The No. 2-ranked Jackson State University baseball team picked up a big conference win on the road defeating defending HBCU baseball large school national champion and this year’s pre-season No. 1 Alabama State by the score of 3-2 Saturday.
The top-10 matchup lived up to its billing, with the two teams separated by one run for essentially the entire game. The contest was the second game of the three-game series for the East Division rivals in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
Alabama State (1-7) built up a 2-0 lead on two runs and three hits thanks to a single off the bat of Trent Jamison. Santiago Garcia doubled and on the ensuing throw, Jamison scored for the 1-0 lead. Angel Jimenez singled to left-field scoring Garcia in the bottom of the third inning. Jackson State (5-5) responded with a run of its own in the top of the fifth, but Hornets starter Breon Pooler kept the Tigers off the board to finish the inning.
In the sixth, Chevy Dorris reached base on a throwing error by ASU second baseman Jayden Sloan and advanced to second. A sacrifice fly to right-field moved Dorris to third. Pooler walked Chandler Dillard with two outs and he then stole second base. An outfield error by Alabama State off the bat of Tigers shortstop Wesley Reyes resulted in two runs and the decisive 3-2 win.
At the plate, Jackson State’s Chandler Dillard was 2-for-3 and scored one run, Wesley Reyes had two runs batted in and Marcus Atterberry was 1-for-3 with an RBI. LHP Mario Lopez, (1-0) went the distance for a complete game victory. He gave up two runs, both earned, and nine hits while striking out 10.
Alabama State starter Breton Pooler pitched 5.2 innings and struck out 6 Tiger batters.
It was the second straight game between the two schools decided by one run. Jackson State won the opening game of the series by the score of 8-7. The Tigers go for the sweep in the series finale on Sunday.