For the second straight series, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s ace threw a complete game shutout.
Junior right-handed pitcher Kenney Fabian led UAPB to a 3-0 win against Alabama A&M at the Bulldog Baseball Field in Huntsville, Alabama.
Fabian (6-6) held the Bulldogs to four hits and two walks with six strikeouts, throwing 116 pitches in the process.
The only inning in which he allowed multiple base runners was the bottom of the sixth. Alabama A&M (10-38, 2-25 SWAC) designated hitter Desmore Joseph reached on the only Golden Lion error of the game before first baseman Charles Morris singled, moving Joseph to third. Bulldog shortstop AJ Anderson then grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Fabian’s performance came after pitching a complete game shutout in last weekend’s series opener against Jackson State, a 5-0 Golden Lion win in Pine Bluff.
UAPB (17-32, 15-9) took the lead on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Ben VanMaanen in the top of the first inning, which scored left fielder Gavin Terry.
Center fielder Eli Gries-Smith drove in the other 2 runs on a single in the second and a double in the sixth. He finished 2 for 3. Second baseman Collin McLemore scored on both Gries-Smith hits.
AAMU sophomore left-handed pitcher Raymond Clark (2-7) started for the Bulldogs. He allowed 2 runs, 1 earned, on four hits with five walks and a strikeout in five innings. Reliever Evan Hurlburt allowed the final run during his three two-hit innings, with Bryce Dolce pitching the final frame.
With this win, UAPB has clinched its first trip to the SWAC tournament since 2019.
Friday: UAPB 13, AAMU 7
A trio of hitters had big days to lead the UAPB baseball team to a 13-7 win in Friday’s second game of the series.
Gries-Smith hit 3 for 6 with 5 RBIs. Third baseman Trinidad De La Garza hit 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs, while McLemore hit 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs.
The Golden Lions scored 4 runs in the second inning, then added 2 runs in each of the next three. UAPB finished the game with a 3-run ninth.
Alabama A&M (10-39, 2-26) had four 1-run innings. The Bulldogs’ biggest frame was the bottom of the sixth, when Desmore Joseph hit an RBI single and Charles Morris hit a 2-RBI single.
Most of AAMU’s runs were unearned after a rare six-error performance by UAPB’s defense. Starting pitcher Major Spence allowed 2 runs, 1 earned, in 2.0 innings. Brendan Hamlin (4-5) pitched the middle 4.0 innings and allowed 4 unearned runs before Emerson Lott earned his third save of the year by pitching the final 3.0 innings with 1 earned run.
UAPB battered AAMU starter Nick Espinola (0-10) with 6 runs on seven hits in 3.0 innings. The Golden Lions, who outhit AAMU 15-14, added 5 earned runs and 2 unearned runs against the Bulldog bullpen.
The series finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, and it will be the final regular season game for both teams.