TALLADEGA, Ala. - Talladega College baseball won its first conference weekend series as a member of the Southern States Athletic Conference with a 2-1 weekend against the University of Mobile. Talladega used a pair of ninth-inning, walk-off finishes to defeat Mobile 12-11 on Friday in its SSAC debut, and then beat the Rams, 16-15, in Game 1 on Saturday. Mobile closed the weekend with a 23-3 win in the final game. Dega is now 8-5 at home.
Wander Arias hit .500 (5-for-8) with two walks, eight runs, and eight RBI to lead Talladega through the three-game series. Adriel Acevedo hit .700 (7-for-10) with a walk, four runs scored and three RBI to lead Talladega in hits, followed by Miguel Oropeza, who hit 6-for-9 (.667) with two walks, three runs scored, and two RBI.
Wendy Senvil recorded both wins in relief, pitching one and two-thirds innings in each game. He allowed one run, two hits, four walks, and struck out four in his two outings.
Oropeza is hitting .468 through with 18 RBI the first 20 games to lead Talladega, with Santiago hitting .426 with 20 RBI and Jan Rivera hitting .421 with 10 RBI.
GAME 1: Talladega 12, Mobile 11
On Friday, Mobile took an early 5-0 lead, but Talladega chipped away at the Rams' lead scoring two runs in each the second, third, and fourth innings to tie the game, 6-6, with a 2-run home run by Jeffery Roldan. Mobile added a run in the fifth and sixth innings to retake an 8-6 lead, but the Tornadoes took their first-ever lead in an SSAC game, 10-8, with a pair of sixth-inning, two-run home runs by Wander Arias and Jose Santiago. Once again, the Rams charged back, scoring three in the top of the seventh to go up 11-10. Miguel Oropeza tripled in a run in the seventh to score Jahlr Cruz and even the score. Oropeza was the hero in the ninth, hitting an RBI single to center to drive home Barry Rincon for the walk-off win.
GAME 2: Talladega 16, Mobile 15
Early Saturday afternoon, Santiago hit a two-run home run to left field for the walk-off win, 16-15. Santiago hit 2-for-3 in the game with three RBI and two runs scored. Arias accounted for more than half of the Tornadoes' runs in the game, scoring four times and driving in five runs while hitting 2-for-4 with a walk. Arias put Talladega on the board with a two-run double in the first inning to answer Mobile's three-run first inning. Adriel Acevedo, who hit 4-for-4 in the game, followed with a two-run home run to left to give Talladega a 4-3 lead.
Mobile scored seven runs in the top of the second inning, but the Tornadoes did not fade. Rincon singled in two runs, and then scored on an error. Rivera followed with an RBI single to make it 10-8 through three innings. In the fourth, Santiago walked in a run to pull Talladega within one run, 11-10.
Arias regained Talldega's lead in the fifth inning with a three-run double and Acevedo added an RBI single to push Talledega's lead to 13-10 through five innings. Trevor Wells, who hit a three-run home run in the first inning, hit a grand slam for Mobile in the sixth inning to give the Rams a 14-13 lead. Roldan tied it in the bottom of the sixth with a sac fly, but Mobile regained its lead in the top of the seventh, 15-14, setting up the walk-off scenario.
GAME 3: Mobile 23, Talladega 3
All three Talladega runs came in the fourth inning after Mobile took a 10-0 lead. Acevado doubled to left-center to drive in Talladega's first run, and then Santiago, who hit 2-for-3 to lead Talladega, drove home two runs in the fourth inning with a triple to right-center. Oropeza and Arias also had a hit in the game. Jordan New was charged with the loss, allowing five runs, two earned, off three hits, and three walks in the first inning.
NEXT: Talladega (10-10, 2-1 SSAC) will travel to Point University for a non-conference game Tuesday at 3 p.m. before traveling to Tuscaloosa next weekend, March 11-12, for a three-game series against Stillman College. A single game will be played Friday at 2 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday at noon. Prior to the Saturday doubleheader, Major League Baseball will host a PLAY BALL event next to the Stillman College baseball field to introduce baseball/softball fundamentals to children, ages 5-12. The free event, which begins at 10:30 a.m., will include lunch and all participants will receive a T-shirt, wristband, bat, and ball to take home. On-site registration begins at 9:45 a.m.
