NEW ORLEANS, La. | Hunter May doubled home
Santiago Garcia with the winning run in bottom of the 12th inning, lifting Alabama State to a 10-9 victory over Prairie View A&M on day two of the Andre Dawson MLB Classic late Saturday night.
Alabama State (2-0), playing at Maestri Field for the second consecutive day, battled back twice on the night late with two outs in the inning. After a leadoff single by Garcia in the 12th inning, the Hornets were down to their last out of the inning after a fly out and ground out. However, after a
Trevor Jurjevich two-out walk, May doubled to center to plate the winning run.
Garcia led the 13-hit attack for the Hornets as he finished the night 3-for-6 with a pair of runs batted, while three other Hornets –
Yamil Pagan,
Noel Cheneau and
Chris Lewis – recorded a pair of hits each. The Hornets also picked up five extra base hits (three doubles and two triples) on the night. Meanwhile, Alabama State used seven pitchers in the victory with Jurjevich picking up his first career win in relief.
Vital Statistics
WP –
Trevor Jurjevich (1-0) – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER
LP – Cameron Cooper (0-1) – 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER
2B - Demarie Smith; Alex Martinez;
Eriq White;
Santiago Garcia;
Hunter May. 3B - Daniel Lingua; Caleb Gilder;
Yamil Pagan;
Noel Cheneau. HR - Alex Martinez
How it Happened
Alabama State jumped out to a two-run lead in the bottom of the first inning, plating a pair of runs with two outs in the inning. The Hornets used a double by
Santiago Garcia to score Pagan and
Eriq White for the 2-0 lead.
The score stayed that way until Prairie View A&M tied the game in the fourth inning with a pair of runs – before scoring a pair of runs in each the fifth, sixth and seventh to pull ahead 8-6.
Trailing 6-3 heading to the bottom of the sixth inning, the Hornets three runs of the their own before Prairie View A&M pushed the lead to a pair after seven. In the sixth, Alabama State loaded the bases before White delivered a three-run double to tie the contest.
With the Panthers leading 9-6 headed to the bottom of the eighth inning, Alabama State battled back to pull within a run. The Hornets pulled to within 9-7 after
Cameron Hearn was hit by a pitch and stole second, before scoring on a
Noel Cheneau triple. Alabama State pulled to within a run when Cheneau scored on an RBI ground.
The Hornets tied the game in the ninth with two outs when Pagan tripled in pinch runner
Darrius Wright from first to tie the game at 9-all.
Noteworthy
With the two runs scored in the first Saturday night combined with the runs scored in the first against UAPB on Friday, the Hornets put 13 on the board in the opening frame through two games.
Alabama State added a run in the fourth inning to push their fourth inning total number of runs to nine through two games this season.
May recorded his first walk-off RBI of his young career with a double in the bottom of the 12th inning for the Hornets. Meanwhile, Jurjevich recorded his first collegiate victory Saturday night on the mound, pitching a scoreless top of the 12th inning for the Hornets.
Alabama State used 12 position players and eight pitchers (while only seven saw the mound) in the win over Prairie View A&M. The pitcher who did not see time on hill was
Darrius Wright, who was used in a pinch running role to tie the game up.
Darren Kelly made his return to the mound after arm surgery last season, going two innings and not allowing a hit or a run. The redshirt senior struck out three in his time on the mound, throwing 29 pitches.
Eriq White and Garcia combined to drive in five runs in the win.
What's Next
Alabama State concludes play in the Andre Dawson MLB Classic Sunday evening against Grambling State at 5 pm. The game will take place at Wesley Barrow Stadium.
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