Bluefield State Wins HBCU World Series with 5-1 Triumph over Talladega State
May 14—MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Bluefield State wins the Series — again.
Bluefield State University defeated Talladega State 5-1 Saturday, using a 4-run eighth inning rally to capture the Historically Black Colleges and Universities 2024 World Series for the second time in four years. BSU (33-15), completed a record-setting regular season by becoming the first HBCU school to win multiple Series, after a title in 2021.
"There is nothing more fun than having a team exceed expectations and go on to win a Series like this," noted fourth-year head coach Drew Bailey. "Our defense stepped up this year and the pitching was solid. I can't say enough about how our hitters came through all season long."
Princeton native Zach Powell's power pitching, key hits from Peyton Lewis and Tahruan Hammond's clutch relief effort pushed the Big Blue diamond dandies to victory
It was not easy. State loaded the bases in the first but did not score and Talladega took a 1-0 lead in the fourth frame.
Series Most Valuable Player Lewis ripped a run-scoring double in the fifth, driving home Noah Moritz to knot the score at 1-1. Moritz and Hammond singled ahead of Lewis' RBI hit.
In the decisive eighth, BSU put together 5 hits, a hit batsman and a walk to move ahead.
Hammond was hit and then Lewis blasted his second consecutive double to give the Big Blue runners at second and third. Muelens, a key hitter for Bluefield all year, was intentionally walked to load the bases. The strategy backfired.
Chris Larkin socked a two-run single, scoring Hammond and Lewis and the Blue went up 3-1. As it turned out, that would prove to be the game winner but Bluefield was not done yet.
Muelens was out at the plate following a Jean Carlos Diaz single but Garrett Hladilek singled up the middle, as Larkin scored ahead of Diaz. The Blue led by four and BSU took the field needing three outs.
Powell got one out before giving way to Hammond who took over with two runners on but recorded a strikeout and got a fly out around a hit with no run scoring to give the BSU squad the championship.
"This team played so well under pressure and beat some great talent to get this Series victory. I am for the players, assistant coaches, our university and the Bluefield community," concluded Bailey.
Bluefield State finished 3-1 in the tournament, beating Edward Waters 9-7 in the opening game, starting out with an 8-0 lead and holding on for the win. BSU then dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to Talladega but rebounded with an impressive 12-7 triumph over Edward Waters to qualify for the title game. In that game, Braeden Major struck out 12 batters in 5 innings of work for BSU.
The rest is history.
Lewis earned Most Valuable Player honors by rapping out 9 hits, while Powell notched his team-high 10th victory in the championship game. He won twice and struck out 10 batters for the champions.
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