Final Boxscore
SHREVEPORT, La. – In a game that didn’t end until close to 2 a.m. Thursday morning, the Alabama State University baseball team rallied for four runs in the final two innings en route to a 7-4 upset of top-seeded Texas Southern in the opening round of the 2010 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament at Fairgrounds Field.
ASU (13-26) and TSU were originally scheduled for a 6 p.m., first pitch Wednesday, but rain in the Shreveport area caused delays for earlier games in the SWAC Tournament forcing a 9:55 p.m. start for the contest.
After the long wait, Bama State jumped on the board quickly plating a run in the first inning. Quentin Johnson singled to open the game, stole second and moved to third on TSU fielding error. Ron James followed with an RBI-single to center.
The Tigers evened the score in the second with a run against ASU starter Anthony Ricciardi, but Devin Dominguez came in and worked out of bases-loaded jam to keep the score tied, 1-1. Dominguez then worked four strong innings of relief before surrendering a pair of runs in the seventh. His line for the day included six innings of work, five hits allowed and five strikeouts.
The Hornets took a 2-1 lead in the fifth after Josue Quinones tripled and came home on a single by Johnson. ASU pushed its advantage to 3-1 an inning later as Nykellan Isaac drove in James.
Texas Southern fought back with a two-run seventh that evened the score, 3-3, but ASU answered with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to regain the lead. Lloyd Kelly delivered an RBI-double and Kejuan Riley pushed the other run across the plate with an infield single.
The Tigers responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame. However, the Hornets capitalized on two errors and a pair of wild pitches in the ninth inning adding a pair of insurance runs for the final margin.
Jourdan Mims picked up the save after keeping the bases-loaded in a scoreless bottom of the ninth.
Johnson, James and Riley each collected two hits to lead a balanced ASU offensive attack.
Bama State advances in the winners’ bracket and next faces Grambling State Thursday at 6 p.m. Texas Southern and Mississippi Valley meet in an elimination game at Noon. Other games Thursday at the SWAC Tournament include Southern-Jackson State (9 a.m.) and Alcorn-UAPB (3 p.m.)