Montgomery, Alabama-The defending HBCU Baseball National Champions had a tall task on their hands as #4 seed Edward Waters took on #2 seed Savannah State in an Elimination Game at the 2023 Tyson Foods Black College World Series on Thursday Morning at Riverwalk Stadium. The Purple & Orange were more than equal to the task, posting 10 hits off of SIAC Pitcher of the Year Enrico Peele and picking up a 9-5 victory over their SIAC and I-95 rivals to keep their hopes of repeating alive.

Edward Waters (25-23, 16-13 SIAC) got things started in the bottom of the second inning, scoring the first three runs of the matchup. Erickson Matos hit an RBI single, while Anthony Roman smacked a two-RBI single to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. The Purple & Orange added three more in the bottom of the third with a Daiton Pass RBI double and a Matos RBI ground out that doubled up the Tiger lead to 6-0. Savannah State (33-14, 25-7 SIAC) cut into the lead in the top half of the fifth, scoring two runs to cut the EWU lead to four. Edward Waters pushed the lead back to six in the bottom half of the inning, thanks to a Matos RBI double and Payton Shubert's RBI sacrifice fly to give the Tigers an 8-2 advantage.

Savannah State made things a bit tentative in the top half of the sixth inning, plating three runs in their biggest cut into the EWU lead at 8-5. A key insurance run for the Purple & Orange came in the form of an Anthony Roman RBI single that gave Edward Waters a 9-5 lead. Starter Alexander Davila was able to ensure victory in the top of the ninth with three fly ball outs to give Edward Waters a confidence building four-run victory.

Ferante Cowart led the Tigers at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Erickson Matos and Anthony Roman were the two biggest offensive catalysts for Edward Waters, going a combined 4-for-9 with six RBI's. 

Alexander Davila turned in a dominant performance on the mound, recording a complete game, allowing four earned runs, four walks, and struck out 10 SSU batters.

Edward Waters will have to stave off elimination again on Friday morning at 10:00am as they will face the loser of Thursday's #1 Albany State and #3 Bluefield State contest in another Elimination Game.

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