NEW ORLEANS – The Alabama State baseball team lost to Jackson State 9-8 Sunday in the SWAC Championship Game.
The matchup of the 2014 division champion Hornets (37-20) and defending champ Jackson State (31-23) lived up the billing as the lead changed hands twice and the game was tied three times.
"Our expectations were to be in this situation," head coach
Mervyl Melendez said. "We were not fortunate enough to win. I still believe we have one of the better teams in this conference, if not the best. Today, we were one run worse than the opponent."
After the Tigers scored in the top of the first, Alabama State took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first on
Waldyvan Estrada's two-run homer, his sixth of the season, scoring
Cesar Rivera who walked.
Jackson State tied the score in the second inning before the Hornets scored three times in the third. Estrada reached on an infield single, and
Richard Gonzalez followed with a bunt single.
Emmanuel Marrero's sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third.
Branden Castro's RBI groundout scored Estrada to put Alabama State back in front.
Dexter Price then homered of the scoreboard in left-center field on a 2-1 pitch to give Alabama State a 5-2 lead.
Jackson State scored three in the fourth inning to tie the game before the Hornets regained the lead in the fifth. Marrero led off with a single up the middle and was bunted over to second by Castro. Price followed with a single up the middle to give Alabama State its final lead a 6-5.
The Tigers took the lead for good in a three-run sixth inning for an 8-6 lead. Alabama State scored in the bottom of sixth on a two-out RBI single by
Raul Perez, scoring Estrada, who was running on the 3-2 pitch.
Jackson State added a run the eighth before
Richard Amion's solo homer for the Hornets became the final margin.
Amion, Estrada, Marrero and Price each had two hits, with Estrada driving in a pair of runs and Price three runs for the Hornets.
