LORMAN, Miss. – Freshman outfielder Janmikell Bastardo (Fort Myers, Fla.) powered a homer and triple as Alabama A&M (7-12, 7-7 SWAC) won their fifth straight as they hammered Alcorn State (6-13, 6-11 SWAC) 12-5 in an NCAA Division I baseball game on Thursday, April 22.
 
That fifth consecutive victory marks the program's longest winning streak in five years, dating back to a stretch of six straight from February 24 through March 7, 2015.
 
Following a scoreless first inning the Bulldogs capitalized on an error and lined a pair of doubles as part of a three-run top of the second that saw senior Brock Mitchell (Brownsboro, Ala.) drive home one and freshman Carlos Mas (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) the other two. Alcorn would come right back in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff single followed by an RBI double left by Edward Jackson to make it 3-1 after two innings.
 
Back-to-back two-base errors by the Braves to start the third set A&M up with their fourth run and a sacrifice fly by sophomore catcher Dillon Roop (New Market, Ala.) made it 5-1.
 
The Bulldogs would be back at it in the top of the fourth as freshman third baseman Jalen Ford (Birmingham, Ala.) drew a leadoff walk and, three batters and two outs later, came around to score when freshman outfielder Janmikell Bastardo (Fort Myers, Fla.) ripped a triple to the right centerfield gap to push to a five-run advantage.
 
Down but not out, Alcorn answered back in the home half of the inning with a single and double that put runners in scoring position at second and third. Following a popout, Tyler Smith laced a double to right to score both runs but would help to put down the rally as he was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple. Hope of any more runs in the inning then died with a Braves strikeout to leave it at 6-3.
 
Consecutive walks to start the fifth once again put A&M in good position and they would again come through following a pair of outs as shortstop Trevor Berkemeyer (North Las Vegas, Nev.) singled to right to make it 7-3. He would also tack on a steal before Alcorn got out of the inning to stay within striking distance.
 
Following a fruitless bottom of the fifth, that distance would get even further as Bastardo cranked one out to left to extend to a five-run lead before a single and a steal made it so freshman catcher Dylan Hall (Elkmont, Ala.) could single home the Bulldogs ninth run.
 
The score would stay at 9-3 until the bottom of the seventh when the Braves opened the frame with a single and a walk before Kyle Jenkins hammered a ball to the right centerfield gap that went for a triple and brought home both runners to cut it to 9-5.
 
Still holding that four-run margin entering the top of the ninth, Alabama A&M benefitted from a one out hit by pitch and walk, followed by a wild pitch that put runners on second and third. Bastardo then came through with a sac fly to push back to a five-run lead before Roop struck again, this time with a double to right that stretched to a 12-5 margin, one that the Bulldogs would make a final with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth minutes later.
 
Bastardo led the way for A&M as he went 2-for-5 with a triple, homerun, three RBIs and a pair of runs scored while Roop was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. They were joined by Mas with a double and a pair of runs driven in solo RBIs by Berkemeyer, Mitchell and Hall. The latter went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs on the day.
 
Junior pitcher Jose Figueroa (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) started and went six innings, allowing four earned runs  while striking out 11 to get the win and move to 4-2 on the year. Taking care of business on the backend was junior pitcher Josue Torres (Cidra, Puerto Rico) who handled the final three innings, allowing just one run and a pair of hits to pick up the three-inning save (1).
 
Jenkins laced a two-run triple to pace Alcorn State while Smith was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored and Jackson was 2-for-4 with the other RBI. Jarius Colley added a 2-for-4 day with a pair of runs scored and Kobe Head threw four innings, surrendering six runs – but just one earned – to suffer the loss and fall to 2-4.
 
With impending severe weather moving into the area this weekend, the series schedule has been adjusted and will now conclude with a doubleheader tomorrow, Friday, April 23. Game 1 is slated to be a regular nine inning affair with first pitch at noon and will be followed by a seven-inning series finale approximately a half hour later.