JACKSON, Miss. – Alabama A&M (1-9, 1-4 SWAC) would be right in the thick of things until a nine run fifth inning put the game out of reach as they fell by a 16-0 score at Jackson State (13-6, 8-1 SWAC) in an NCAA Division I baseball game on Saturday, March 27.
 
The Tigers got on the board early with an RBI double to centerfield by Chenar Brown in the bottom of the first inning before A&M allowed just one more batter to reach over the next two innings. JSU would load the bases in the home half of the fourth with two outs before a single by Chevy Dorris brought home two to push the lead to 3-0.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, things would change dramatically as eight hits, including a three-run homerun by Brown, would lead to nine runs and put Jackson State up by a commanding 12-0 score. They would add four more runs in the sixth behind two hits and a pair of errors to reach the eventual final margin of 16-0.
 
Freshman third baseman Jalen Ford (Birmingham, Ala.) went 3-for-3 with a double to lead the Bulldogs on the offensive side while senior pitcher Michael Hovermill (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) went 4.1 innings, allowing six earned runs and striking out three to fall to 0-2.
 
Brown led the way for the Tigers with a 3-for-5 day that featured a team-high five RBIs to with a pair of runs scored while Dorris was right behind him with four RBIs and a 3-for-4 performance. Jatavious Melton went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a pair of runs to round out the offense and Mario Lopez pitched all seven shutout innings, registering four strikeouts to improve to 2-0 on the year.
 
Alabama A&M wraps up the series with JSU tomorrow, Sunday, March 28 with another matinee. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Braddy Field.