Mississippi Valley State scored in six of nine innings and edged Alcorn State 13-10 Thursday afternoon at Willie E. “Rat” McGowan Stadium. The game was delayed by one hour and nine minutes due to weather.
The Delta Devils (10-18, 6-6 SWAC) took an early lead, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. Cody Leming doubled home Tanner Aoki, and Chris Soeder followed with an RBI double before scoring on a passed ball to give Mississippi Valley State a 3-0 lead.
Alcorn answered in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice fly by Keatan Hawk that scored Kanious Davis. The Braves’ most notable hit came in the fourth inning when Gavin Caston hit a two-run home run to left field. It was the first home run by an Alcorn player at home this season, giving the team a 4-3 lead.
However, the lead was short-lived. Tom Early tripled down the line in left, driving in two runs and putting the Delta Devils back in front, 5-4. Mississippi Valley State extended its advantage to 7-4 in the sixth on a costly inning for Alcorn that involved four errors. The visitors added two more unearned runs to lead 9-5 in the seventh.
Alcorn rallied in the final innings, closing to 13-10 in the ninth on a two-run single by Rayfield Adams III that scored Chase Moore and Nico Garcia. The Delta Devils added an insurance run in the top of the ninth on a Gabe Huelsing single and a fielding error by Alcorn. The Braves stranded two runners to end the game.
Devin Kriley, a freshman for Mississippi Valley State, took the loss, falling to 0-6 after allowing five runs (two earned) over 4.2 innings. Logan Darnell earned the win for the Delta Devils, improving to 2-3 with 3.2 innings of relief.
Alcorn finished with 12 hits but was hampered by four errors and eight walks. Davis led the Braves with a 2-for-5 effort, an RBI, and three stolen bases. Moore went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, while Gavin Caston drove in two runs and scored twice. Adams added two RBIs on the day.
For Mississippi Valley State, Early went 2-for-5 with four RBIs, and Leming finished 3-for-6 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Aoki reached base four times via walk and scored three runs.
Alcorn is scheduled to return to play Tuesday, April 7, when it visits Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi, with a first pitch at 6:30 p.m.
