The Alabama State baseball team lost a late lead in falling 10-8 Sunday to Jackson State at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
 
Trailing 2-0 in the fourth, the Hornets (15-11, 9-3) scored three times to take the lead. Hunter Allen reached on a throwing error, advanced to second on the play, and went to third on a single by Manny Rodriguez. Ray Hernandez then singled through the left side to score Allen, moving Rodriguez to second. After a sacrifice bunt, Cesar Rivera walked to load the bases. P.J. Biocic's sacrifice fly scored Rodriguez, and Yamil Pagan's infield single scored Hernandez for a 3-2 Alabama State lead.
 
The Hornets extended the lead in the fifth. Waldyvan Estrada homered to lead off the inning, his fourth of the season. P.J. Harris then singled, and Allen walked. With one out, Hernandez singled to center field, scoring Harris to give Alabama State a 5-2 lead.
 
After Jackson State (16-10, 5-5) added a run in the sixth, the Hornets responded with single runs in the sixth and the seventh. Biocic walked, Pagan singled, and Estrada was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Biocic scored on a double play groundout as ASU took a 6-3 lead.
 
In the seventh, Marcus Swint singled with two outs, before Rivera reached on a catcher's interference. Biocic then singled up the middle, scoring Swint for a 7-3 Hornet lead.
 
However, four eighth inning errors by Alabama State led to seven Jackson State runs in the inning. The Hornets added a run in the bottom of the eighth on a bases loaded hit-by-pitch to Chris Biocic, scoring Harris, but could get no closer.
 
Pagan had three hits, while Rodriguez and Hernandez each had two hits for the Hornets in the 14-hit attack. T.J. Renda had a strong outing for Alabama State on the mound, pitching seven innings, allowing six hits, three runs, two earned, with no walks and a season-high nine strikeouts.
 
"I don't know if it was the right move to take T.J. out in that situation," Alabama State head coach Mervyl Melendez said. "We do have a setup pitcher and closer that have done the job, but it came back to hurt us. We walked the first batter, then we can't field three bunts, and we made six errors in game – four of them in that inning – which was the story of the ballgame."
 
Alabama State returns to action Tuesday at Troy at 6 p.m., with a live radio broadcast on bamastatesports.com beginning at 5:45 p.m.
                               

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