Alabama State baseball exits SWAC Tournament in extra innings
Alabama Stateโs hopes of earning an NCAA Tournament bid came to an end Thursday after falling to Bethune-Cookman 8-7 in 10 innings at historic Rickwood Field in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Hornets finished their season with a 31-29 record after winning their first game of the day against Jackson State 5-3 before dropping the elimination game to the Wildcats.
Game 1: Alabama State 5, Jackson State 3
Alabama State stayed alive in the tournament with a comeback victory over Jackson State in their morning matchup.
The game remained scoreless through two innings before the Hornets broke through in the third. Juan Cruz lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in the gameโs first run, giving Alabama State a 1-0 lead.
The Hornets extended their advantage on the next at-bat when Kameron Douglas connected on a solo home run to straightaway center field, putting Alabama State ahead 2-0.
Jackson State tied the game in the fifth inning, but Alabama State regained the lead in the sixth when Cruz delivered an RBI single for the go-ahead run.
The Hornets held on for the 5-3 victory, setting up a rematch with Bethune-Cookman.
Game 2: Bethune-Cookman 8, Alabama State 7 (10 innings)
In their second game of the day, Alabama State faced Bethune-Cookman, the same team that had defeated them earlier in the tournament.
The Hornets took a two-run lead in the third inning when Douglas hit his second home run of the day, putting Alabama State in control early.
Bethune-Cookman responded in the seventh inning when Jorge Rodriguez cleared the bases, giving the Wildcats a 5-3 advantage.
Alabama State answered in the eighth inning as DeMarkus Smiley drove a ball down the first-base line to help the Hornets reclaim the lead.
The back-and-forth battle continued into extra innings, where Bethune-Cookman finally broke through in the 10th inning for the 8-7 victory, eliminating Alabama State from the tournament.
Alabama State Baseball Head Coach Jose Vasquez:
โThe goal is to put ourselves in a situation to get to the championship game, to hopefully win the conference tournament, which is really what gives you the opportunity to play in the NCAA regional, and we just fell short from that goal,โ Alabama State head coach Jose Vazquez said. โBut it just fires me up, and I know it fires our staff, to obviously get on the recruiting trail and just look for those missing pieces.โ
With the loss, Alabama Stateโs season comes to an end, while Bethune-Cookman advances in the SWAC Tournament.
