UAPB Baseball Sweeps Alcorn St. In Doubleheader
LORMAN, MS —The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff baseball team rallied from down 13-11 in the seventh inning to defeat the Alcorn State Braves 15-13 Saturday.
Sophomore Peyton Niemann picked up the victory out of the bullpen for UAPB. Niemann went 2.2 innings, giving up two runs, zero earned, on four hits, allowing two walks and striking out two. Junior Andre Green also made an impact on the mound for the Golden Lions, starting the ballgame and throwing two scoreless innings while allowing no hits, with two walks and three strikeouts.
Offensively, the Golden Lions were led by freshman Carlos Velez, who went 3-for-4 on the day with two doubles, a triple, two walks and two RBI. Senior Kacy Higgins put together a noteworthy effort as well, going 3-for-6 with two doubles and four RBI. Junior Brandon Simon also contributed for UAPB, putting together three hits in five trips to the plate while adding a double, a walk and two RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Golden Lions scored in six different innings on the way to victory. After holding the lead three different times earlier in the ballgame, UAPB broke a 13-13 tie and took the lead for good at 15-13 in the eighth inning The big hit for the Golden Lions in the inning was a two-run double off the bat of Higgins.
GAME NOTES
» The Golden Lions had three players put together games with multiple extra-base hits.
» Higgins drove in four runs for UAPB.
» Every UAPB starter reached base safely in the win.
» Six Golden Lions had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Golden Lions had a total of 15 hits.
» The Golden Lions out-hit the Braves at a 15-14 clip.
» Velez led the Golden Lions at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and two RBI.
GAME 2 | UAPB 9, Alcorn State 4
LORMAN, Miss. —Sophomore Edwin De La Cruz collected four hits to help power the Golden Lions over the Alcorn State Braves 9-4 in game two doubleheader.
Sophomore Damon Elarton started on the mound and picked up the win for UAPB. The right-hander went six innings, giving up one run on six hits, allowing two walks and striking out seven.
In addition to his four hits, De La Cruz had a double, a home run and an RBI to lead the Golden Lions. Simon compiled a noteworthy performance at the plate as well, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Velez also helped out for UAPB, putting together two hits in five trips to the plate while adding a triple and two RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Golden Lions put runs on the scoreboard first, starting the scoring in the second inning. UAPB scored twice in the inning, including one on a solo shot from Simon.
The Braves then gained ground, narrowing the lead to 2-1 until the Golden Lions expanded their advantage in the eighth. UAPB scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Simon, which brought the score to 3-1 in favor of the Golden Lions.
Alcorn State narrowed UAPB’s lead to 3-2 before the Golden Lions stretched the advantage to 9-2 in the ninth inning. The Golden Lions hit two home runs in the inning on the way to scoring six runs. Alcorn State put two runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but UAPB still coasted to the 9-4 win.
GAME NOTES
» Elarton struck out seven Braves hitters.
» The Golden Lions power output was led by De La Cruz, who had two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» The Golden Lions had control of the rest of the game after jumping ahead of the Braves 2-0 in the top of the second.
» Four Golden Lions had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» UAPB hitters hit three homers in the ballgame.
» The Golden Lions had a total of 15 hits.
» De La Cruz led the Golden Lions at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and an RBI.
