Jackson, Miss. — With the SWAC Tournament on the horizon, the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions made a statement in Game 1 of their final regular season series, defeating Jackson State 8-6 at Braddy Field to improve to 23-30 overall and 16-12 in conference play. The win was fueled by two dominant offensive performers and a gutsy starting effort, with UAPB showing the kind of late-game punch that makes them a dangerous postseason threat.
Starter Kenney Fabian worked six innings and kept the Golden Lions in the fight, allowing four runs — two earned — while scattering seven hits. He navigated in and out of trouble throughout and was aided by a sharp pickoff of a runner at first in the fifth inning that helped extinguish a Jackson State threat. Fabian left having thrown 83 pitches, and the bullpen took it from there. Emerson Lott was the standout in relief, tossing two clean innings with a strikeout and keeping Jackson State scoreless through the eighth and ninth to earn the win.
Second baseman Aaron Grant was the offensive engine from start to finish, delivering his finest game of the season. He went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, and three RBI, posting an eye-popping 2.000 OPS on the afternoon. His two-run blast to left field in the seventh — a towering shot that broke a 4-4 tie — was the decisive blow of the game. He added an RBI double in the ninth to salt it away. Grant entered the game batting .344 on the season and did nothing to hurt that number.
Right alongside him was first baseman Lazaro Alvarado, who was virtually automatic every time he came to the plate with runners on base. Alvarado went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI, racking up a 1.400 OPS. He drove in the game's first run in the first inning with a two-out double down the right field line that plated Grant, and came back in the fifth and ninth innings with clutch hits to keep extending the lead. Entering the game batting .326, Alvarado continues to be one of the most reliable run producers in the SWAC.
Third baseman Zach Wieder was a consistent presence at the top of the order, going 2-for-4 with a walk and scoring three times. He reached base four times and set the table beautifully for the middle of the order all afternoon. Left fielder Nick Hockemeyer added a double, a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored, while Blake Coleman contributed a bunt single and executed his baserunning well, stealing second and advancing to third on a throwing error in the fourth inning to apply early pressure.
The Golden Lions' offense was at its best when it mattered most — plating two in the first, two more in the second, one in the fifth, two on Grant's homer in the seventh, and two more in the ninth when Wieder and Grant set the table again for Alvarado to drive in an insurance run. UAPB scored in five different innings, a testament to a lineup that is clicking at the right time of year.
With one series win already in hand heading into the final weekend, the Golden Lions continue to build toward the postseason with momentum, depth, and timely hitting that has defined their late-season run.
