Southern baseball is no stranger to comebacks.
But against the last-place team in the Southwestern Athletic Conference on Friday night, the Jaguars didn't have enough in the tank.
Alcorn State beat Southern 11-7 in the opener of a three-game series on Friday at Lee-Hines Field. The Braves (5-25, 1-12 SWAC) earned their first win in the SWAC behind 13 hits.
The Jaguars' bats eventually heated up after a cold stretch in the middle of the contest, but their defense didn’t hold up.
Southern coach Chris Crenshaw was disappointed with his team's play.Â
"Nothing went right," Crenshaw said when asked what went led to the defeat. "Throw the record out the window. Got to show up to play. They ain't show up to play. This what happens, get embarrassed."
Southern (13-19, 5-8) started the contest with a 1-2-3 inning led by starting left-handed pitcher Ranard Grace. The redshirt junior struck out four and allowed eight hits in six innings.
In the bottom of the first inning, left fielder Cardell Thibodeaux drilled a two-run home run to get Southern on the scoreboard. The junior entered leading the SWAC in batting average (.485) and is second in home runs (12).
In the top of the second inning, Alcorn responded with three runs. Alcorn shortstop Samuel Leonard had a two-run double. The third score came thanks to Reyfield Adams, who also had an RBI double. There was also an error from Southern to help fuel the inning.
The Jaguars were unable to reply with a run after they had the bases loaded with two outs. Thibodeaux was up to bat and couldn’t deliver another hit.
Alcorn tacked on three more runs for a 6-2 lead in the third inning. First baseman Kalum Banks hammered a two-run home run with nobody out. Leonard had an RBI single afterward.
In the fourth inning, the Jaguars loaded the bases after Jacoby Radcliffe was hit by a pitch, and Taj Bates and KJ White were walked. Thibodeaux had an RBI single to cut the deficit to three.
Southern kept Alcorn scoreless for a third consecutive inning in the fifth. Grace struck out three batters in the frame.
Alcorn’s next score was due to a misconnection between Grace and catcher Dominic Joseph, who had a pitch get past him. With two outs, Alcorn’s runner on third reached home plate to give the Braves a 7-3 lead.
Southern shortstop Benny Bikar successfully stole home to tack on a run in the sixth inning.
Sophomore righty pitcher Peyton Huff replaced Grace in the top of the seventh inning. After the sophomore struck out the first batter, he walked the next two.
The Braves were also the most daring in stealing bases. Alcorn pinch-hitter Jermel Ford drove in a run with a bloop single. He then stole second and third base. He reached home to give his team a 9-4 lead after a successful bunt by Alcorn third baseman Ty Boze.
The Southern bats remained cool in the seventh inning, not earning a hit after Alcorn brought in right-handed pitcher Edwin Guzman.
With two outs in the eighth inning, Bates drilled a long ball for Southern, his ninth home run of the season, to drive in two runs. Southern added one more run but was scoreless in the ninth after Alcorn tacked on two more runs.
Crenshaw said he plans on making changes in the lineup since his team hasn't won a series opening game since Feb. 28.Â
"The season is on the line every game going forward," Crenshaw said. "That's how I'm (going to) treat it. If they don't like it, I don't know what I could tell them."
Southern’s next game is Saturday at 3 p.m. against Alcorn State at Lee-Hines Field.
