Jacksonville, Florida-A matchup of the two squads that competed for the 2022 Black College World Series Championship lived up to the billing as Edward Waters split both games of their doubleheader with Kentucky State on Friday at Henry L. Aaron Field at James P. Small Memorial Park. The Tigers took Game One in walkoff fashion, 7-6, but let the lead slip away in the top of the seventh inning, falling 6-3 in Game Two.

GAME ONE: Edward Waters 7, Kentucky State 6:
Edward Waters drew first blood in the bottom of the first when Chase Morris scored on a throwing error to take a 1-0 lead. That lead stood up until the top of the fifth inning when a three-run homerun gave Kentucky State a 3-1 lead. 

The Tigers were able to retake the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. RBi singles from Dwanye Maduro, Morris, and Hugo Schoening gave the Tigers a 4-3 lead. The visitors would not go quietly as they tied the contest in the top of the eighth, then took the lead back with two runs in the top of the ninth at 6-4. Then in one of the strangest sequences of the early season, Anthony Roman was credited with three RBIs on a fielder's choice, thanks to three fielding errors that brought home three Tigers to walk the contest off at 7-6.

Chase Morris led the Tigers at the plate, going 2-for-3 with an RBI, two stolen bases, and three runs scored. Darius Blasingane was credited with the victory for the Tigers in relief, but starter Alexander Davila turned in a phenomenal performance with 6.0 innings pitched, four hits, three earned runs, three walks, and ten strikeouts.

GAME TWO: Kentucky State 6, Edward Waters 3:
The visitors hit the scoreboard first in the top half of the second inning, plating a run to take an early 1-0 lead. Edward Waters responded with a Jacob Rowe sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second to tie the contest, then in the bottom of the third, Sebastian Velez hit an RBI triple and later scored on a passed ball to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead. 

Kentucky State cut into the lead in the top of the sixth with a run scored on an EWU error, then with two men out, the Thorobreds scored four runs, three of which came on a homerun to close the door on the Tigers and force a series deciding game on Saturday.

Luis Nuñez led the Tigers going 2-for-3, while Leonel Diaz finished 2-for-4. The loss was credited to Caden Hutchinson who came in relief in the bottom of the seventh.

Edward Waters and Kentucky State will wrap up their three-game set with a nine-inning affair on Saturday afternoon at 12:00pm.

Follow the Tigers
For complete coverage of Edward Waters University Athletics, follow the Tigers on social media @EWU_Athletics (Twitter), /EWUTigers (Facebook) and @EWU_Athletics (Instagram) or visit the official home of Edward Waters Athletics at EWUTigerPride.com