Hornets drop Jaguars to advance to tournament final
SWAC.org
Alabama State 9, Southern 7
Box Score
NEW ORLEANS – Alabama State punched its ticket to the 2016 SWAC Baseball Tournament final, staving off Southern 9-7 at Wesley Barrow Stadium to bring the Jaguars’ season to a close.
Similar to the teams’ first meeting earlier in the tournament, Southern jumped on Alabama State for a 3-0 lead thanks to a Robinson Mateo RBI double and a two-run single from Anthony Valdes.
After the Hornets and Jaguars each came up fruitless in bases-loaded situations during the second inning, Dillon Cooper smacked a double to the warning track to hand Alabama State (37-15) its first run of the game during the third inning. An errant throwaway by Southern starter Harold Myles allowed Carlos Ocasio to race home, and a Ray Hernandez delivered a sac fly to score Cooper and tie the game.
Alabama State’s offense continued to produce, as a Hunter Allen RBI single gave the Hornets its first lead of the game. Mateo tied things up in the bottom of the fourth with a RBI single.
The Hornets responded in the fifth with a towering two-run shot from Allen, making the game 6-4. An Ocasio double brought in Yamil Pagan from first, extending the Hornets’ lead to three runs. Back-to-back bases-loaded walks added to ASU’s advantage.
Southern (14-32) was able to add a run in the seventh and had runners on second and third, but a foul out coupled with failed attempt to advance on the bases led to a threat-ending double play. In the next inning, Troy Lewis brought the Jaguars within 9-7 with a two-run shot to left. Southern was able to get two on with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Darren Kelly was able to slam the door on the Jaguars to preserve the win.
ASU will play defending champion Texas Southern in the championship at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 22 on ESPNU.