LORMAN, Miss. | Grambling State used a balanced offensive attack and timely pitching to earn an 11-4 victory over Alcorn State on Friday afternoon at McGowan Stadium in the sereis opener. With the win, the Tigers improved to 15-25 overall and 12-7 in the SWAC, while Alcorn State fell to 8-34 and 2-17 in conference play. 

After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, Grambling steadily chipped away before breaking the game open in the middle innings. The Tigers finished with 13 hits and scored in six different innings to secure the road win. 

Grambling tied the contest in the fourth inning. Shannon Martin singled to begin the frame and Martavius Thomas followed with a walk. Ryan Davis then dropped down a bunt single to load the bases. Trey Bridges brought home the Tigers' first run on a fielder's choice before Thomas later scored to knot the score at 2-2. 

Alcorn State regained a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth, but Grambling answered immediately in the fifth. Cameron Hill tripled to left center and later scored on Charles Ashe III's RBI single through the left side to tie the game once again at 3-3. 

The Tigers took control in the sixth inning with a four-run outburst. Thomas opened the inning with a double and later scored on Bridges' RBI triple. Hill followed with an RBI double, Aidan Lopez added a run-scoring bunt single, and Julio Vasquez capped the inning with an RBI single to give Grambling a 7-3 advantage. 

Grambling added two more runs in the seventh, taking advantage of an Alcorn State error to stretch the margin to 9-3. The Tigers then closed the scoring in the ninth when Hill blasted a two-run homer to left field, his first home run of the season, pushing the lead to 11-4. 

Hill led the Tigers offensively, going 3-for-6 with a triple, double, home run, three RBIs and three runs scored. Lopez also collected three hits, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Bridges went 1-for-4 with a triple, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Vasquez added three hits and two RBIs. Thomas scored three times and reached base four times. 

On the mound, Keyon Guillory started and worked five innings, allowing three runs on six hits. Hampton Phillips earned the win in relief after tossing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Rafael Capistran handled the final two innings and allowed one run while striking out three. 

Alcorn State was paced by Chase Moore, who went 3-for-4, while Kanious Davis scored twice and tripled for the Braves. 

UP NEXT
In the second game of the day, Grambling State led 10-8 in teh top of the sixth inning before the contest was halted due to rain. The game will resume on Saturday morning ahead of the third and closing game of the series which was initially scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. 

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