Tyler Howe's complete game effort on the mound led the Alabama State baseball team to a 6-2 win over Alabama A&M to complete the sweep of the three-game weekend series.
 
Howe (5-0) threw 73 of his 98 pitches for strikes in his first career complete game, allowing seven hits, one earned run, with no walks and five strikeouts.
 
"It was another great pitching performance for us, and that was the theme of the weekend," head coach Mervyl Melendez said of his pitching staff which threw two complete games and used only four pitchers in the series. "Tyler pitched really well, and that gave us the jumpstart to score runs. We didn't have a great offensive day, but I'm really happy about this game. I told my team, and have said it all along, that you have to be able to win games when you are not at your best. We didn't get a lot of base hits, but we found ways to score runs and ultimately that's what wins ball games."
 
Alabama State (31-15 overall, 19-2 SWAC), which did not trail the entire weekend, scored in the second inning on Richard Gonzalez' RBI walk with the bases loaded to score Dexter Price to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.
 
In the fourth, Alabama State scored twice without a hit. Einar Muniz reached on a fielding error, advanced to second on a balk, and Cesar Rivera walked. Gonzalez reached on a throwing error on his sacrifice bunt, allowing both runners to score for a 3-0 ASU lead.
 
In the fourth, Marcus Swint reached on a fielding error, and Raul Perez singled up the middle. A sacrifice bunt by Muniz moved both runners into scoring position, and Rivera's safety squeeze bunt scored Swint to extend Alabama State's lead to 4-0.
 
After Alabama A&M (17-24, 9-8) scored a run in the top of the eighth, the Hornets scored two in the home half of the inning. Waldyvan Estrada walked, and Emmanuel Marrero singled to right field to lead off the inning. Branden Castro then ripped a double down the left field line, scoring both runners for a 6-1 lead.
 
In setting single-season school records for SWAC wins and conference series wins (seven), the Hornets improved to 10-0 in Sunday games this season.
 
"You take it one game at a time," said Melendez of the approach of his team, which will next play at home Saturday in a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Jackson State. "Every game is important from here on out. We have to continue to work and get better. I believe there are things we still need to work on and improve in, but it was a great weekend of baseball. The guys battled in every game. There was not one inning that I felt we lacked intensity. I was very happy about that and their concentration level throughout the weekend."
 

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