The Hornets (1-5) did a lot to hurt their chances with three errors, five walks, and four wild pitches as they fell behind 10-3 going into the eighth inning.
 
"I think the game got out of hand a little in the middle of the game," Head Coach Mervyl Melendez said.  "I don't think we made solid plays on defense and we just nibbled too much on the mound.  We didn't throw as many strikes as we should have and we fell behind in the count against a lot of their batters.  Often times when you do that in the college game you are going to find yourself in a big hole and it's tough to climb back up."
 
This game was not the pitcher's duel as last night's game was, even though Winthrop (5-2) starter Sam Kmiec (2-0) pitched well for seven innings in picking up the win.  He allowed three runs, two earned, on eight hits and had six strikeouts.
 
Once he left the game the Hornets made a run against three Eagle relievers chipping away scoring three runs in both the eighth and ninth innings before falling short.
 
ASU's starter Tyler Howe (0-2) pitched into the fifth inning allowing eight hits and five runs.  Only three of those were earned as he also recorded four strikeouts.
 
"The one thing is our guys never gave up," Melendez said.  "I love the mentality of this team.  I think this team has all the qualities you look for in guys that want to compete and want to win.  We just have to put it all together.  We can't make mistakes, we got to throw strikes, we can't fall behind in the count.  That's when you get hurt."
 
Eriq White led the Hornets offensively with three hits, a run scored and an RBI.  Ray Hernandez came off the bench late in the game and led ASU's comeback with two big hits, one of those a three-run homerun in the ninth to cut the lead to one.  He finished the game with four RBI.
 
Dillon Cooper and Angel Alicea also had two hits in the game as the Hornets finished with 13.
 
It's still early in the season, but Melendez likes what he sees in this team even though they have five losses in the first few weeks of the season.
 
"I believe this team is stubborn and hard-headed, and those are good qualities in baseball.  What I mean by that is they don't give up, they don't take no for an answer as far as when you're down in a game this team is not going to pack it in.  So what I'm learning is they are willing to fight and are willing to do what it takes to climb back up to win ball games."
 
These two teams will conclude the three-game weekend series Sunday at 1 p.m.