The Alabama State baseball team rolled past Jacksonville State 10-1 Tuesday night at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
 
Brothers P.J. (3-for-3, 2R, 3 RBI) and Chris Biocic (1-4, 4 RBI) combined for seven runs and Hunter Allen hit his first career home run as the Hornets (20-11) won their fifth straight game and clinched their fourth straight 20+ win season.
 
"I've said it many times and I'll continue to echo it – if you take good at-bats, and you're patient at the plate, usually good things happen" Alabama State head baseball coach Mervyl Melendez said. "Setting the table at the top of the line up with Cesar Rivera, P.J. and Chris, and them not trying to do too much is what our coaches have emphasized and they are doing a good job."
 
Tyler Howe (1-0) pitched 7 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits, one run, walking three and striking out six.
 
'He's gotten better with all his starts, and today it was another very good outing," Melendez said of Howe. "The pitch count was relatively low for him, and I was happy to see him throw a lot of strikes. He worked ahead in the count the entire night, and that's the key to being a good pitcher. When you can work ahead in the count, it puts the hitters in a defensive mode. Tyler was able to do that tonight."
 
Alabama State scored in the first inning for the fifth straight game. Cesar Rivera walked and P.J. Biocic doubled, moving Rivera to third. Chris Biocic's RBI groundout scored Rivera to put the Hornets on the board. With two outs, P.J Harris' single through right side scored Waldyvan Estrada for a 2-0 Hornets' lead.
 
After Jacksonville State (17-12) scored its only run in the second inning, Alabama State responded with three in the home half of the inning. Joseph Estrada walked, Ray Hernandez was hit by a pitch, and Rivera reached on an infield single to load the bases. P.J. Biocic was hit by pitch, scoring Joseph Estrada. Chris Biocic's fielder's choice scored Hernandez, and Waldyvan Estrada's sacrifice fly scored Rivera for a 5-2 ASU lead.
 
Leading 6-1 in the sixth, Rivera tripled to center field and scored on P.J. Biocic's double to left field. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, P.J. Biocic scored on a Chris Biocic's sacrifice fly for an 8-1 Hornet lead.
 
Allen hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, as the Hornets have now homered in nine straight games and improved to 9-3 over the past 12 games.
 
"I'm enjoying the model of this team and the way they approach the game," Melendez said. "They are very unselfish. They don't care who the hero is in any game. They do as much as they can to get on base, to get the RBI, to get the sacrifice fly, to bunt when they need to. To have a good team, you need unselfish guys. So far, we have shown that."
 
Alabama State returns to action this weekend in a three-game Southwestern Athletic Conference series at Mississippi Valley State. Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's first pitch both begin at 1 p.m., with the internet radio broadcast on bamastatesports.com.
                               

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