BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | After four hours and 53 minutes,
Christian Lopez (San Diego, Calif.) fielded a ground ball at third, stepped on the bag, and threw across the diamond to complete a double play and send the Alabama State faithful into a celebration with a 6-5 14-inning championship victory over Southern in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play at Regions Field on Sunday.
Alabama State (34-23) and Southern (27-31) swapped the lead throughout the game including in the 13th inning when both teams scored to force the game into the 14th where the Hornets made one more play than Southern. The win clinched the first postseason berth for Alabama State since the 2016 season and the first under head coach
Jose' Vazquez.
Corey King (Lithonia, Ga.) finished the game 3-for-7 with a run scored and an RBI, while
Kyler McIntosh (Columbus, Ind.) finished 2-for-6 with a pair of runs scored and a pair of RBI. Meanwhile,
Jabronski Williams (Troy, Ala.) and
Ian Matos (Toa Alta, PR) each finished 2-for-6
Osvaldo Mendez (Carolina, PR), the last of four pitchers used in the game, picked up the win working the final 2.0 innings and allowing just three walks. He replaced Tournament MVP
Breon Pooler (Huntsville, Ala.) who came in for 5.2 innings of relief.
Joining Pooler on the All-Tournament Team were
Austin King (Fulton, Miss.),
Corey King, and
Hunter May (Slidell, La.).
How It Happened
- T1 | May launched a two-run bomb to left center field to score King who led off for a single for the early lead (2-0, Alabama State).
- B1 | Jaylen Armstrong reached on a lead-off single, moved to third on a fielding error and scored on a wild pitch (2-1, Alabama State).
- B2 | Nathanial Lai led off the inning with a solo shot to center to tie the game on a 1-2 pitch (2-2).
- T3 | McIntosh hit an 0-1 pitch to left for a solo shot (3-2, Alabama State).
- B4 | Tremaine Spears hit a solo shot to left to lead off the inning for Southern (3-3).
- T7 | McIntosh singled to right center to score Matos from third after a lead-off double (4-3, Alabama State).
- B7 | Hunter Tabb singled up the middle to tie things up (4-4).
- T13 | Trenton Jamison (Atlanta, Ga.) reached on an infield error allowing McIntosh to score from third for the lead (5-4, Alabama State).
- B13 | Nava Sanchez grounded into a double play, allowing a run to score (5-5).
- T14 | King doubled home Matos for the winning run (6-5, Alabama State).
Up Next
The Hornets will find out their NCAA regional destination on Monday afternoon. The Selection Show airs at 11 am (CT) on ESPN2.
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.
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