DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. | Alabama State used some late-inning heroics to force extra innings at the Jackie Robinson Ballpark, before falling 5-4 in 11 innings to Bethune-Cookman on Friday night. The Wildcats were able to load the bases before Franki Febles was hit by a pitch to bring in the winning run and walk off the Hornets.
Trailing by one in the ninth,
Dilan Espinal (Canovanas, PR) connected on his first career home run to tie things up before the Wildcats were able to win it in the 11th.
Ian Matos (Toa Alta, PR) led Alabama State at the plate by going 2-for-5 with a run scored, while eight other Hornets picked up a hit in the loss.
Alabama State (11-11, 3-1 SWAC) fell behind early before coming back to take the lead in the fourth inning before a pair of sacrifice flies and a fielding error led to three Bethune-Cookman (9-12, 4-0 SWAC) runs and helped the Wildcats retake the lead.
Breon Pooler (Huntsville, Ala.), one of three pitchers used on the night by the Hornets, got his first road start in conference play on the season and did not factor into the decision. He went 6.0 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits with three strikeouts. He gave way to
Payton Harris (Hattiesburg, Miss.) who went 4.1 innings allowing one run on one hit, before
Luis Rodriguez (Canovanas, PR) came in for 0.1 innings and gave up the winning run that would be charged to Harris (0-3).
How It Happened
- B2 | Febles singled to center to drive home Manny Souffrain with the game's first run (1-0, Bethune-Cookman).
- T4 | Alabama State got on the board with a two-run single from Trenton Jamison (Atlanta, Ga.) to score Christian Lopez (San Diego, Calif.) and Hunter May (Slidell, La.) to give Alabama State the lead (2-1, Alabama State).
- B5 | The Wildcats used a pair of sacrifice flies to get a pair of runs in the inning and retake the lead (3-2, Bethune-Cookman).
- B6 | Bethune-Cookman took advantage of a fielding error to extend the lead (4-2. Bethune-Cookman).
- T7 | Matos scored after a pair of errors on a ball put in play by Chris Lewis (Alabaster, Ala.) to chip away at the lead (4-3, Alabama State).
- T9 | The Hornets tied things up in the inning with a solo shot by Espinal– his first career home run (4-4).
- B11 | Febles was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in the winning run (5-4, Bethune-Cookman).
Up Next
The two teams meet in game two of the series at the Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Saturday with the first pitch scheduled for 6 pm (ET)/5 pm (CT). Freshman righthander
Kyler McIntosh (Columbus, Ind.) will get the ball for the second game of the series.
Follow the Hornets
For complete coverage of Alabama State University baseball, follow the Hornets on social media @BamaStateBB (Twitter), /BamaStateSports (Facebook), @BamaStateSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Alabama State athletics at BamaStateSports.com.
