HUNTSVILLE, Ala.| Jeremy Rivera pitched his first complete game, and Trevor Jurjevich led a stellar defensive effort by Alabama State, leading the Hornets to a 4-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victory over Alabama A&M at Bulldog Field Thursday afternoon.

Rivera (6-2) kept Alabama A&M (12-29, 8-10 SWAC) off balance most of the game, allowing a single run in the sixth and another in the seventh. The freshman scattered seven hits in the game, and recorded nine strikeouts with just one walk. The complete game is the first nine-inning complete game thrown by an Alabama State pitcher this season.

Meanwhile, Jurjevich was inserted into the lineup following batting practice due to an injury and responded with six assists defensively in the contest. He also collected his first hit since early March with a single to right field in the ninth inning.

Alabama State (21-16, 15-3 SWAC) stymied the Bulldogs with their defense the entire game, beginning in the first inning when Santiago Garcia retired Jonathon Smith attempting to steal after a strikeout. They were able to wipe another runner off the board in the second when Rivera picked off Tyus O'Neal-El with a throw to first, where Chris Lewis fired to Cristopher DeGuzman for the out.

The Hornets ended four different innings with ground balls, including a double play to Eriq White in the eighth inning to end a rally from Alabama A&M. They used a fly ball three times, and Rivera ended two other innings with strikeouts.

Alabama State got on the board in the second inning, without a hit against Alabama A&M starter Michael Hovermill. Garcia led off the inning reaching on a fielding error by the Bulldogs, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. He would get to third after back-to-back walks to Hunter May and Cameron Hearn loaded the bases with no outs.

Chris Lewis collected the first of his two runs batted in on sacrifice flies in the inning to score Garcia for the 1-0 lead. Cristopher DeGuzman, the next batter in the lineup, drove in pinch runner Angel Jimenez on an RBI groundout for a 2-0 lead.

The Hornets added another run in the sixth on an RBI single by Garcia to score White who reached on a walk, extending the lead to 3-0. They would another run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Lewis to score Hearn after junior singled to left and extended the play to third on an error.

The series continues Friday afternoon at 3 pm at Bulldog Field, and the game will be carried on the Hornet Sports Network beginning with pregame at 2:45 pm.

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