MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State freshman
Dalton Wilder had a no-hitter into the eighth inning against Mississippi Valley State Friday afternoon before giving up a hit with one-out in the inning as the Hornets won game on 2-0 at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex Friday afternoon.
In the nightcap, the Hornets could not overcome a big fifth inning by the visitors as they fell short in their comeback effort; falling 10-7 to even the conference series heading into Sunday.
The series will conclude with a single game Saturday afternoon at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex, with first pitch scheduled for 1 pm. Admission is free to all home games, and the game will be broadcast on the Hornet Sports Network.
Game One – Alabama State 2, Mississippi Valley State 0
After giving up a pair of first inning walks, Wilder settled down and retired 20 batters in a row before Jeremiah Barr reached on a walk with one out in the eighth inning. The no-hit bid was broken up by Marshall Parrish in the same inning with one out, before Wilder was able to get out of a jam with a pair of runners on.
Wilder (1-3) went into the ninth before giving way to
Terrell McCall, who needed just three pitches to record a strikeout of Wendell Rieves to end the game for his third save of the season.
Alabama State (13-12, 7-4 SWAC) used a pair of runs in the first inning to record the victory. A one-out single from
Cage Cox started the inning, before he went to second on a double by Chris Lewis to right. The sophomore would score on a
Gustavo Rios ground ball to third with one out, before
Ray Hernandez drove home Lewis for the two-run lead.
Game Two – Mississippi Valley State 10, Alabama State 7
Mississippi Valley State (7-18, 6-5 SWAC) was able to get to previously unbeaten
Darrius Wright in the fifth inning to take a seven-run lead. The Delta Devils used four runs in the first batters to chase Wright (4-1) who ended the night with 4.2 innings pitched for the Hornets.
Chase Laney was able to come on for Alabama State and keep Mississippi Valley State at bay to give the Hornets a chance in the nightcap.
Trailing 10-3 heading into the eighth inning, Alabama State responded for four in the inning to trim the deficit to 10-7. After a leadoff walk to
Hunter Allen, the senior moved to second on a one-out single by
Noel Cheneau. After a strikeout, the Hornets were down to their last out trailing by four in the inning, and they responded as
Joseph Estrada was hit by a pitch to load the bases. They used RBIs from
Joshua Dunson – who worked a 10-pitch at-bat into a walk – Hernandez and Santiago Garcia to keep the inning alive. The inning ended when
Gustavo Rios barreled a ball to second, but right into the glove of second baseman JanCarlos Aponte.
The Hornets rallied again in the ninth down three as Allen reached on a leadoff single off reliever Aaron Barkley.
Yamil Pagan forced a decision as he chopped the ball back to Barkley, who turned and threw into centerfield to put runners on first and second with nobody out. After a strikeout, pinch hitter
Ricky Perez was hit by a pitch to load the bases; however, a double play ended the game for the Hornets.
In the nightcap, five players picked up multiple hits as the Hornets pounded out 17 hits in the loss. Hernandez, Garcia and Cheneau each finished the nightcap with three hits each.
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