CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Alabama State baseball team fell in the season opener to #7 Louisville 5-1 Friday in the Opening Weekend Challenge, hosted by the University of South Florida.
The Hornets (0-1) went toe-to-toe with the Cardinals (1-0) during the first six innings at Bright House Field, allowing just one third-inning run. However, Louisville scored three runs in the seventh inning to take control of the game before adding an insurance run in the eighth.
Alabama State scored in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs,
Joseph Estrada reached on an infield single. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, he scored on a ground-rule double by
Hunter Allen to left-center field.
T.J. Renda battled on the mound in defeat, allowing eight hits, four runs, three earned, with four walks and six strikeouts. He pitched out of trouble in the early innings, forcing Louisville to leave the bases loaded in the first inning and strand two runners in the second. He nearly negated an early inning error to pitch out of a jam in the seventh, but the Cardinals got both run-scoring hits with two outs.
"I thought we played pretty good baseball until the seventh inning when we had some crucial mistakes on the defensive side," head coach
Mervyl Melendez said. "I was very pleased with T. J.'s outing. He pitched well. He was vintage T.J. from his sophomore year. Overall, we can play better defensively, and the at-bats have to better."
The Hornets will face #17 Cal-State Fullerton Saturday at 1 p.m. CT, and the contest can be heard live on bamastatesports.com/showcase.
