MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Interstat) — Trey Callaway and Jackson Williams each launched two home runs and drove in four runs as Alabama State rallied from an early deficit to defeat Longwood 11-6 on Saturday at Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex in the opener of a doubleheader.

The Hornets, who were routed 16-1 by the Lancers a day earlier, responded with a powerful offensive display, erasing a six-run hole with a relentless attack that produced 10 hits, matching Longwood’s total.

The most important part of the game came in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the score tied 6-6. Alabama State’s Miguel Oropeza reached first on a fielding error by the shortstop to lead off the frame. Callaway, the Hornets’ catcher, then delivered the decisive blow, crushing his second two-run homer of the game to left field to give Alabama State an 8-6 lead. The Hornets capitalized on the momentum, adding two more unearned runs in the inning on an RBI single from Jorge Bello to build a 10-6 advantage from which Longwood could not recover.

Alabama State starter Trey Power labored through five innings, allowing six runs on six hits, but the Hornets bullpen sealed the victory. Reliever Camden Matthews was dominant, firing four innings of one-run ball, surrendering just four hits while striking out seven to earn the win. His performance stabilized the game after the Hornets surged ahead.

Longwood starter Jackson Nash was effective early, tossing 3 1/3 hitless innings of relief with three strikeouts after entering in the fourth. However, the Lancers’ bullpen faltered late. Alex Strickland was charged with the loss after recording only one out in the seventh and allowing the go-ahead runs, though they were unearned.

The game began as a slugfest. After a scoreless top of the first from Longwood, Alabama State struck quickly in the bottom half. Following a walk to Oropeza, Callaway hit his first two-run homer. After a single by Devin Chandler, Williams followed with a two-run shot of his own, cutting Longwood’s lead to 6-4.

Longwood’s Lucas Johnson hit a solo home run in the second inning to extend the lead to 7-4. The Lancers added two more in the third on a two-run single by Jayson Nash and a two-run triple by Jack McMullan, making it 11-4.

Alabama State answered immediately in the bottom of the third when Williams blasted his second two-run homer, pulling the Hornets back to within 11-6. Williams, named the top star for Alabama State, broke out of a recent slump with the multi-homer game.

The Hornets completed their comeback in the seventh and added an insurance run in the eighth when Oropeza scored on a double play.

Longwood mounted a final threat in the ninth, loading the bases with one out and scoring once on a hit-by-pitch, but Matthews closed the door with a strikeout to end the game.

With the win, Alabama State evened its overall record at 7-7. Longwood, which entered the day having won 12 of its first 14 games, fell to 12-3. The result defied the projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast an 8-5 Longwood victory, though the service’s ELO system had given Alabama State a 61.5% probability to win.

The teams were scheduled to play the second game of the doubleheader later Saturday.