CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Wilberforce University baseball team dropped a pair of contests to East Division-leading Talladega on Friday in HBCUAC action at Gendell Family Field at the Reds Urban Youth Academy.

GAME ONE: TALLADEGA 15, WILBERFORCE 5

The Talladega offense erupted over the final three innings, using a pair of grand slams to fuel two separate six-run frames.

Trailing by two after the Tornadoes scored in the second inning, Wilberforce responded with three runs in the bottom half. Back-to-back singles by Joe Mendy and Thomas Hampton, followed by Waldenburg Guerrero reaching after being hit by a pitch, loaded the bases with no outs.

An RBI groundout by Samuel Borrero, an RBI single from Beau Spears, and an RBI walk by Christopher Alcantara-Diaz gave the Bulldogs the lead.

Talladega evened the score with a run in the fourth, but Alcantara-Diaz helped Wilberforce regain the advantage with a two-run single.

Spears finished 3-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, while Mendy went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Alcantara-Diaz notched his sixth multi-RBI game of the season, driving in three runs.

GAME TWO: TALLADEGA 3, WILBERFORCE 2

Andres Anez delivered a strong outing on the mound, limiting the potent Tornadoes offense, but a leadoff solo home run in the sixth inning proved to be the difference.

The freshman scattered 10 hits across seven innings, allowing three earned runs while striking out four. He has now surrendered three earned runs or fewer in five of his six starts.

Wilberforce scored once in the first inning and regained the lead with another run in the third. Talladega answered with single runs in the second and fourth innings.

The Bulldogs had multiple opportunities to add to their offensive output but went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, including back-to-back strikeouts with the tying run on second in the seventh inning.

Alcantara-Diaz reached base via walk in all three plate appearances, while five different Bulldogs recorded a hit. Darius Woodson provided the lone extra-base hit with a third-inning home run.

WHAT'S NEXT

Wilberforce concludes the three-game HBCUAC series at 1 p.m. Saturday, hosting Talladega at the Reds Urban Youth Academy.