MADISON, Ala. –  The Alcorn State University baseball program ended a seven-year streak in dramatic fashion Thursday afternoon, defeating Alabama State for the first time since 2014 to eliminate the second-seeded Hornets and advance in the SWAC Tournament, 3-2.

The Braves (7-19, 6-16 SWAC) got major contributions from the trio of Tristin Garcia, Kobe Head and Lane Gordon with Tyler Smith and Tyler Daniels playing underrated roles in the win.

Garcia went 3-for-5 with both of the team's RBIs plus adding a double and a stolen base to the ledger as he came through when the Braves needed him most. The second baseman saw his career batting average jump to .379 which is now top-ten on the program's all-time list as well as moving into 38th on the team's hits leaderboard at 114.

Kobe Head put together his best performance of his freshman season tying a season-high with seven superb innings pitched and not walking a single batter for the first time in his career. The right-hander from Monticello, Georgia earned his third win of the campaign to lead the club and did so despite only striking out one batter.

Lane Gordon came out of the bullpen to begin the eighth and brought home the victory, hurling two scoreless frames while allowing just two runners and fanning two others to notch the first save of his Alcorn tenure.

Alabama State (23-19, 14-7 SWAC) received seven of its nine hits from three Hornets batters as Chris Lewis, Santiago Garcia and Dale Francis produced all of the key stats including a solo home run (Garcia), two RBIs (Garcia), a double (Lewis) and a stolen base (Francis).

ASU used three pitchers on the day combining for 12 strikeouts, six hits allowed and just one earned run given up but it was not enough to topple the Braves.

Alcorn State will next face the loser of the Southern vs. Prairie View A&M contest.

About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.
 
Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field and Tennis.
 
Women’s competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball.

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