TALLADEGA, Ala. – The Stillman College baseball team suffered a doubleheader defeat at the hands of the Talladega College Tornadoes on Saturday in HBCU Athletic Conference action. Dega won the first game 13-4 and the second, 6-2.
Following the results of the Stillman-Talladega series, the Tigers will be the second seed in the East Division heading into the Hope Credit Union HBCUAC Championship Tournament.
Game 1 — Talladega 13, Stillman 4
Talladega jumped on Stillman early and never let up, building a large lead before the Tigers showed late life.
The Tornadoes struck quickly in the first with a two-run home run and an RBI single to take a 3-0 lead. Dega continued to apply pressure in the second, stringing together hits to plate four more runs and extend the margin to 7-0.
The deficit grew in the third when Talladega added three more runs on another home run, pushing the lead to 10-0. Two sacrifice flies in the fifth stretched the advantage to 12-0.
Stillman answered in the sixth with its best offensive stretch of the game.
Kane Shellhouse and Sincere Ford both scored on
Robert Gage's two-run triple to get the Tigers on the board. Gage later scored on
Tory Huddleston's RBI single, and Huddleston came home on
Matthew Rivers' RBI double to cut the deficit to 12-4.
Talladega responded with another run in the bottom of the inning to close the scoring at 13-4.
Gage led Stillman offensively with a triple and two RBIs, while Huddleston and Rivers each drove in a run during the sixth-inning rally.
On the mound,
John Roland took the loss after allowing 10 runs over four innings.
Tristen Henry worked in relief to finish the game.
Game 2 — Talladega 6, Stillman 2
Stillman struck first but couldn't hold the lead as Talladega used a mid-game surge to secure the sweep.
The Tigers opened the scoring in the second when
Emile Butler came around to score on
Daniel Salter's RBI single, giving Stillman a 1-0 lead.
Talladega answered in the bottom of the inning, tying the game on an RBI single. After a quiet stretch, the Tornadoes broke through in the fifth with a two-run single and capitalized on defensive miscues to score two additional unearned runs, taking a 4-1 lead.
Dega added two more runs in the sixth on an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to extend the advantage to 6-1.
Stillman pushed across a run in the seventh when Sincere Ford scored on
Robert Gage's RBI single, but the rally stalled, leaving the final margin at 6-2.
Gage and Salter each recorded RBIs for Stillman, while Ford scored once and added a hit.
Stillman showed some aggressiveness on the bases, with stolen bases from
Emile Butler and
Javian Rives, though the Tigers were also caught stealing once.
On the mound,
Caleb Vallejo provided a solid start, allowing just one run over three innings.
Jonathan Phillips took the loss in relief, with
Justice Baldwin closing out the game.
Up Next:
The Tigers wrap the regular season on Tuesday against the United States Sports University with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
