BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Alabama State baseball team entered with a 12-game winning streak.
 
Samford came in with a seven-game winning streak of its own.
 
Something had to give. 
 
A slow start ended up being the difference as ASU fell into a 3-0 deficit in the first inning and couldn't quite recover in time as host Samford topped Alabama State 6-2 in a nonconference game Tuesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
Sophomore pitcher Tyler Howe was electric, however, as he gave the Hornets several opportunities to rally.
 
Superb in relief, Howe replaced starter Patrick Coffin in the first inning and worked six and two thirds innings, striking out 13 batters against just one walk.
 
The right hander from Chuluota, Fla. , struck out six consecutive batters at one point and did not allow a hit in his appearance. 
 
Howe bested his previous high for strikeouts in a single game by a margin of four. 
 
The 6-foot-1, 235-pounder had nine punch outs just three weeks prior at Troy. 
 
Over his last four appearances, Howe now has 33 strikeouts in his last 23 innings pitched. 
 
"He [Howe] came into a tough situation and did a good job," said Alabama State baseball coach Mervyl Melendez.
 
"He was able to throw a lot of strikes tonight.  Usually, when you strike out 13, there's a very high pitch count.  But it was relatively low because he was able to get batters out after four or five pitches.  Tonight, by far, was his best outing. It's something that he has been getting better at—working his breaking ball and getting his fastball over the plate.  When everything clicks, you can see how dominating he can be.  I'm proud of him and it's a big credit to him for working hard."
 
Samford ranks as one of the best home run hitting teams in the nation. 
 
The Bulldogs entered with 53 home runs and hit .295 as a squad.    
 
"That's a good hitting ball club," Melendez said. "For him to do that against that caliber of team is something."
 
Alabama State (27-12) climbed back into it in the top of the sixth inning. 
 
The Hornets strung together four consecutive singles, all with two outs, to cut the lead to 3-2.
 
Waldyvan Estrada got it started with a rip to center field and Yamil Pagan followed with a single that narrowly dropped in front of the Bulldogs' right fielder.
 
P.J. Harris also went to right field to drive in Estrada and Gustavo Rios came through with a pinch hit, RBI single up the middle. 
 
Samford (22-17) clung to a 3-2 lead until the eighth inning when Hunter Swilling and Heath Quinn hit back-to-back home runs. 
 
The Bulldogs added another run in the inning on a pair of doubles to push the lead to 6-2. 
 
"We knew that they [Samford] were going to be tough offensively," Melendez said.  "We originally thought that we were going to have to use five or six pitchers, but because Howe was pitching so well I left him in there.  [Jorge] Pantoja kept some balls down the middle and didn't hit his spots like he should and that's what happens."
 
Offensively, two Hornets extended their reached base streaks. 
 
P.J. Biocic extended his reached base streak to 35 games by drawing a walk while Waldyvan Estrada extended his streak to 25 games as he batted 3-for-4 with a run scored. 
 
"He's been very consistent throughout the year," said Melendez of Estrada.  "For his whole career, he's been doing it.  He's hit over .300 for several years and continues to have good at bats."
 
Pagan went 2-for-3 with a , a sacrifice, a stolen base and a run scored. 
 
Cesar Rivera went 0-for-5 and had his 20-game hitting streak snapped. 
 
The Hornets will next travel to Birmingham to take on SWAC East Divisional rival Alabama A&M on Saturday in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. 
 
#GOHORNETS#