De Leon Makes History Thursday Afternoon

History was made at MacGregor Park on Thursday but TSU finished on the wrong end of the scoreboard as Alcorn State claimed a 5-4 extra inning win.
 
ASU jumped ahead early as leadoff batter Tyler Daniels tripled and scored on an RBI single by Jaylon Lucky.
 
TSU starter Abraham De Leon made history in the second inning as he became TSU's all-time single season strikeout leader as his two strikeouts sparked a quick 1-2-3 inning. ASU moved ahead 2-0 in the third as Daniels hit an inside the park home run followed by a wild pitch to bring home another run. De Leon would eventually exit with 106 strikeouts on the regular season.
 
TSU jumped on the board in the third as Chase Cromer scored on CJ Castillo's RBI. The Tigers struggled with runners in scoring position throughout the contest as they stranded three runners over the next few innings.
 
ASU upped the margin to 4-1 after a run in the sixth but TSU had some life in the bottom half as they drew three consecutive bases loaded walks to tie it at 4-all. In the seventh, TSU had a shot at a two-run homer but the ASU right fielder scaled the wall to steal Victor Molina's shot.
 
TSU loaded the bases in the eighth but came up empty and had two runners on in the ninth with no outs but couldn't capitalize. ASU led the 10^th off with a leadoff single and added another with one out as TSU intentionally loaded the bases for a force out situation. ASU would eventually hit a sac fly to center for a 5-4 lead.
 
TSU had runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom frame but flied out to end the contest.
 
Cromer and Jeffry Mercado led TSU with two hits while CJ Castillo had two RBI. Josiah Castro dropped to 1-2 despite striking out seven in four innings of relief.
 
The series resumes at 3 p.m. on Friday.