JACKSONVILLE, Ala. | Alabama State dropped a pair of games in the Jacksonville State Round Robin Tournament by identical scores Saturday to open the 2021 season.
Jacksonville State 5, Alabama State 3
Despite jumping on the board first in their season opener, Alabama State gave up a pair of runs in the second and two more in the seventh to fall to Jacksonville State Saturday afternoon.
AJ Gardner got the Hornets on the board to start in the second, driving in
Santiago Garcia with a single to left center to give Alabama State a 1-0 lead. After Jacksonville State (1-1) put two on the board in the second, the Hornets answered back in the fourth on another Gardner single that scored
Trenton Jamison and tied the game at 2-all.
Jacksonville State added another run in the fourth and two in the seventh to extend the lead to 5-2 before
Jabronski Williams hit his first home run of the season to right center in the top of the eighth inning for the final margin.
Gardner picked up a pair of hits for Alabama State who was held to six total hits by three Gamecocks pitchers. Alex Luigs (1-0) picked up the win for Jacksonville State, working 3.0 innings and striking out six, while Corley Woods picked up his first save of the year with 2.0 innings of work.
Ricardo Rivera (0-1) suffered the loss for the Hornets in relief of starter
Jacknell Guzman, working 3.1 innings and allowing two runs off of one hit while walking a pair.
Tennessee Tech 5, Alabama State 3
The Hornets jumped on top early but couldn't hold the lead as Tennessee Tech scored a pair of runs in the seventh and eighth innings to come from behind for the win in the nightcap.
Alabama State used a double from Garcia in the first to score Jamison for the 1-0 lead, before
Cameron Hearn singled in Gardner in the second for the 2-0 lead. Tennessee Tech was able to trim the deficit to 2-1, before Jamison hit his first home run of the season in the seventh inning to extend the lead to 3-1.
However, Tennessee Tech used a hit by pitch with the bases loaded and a fielder's choice in the seventh to tie the game at 3-all. They would add two more in the eighth for the final margin on a double and single to left.
Jamison and Garcia each picked up two hits in the nightcap, each driving in a run.
Breon Pooler worked 5.0 innings in his first start of the season, giving up just one run (unearned) off of one hit and struck out six.
Britt Buckelew suffered the loss in relief, working 2.0 innings and allowing a pair of runs off of three hits with a pair of strikeouts.
Alabama State returns to action at Jim Case Stadium at 10 am Sunday morning in their final game of the round robin tournament, facing Southern Illinois.
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