Alabama State advances to SWAC Championship to face FAMU
Alabama State is headed to the SWAC Baseball Championship game.
The Hornets powered past Arkansas-Pine Bluff 8-5 late Saturday night at historic Rickwood Field, surviving a lengthy rain delay and riding a five-run fourth inning into the tournament final.
With the win, Alabama State improved to 33-21 overall and advanced to Sunday's SWAC championship game against Florida A&M. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST (1 p.m. CST) on SWAC TV.
Alabama State explodes in fourth inning
The Hornets grabbed an early lead in the first inning when Trey Callaway delivered a two-out RBI single to left field, scoring Breydon Divine to make it 1-0.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff answered in the second inning. Konner Giddley lined an RBI single to left field to score Zyon Hamilton and even the game at 1-1.
Then Alabama State broke things open.
The Hornets erupted for five runs in the fourth inning behind timely hitting and back-to-back home runs. Alex Espaillat started the rally with a double down the right-field line before Fabian Santana drove him home with an RBI single up the middle.
Two batters later, Miguel Oropeza crushed a three-run homer to left field, scoring Divine and Santana to push the lead to 5-1. Niguel Jenkins followed immediately with a solo blast to left, giving Alabama State a commanding 6-1 advantage.
UAPB fights back late
Arkansas-Pine Bluff refused to go quietly.
The Golden Lions trimmed the deficit in the sixth inning when Nick Hockemeyer ripped a two-run single to left field, cutting Alabama State's lead to 6-3.
The Hornets answered again in the seventh inning with insurance runs. Espaillat lifted a sacrifice fly to score Jackson Williams before Santana added another RBI single to extend the lead to 8-3.
UAPB made one final push in the eighth inning. Zach Wieder brought home a run with a sacrifice fly before Aaron Grant added an RBI double to right field to cut the margin to 8-5.
But Alabama State closer James Peterson shut the door in the ninth inning, recording the final three outs for his fourth save of the season.
Rain delay stretches game deep into the night
Saturday's game was interrupted by severe weather after play was suspended at 5:17 p.m. CST.
Action resumed more than three hours later at 8:46 p.m., and the game finally ended at 11:53 p.m. local time at Rickwood Field.
Despite the delay, Alabama State maintained control throughout the night.
Key performers for Alabama State
Oropeza delivered one of the biggest swings of the tournament, finishing 1-for-3 with a three-run home run, two walks and three RBI.
Santana went 2-for-2 with two RBI and a run scored, while Callaway collected two hits and an RBI. Jackson Williams also added two hits and scored twice.
Trey Power earned the win for Alabama State, improving to 7-3 after allowing three runs on 10 hits over 5.2 innings with four strikeouts.
Caio Araujo and Camden Matthews bridged the middle innings before Peterson closed things out.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff finished with 12 hits in the loss, led by Aaron Grant's three-hit performance. The Golden Lions ended their season at 25-34 overall after an impressive tournament run that included two wins over top-seeded Bethune-Cookman.
SWAC championship matchup set
The victory sets up a championship showdown between Alabama State and Florida A&M on Sunday afternoon.
Florida A&M advanced earlier Saturday after defeating Southern 5-1 to reach the title game.
The Hornets now sit one win away from a SWAC Tournament championship after surviving one of the wildest weather-filled weekends of the college baseball postseason.
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This story was originally published May 24, 2026 at 9:28 AM.