, and was the difference in the game."
Pacific tied the score in the eighth, setting the stage for the ninth. With one out,
Emmanuel Marrero tripled down the right field line.
Dillon Cooper followed with a double to left-center field, scoring Marrero to give the Hornets the lead. After
Dexter Price was hit by a pitch and a second out,
Einar Muniz doubled to right center field, scoring pinch-runner
Marcus Swint and Price for the final margin.
"I'm extremely proud of them," Melendez said of his team, now 6-3 on the season. "It's how you answer back that is going to determine how good of a team you have. Pacific tied it in the eighth, and we came back in the top of ninth with three runs. That's what you want, for your team to face adversity and overcome it."
Hunter McIntosh (1-0) got the win in relief.
Armando Ruiz got the final three outs for the save.
After the Tigers (4-5) scored a run in the second inning, Alabama State tied the game in the fifth on a two-out RBI single by
Branden Castro, scoring Marrero. The Hornets took the lead in the sixth on a two-out single by
Waldyvan Estrada, scoring
Richard Gonzalez.
The Hornets begin an 11-game home stand with a two-game series against Youngstown State Tuesday and Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
