For the second straight day, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff needed just seven innings to put Alcorn State away on the baseball diamond.
UAPB defeated the Braves 14-2 in seven innings on Sunday to sweep the three-game series at the Torii Hunter Baseball Complex.
UAPB (13-17, 7-2 SWAC) scored two runs in every inning except the fifth, in which the Golden Lions scored four. UAPB tallied 14 hits while drawing eight walks and striking out four times.
For the second straight day, UAPB got its leadoff hitter on base in every inning. Lions Coach Logan Stout said getting the leadoff man aboard gives the Golden Lions opportunities to execute their offense.
“You look at (Lazaro Alvarado’s) hit and run, you look at the bunts that we were able to execute,” Stout said. “You look at all the different things that we’re able to do when the leadoff guy gets on. When the leadoff guy doesn’t get on, you’re kind of handcuffed, right, because you only have two outs to play with.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Golden Lions trailed 2-0 midway through the first inning but tied the game in the bottom half. Leadoff hitter Jose Vasquez reached base to lead off for the fourth straight game and later scored on an RBI single by right fielder Blake Coleman. Third baseman Zach Wieder scored the tying run on a passed ball.
Catcher Vinny Saumell gave UAPB the lead with a sacrifice fly in the second inning, and UAPB led the rest of the game. The hit and run Stout referred to came in the third when Aaron Grant sprinted toward second, drawing Alcorn shortstop Asher Friedman toward the base as Alvarado hit a ground ball to the spot Friedman had just vacated. Both went on to score in the inning.
Coleman hit his third home run of the season in the fifth inning, a two-out, two-run shot to left field which made it a 12-2 game at the time.
Wieder led the team with four RBI and three runs after hitting 3 for 3 and walking twice. Coleman added three RBI and Vasquez drove in two. Every UAPB hitter reached base at least once.
Sunday’s run-rule victory came one day after an 18-2 run-rule win on Saturday. Wieder said the team made sure not to take Alcorn State (7-22, 1-8) lightly on Sunday despite having already won the series.
“That’s what we talked about a lot this weekend was keeping the same energy throughout the weekend,” Wieder said. “Sometimes, energy can be tough in a long season, especially (when) we’re at the halfway point. Keeping the energy is big for us, so that’s one thing we’ve really hit on the head is just keep the energy throughout the weekend.”
UAPB chased Alcorn starter Yoni Castro (0-3) with two outs in the second inning. He allowed four runs, two earned, on two hits and three walks with one strikeout.
Left-handed UAPB starting pitcher Ryland Morin (2-1) gave up a pair of runs in the first inning but settled in afterward. With the aid of a 4-6-3 double play in the fourth inning to erase a leadoff single, Morin faced the minimum in four consecutive innings. The Braves loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth, but Morin got a ground ball to strand the runners.
Morin tied his season high in strikeouts with seven, a mark he hadn’t hit since the opening weekend against Lindenwood. He held Alcorn to two runs on four hits and a walk in six innings before Joe King pitched a clean seventh with two strikeouts.
Stout said Morin was phenomenal.
“If we don’t make an error there, they don’t score in the first,” Stout said. “Ryland’s the real deal. He’s a true three-pitch guy, and I’m extremely proud of him. I feel 100 percent confident every time he steps on the mound, and he proved that today. He’s a great pitcher that makes good hitters not look so good.”
The win completed UAPB’s second sweep across its first three SWAC series and leaves the Golden Lions tied for second in the league.
