The Morehouse College Maroon Tigers defeated Tuskegee University Golden Tigers 3-2 on Saturday. Tuskegee entered the game ranked number six in the HBCU Baseball Poll for the small school division. Tuskegee drops to 11-11 on the year, while Morehouse improved its record to 5-13.
The game was marred by poor defensive play by each team, but showcased outstanding pitching from both pitching staffs.
Daron Bowling, a junior from Cincinnati, Ohio started the game for Morehouse. The southpaw pitched 4 2/3 innings before leaving the game with a strained muscle in his pitching arm. Bowling surrendered two unearned runs on two hits. He struck out 6 batters.
Bowling left the game knotted up at 2-2. Anthony Dodd, a junior who attended Creekside High School in Fairburn, Georgia held Tuskegee at bay for 4 1/3 innings to pick up his first collegiate win. Dodd struck out five and gave up two hits.
After trailing most of the game 2-0, Tuskegee tied it in the 5th inning on a single by Ricky Green which drove in Doug Johnson. Green later scored on an error.
Trey Nelson was equally superb on the mound for Tuskegee. He pitched well enough to win. Nelson went the distance striking out 4 and giving up 2 earned runs. The winning run was scored on a throwing error by Tuskegee’s catcher, Matthew Reed in the eighth inning.
Tuskegee’s coach Reginald Hollins was not pleased with the defensive performance from his squad. Hollins said “it was a poorly played game on both sides.” Tuskegee committed four errors and Morehouse had three miscues.
“Pitching has been our strength all year and we got good pitching today,” said Coach Robert Mitchell of Morehouse.
The win puts Morehouse atop the SIAC standings. The two schools will play a double-hitter tomorrow at Perkerson Park in Atlanta.
Harold Michael Harvey is an American novelist and essayist, the author of Paper puzzle and Justice in the Round, Easier to obtain Than to Maintain: The Globalization of Civil Rights by Charles Steele, Jr.; and the host of Beyond the Law with Harold Michael Harvey. He can be contacted at haroldmichaelharvey.com.