HOUSTON – The Jackson State baseball team scored early, often, and late in beating Mississippi Valley State 14-1 in seven innings on day two of the Houston Astros Cactus Jack HBCU Classic at Minute Maid Park.
Every JSU position player got a hit, led by Ty Hill’s four-hit game with a run scored and two RBI. Jaelen Williams went 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI to help power the 15-hit attack. On the mound, Christian Womble allowed only two hits, one run, walked three, and struck out 11 in six innings.
A pair of two-run doubles by Williams and Caleb Evans, each down the right field line, gave JSU a 4-0 first-inning lead.
In the third, Daniel Bannon was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Marcus Atterberry for a 4-0 lead. After Colby Guy reached on an error scoring Marshal Luiz, Hill and Williams followed with back-to-back infield RBI singles, scoring Jatavis Melton and Bannon, respectively, to give the Tigers an 8-0 lead.
That would be more than enough for Womble. Making his first start for the Tigers, Womble threw 62 of his 100 pitches for strikes, and he struck out two Valley hitters in an inning five times.
Leading 11-0 in the fifth, Jackson State added a trio of runs, all with two outs. Luiz and Melton each walked before Bannon’s two-run double to right-center field increased the lead. Guy’s infield single down the first base line scored Bannon with the final Tigers’ run.
Bannon had two hits, drove in four runs, and scored twice for JSU. Guy drove in three runs, while Luiz and Melton each scored three times.
Courtesy: Jackson State Athletics
