JACKSON, Miss. | Alabama State scored early against Jackson State Saturday afternoon and used a quality start from senior Darren Kelly, rebounding with a 9-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victory over Jackson State.

Alabama State (12-12, 7-3 SWAC) used a leadoff single from Yamil Pagan to set the stage for the entire contest, with the senior scoring two batters later on an RBI groundout from Cameron Hearn for the 1-0 lead. The Hornets added to that lead in the second with three more runs after a pair of batters were hit by a pitch. After Chris Lewis scored on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead, the Hornets added two more on a two-run single by Pagan for the 4-0 lead.

Jackson State answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the third inning, before Alabama State scored another in the fourth on the first collegiate home run off the bat of Hunter May to push the lead to 5-1. The lead grew to 7-1 when the Hornets added two more in the eighth on a wild pitch to score Noel Cheneau, and an RBI double by Angel Jimenez.

Alabama State added two more in the ninth when Cheneau drove in Pagan and Eriq White who had singled earlier for the final margin.

Darren Kelly (3-1) logged 8.0 innings on the mound for Alabama State, allowing just one run (earned) off of four hits. The senior walked just one and struck out seven in his longest outing of the year, as he is still being monitored on a pitch count after Tommy John surgery last season.

Pagan led the Alabama State attack as he finished 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and a pair of runs batted in. Cheneau picked up a pair of hits, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of runs batted in; while May finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored for the Hornets.

The two teams conclude the series with the third and final game at 1 pm Sunday at Braddy Field, with the game being carried on the Hornet Sports Network beginning at 12:45 pm with the pregame show.

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