Alabama A&M Athletics

BATON ROUGE, La. | Tarris Murray belted a solo homer in the top of the ninth inning but the Alabama A&M University baseball team could not hold as Southern scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to pick up a 9-8 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victory on Thursday night from Lee-Hines Stadium.
 
After a scoreless first inning, Southern broke the tie with one run in the bottom of the second to grab an early 1-0 lead.
 
Alabama A&M (10-42 overall, 4-24 SWAC) responded in the third on a two-run homer by Brycen Hammonds to give the Bulldogs the 2-1 advantage.
 
However, the Jaguars quickly answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 4-2 lead.
 
The Bulldogs exploded for four runs in the top of the fifth.
 
With one down in the inning, Devante Wells doubled and advanced to third when Miles Jackson singled. Hammonds followed and drew a walk to load the bases. Murray brought Wells and Jackson across with a single to left. After a double steal, Zak Rice ripped a base hit to right to plate Hammonds and Murray as Alabama A&M grabbed the 6-4 advantage.
 
Southern (25-21, 18-7) picked up one run in the bottom of the frame to close the gap to 6-5, but AAMU answered in the top of the sixth with a run to push the lead to 7-5.
 
The Jaguars loaded the bases in the seventh and plated a pair of runs to tie the game at 7.
 
Alabama A&M broke the tie in the top of the ninth on a solo homer to left by Murray as the Bulldogs grabbed an 8-7 lead.
 
However, Southern rallied with two runs in the bottom of the inning to pick up the 9-8 victory.
 
Rice paced the offense by going 3-for-5, with a pair of RBIs, while Murray was 2-for-5, with three RBIs and two runs scored. Hammonds and Jackson each collected a pair of hits.
 
Raymond Clark started on the bump for the Bulldogs and gave up four runs on two hits, with three strikeouts and two walks in three innings. Evan Hurlburt, Antonio Torres, Bryce Dolce and William Tarpley (0-6) pitched in relief.
 
Bobby Spencer earned the start for the Jaguars and surrendered seven runs on seven hits, fanned three and walked two in 5.1 innings. Genesis Prosper and Caleb Ellis (1-3) worked out of the bullpen.
 
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M continues its three-game SWAC series with Southern on Friday. First pitch against the Jaguars is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Lee-Hines Stadium.
 
For complete coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics – Huntsville's only Division I program - check out the official homepage at www.aamusports.com. Remember to follow us on social media: Instagram (@aamuathletics), Facebook (aamubulldogathletics), Twitter (@_aamuathletics) and TikTok (aamuathletics).
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