LORMAN &045; The matchup wasn’t good from the 90 feet away.

Alabama State’s Brian Nichols, all 6-4 and 225 pounds of him, was charging hard at the plate during Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader with Alcorn on a double steal. At home blocking the plate was Alcorn’s Scott Spillars, the 5-9 sophomore out of Houston.

The two collided at the plate, and the bigger guy won out.

Spillars took a shot from the big guy, but give the smaller catcher credit for holding on to the ball. Not only was Nichols out at the plate, but the umpires tossed him from the game.

Spillars, too, left the game and was taken to the hospital in Port Gibson for X-rays.

&uot;I was bleeding out of the nose pretty bad,&uot; said Spillars, the Braves’ backup catcher behind starter Shane Phillips. &uot;They took X-rays, and the doctor said everything was OK. As (Nichols) broke for the plate, Sly (McClain) threw the ball back to me. He came in with heading in his helmet, and his helmet hit me square in the face. It caused some internal bleeding, too.&uot;

The play was about as brutal a collision as you’ll see in college baseball, and the glaring mismatch of size between Nichols and Spillars made it that much more difficult to watch. Spillars got knocked over a ways, while Nichols didn’t appear to be injured in the collision.

It got everyone with Alcorn fired up, and both benches eventually cleared before order was restored.

&uot;The kid did the same thing when we went over there,&uot; Alcorn head coach Willie &uot;Rat&uot; McGowan said. &uot;I think the conference or somebody needs to suspend that kid. Now he hurt that boy. We had to get (Spillars) to the doctor. I’m glad his mom and dad were here.&uot;

The shot put Spillars out of commission for a bit, and he immediately came out of the game. He left before the second game ended on Saturday to go to the hospital and played in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader only as the designated hitter.

For Spillars, it was the toughest shot he’s taken. He said once in high school the throw from the outfield came up the third-base line to throw out the runner breaking for the plate, and he collided with the baserunner, landed on his back and had the wind knocked out of him.

&uot;I think he was the biggest guy on their team,&uot; Spillars said. &uot;At first I was real dizzy. My vision was kind of cloudy. As I fell down, I felt my nose bleeding. It was the worst I’ve taken. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he wouldn’t have led off with his helmet.&uot;

The collision had players and coaches with Alcorn regarding the play as a dirty shot on the catcher, but sometimes those types of collisions &045; albeit violent &045; are part of the game.

&uot;He was a little stiff (Sunday),&uot; Phillips said. &uot;That’s part of baseball as well. He lowered his helmet. It was like a football hit. He was just trying to take out the catcher. I’ve taken a few shots over the years. I think every catcher has. It’s just part of catching, really.&uot;

OUT OF THE LINEUP &045; Alcorn sophomore slugger Torry Bates was missing from the lineup most of the weekend after he got the start on the mound in Game 1. Bates was pulled after 1 2/3 innings and sat out the second game Saturday and the first game on Sunday.

Bates, the team leader in innings pitched and regular first baseman, didn’t start in Game 2 Sunday but came in on relief, throwing three shutout innings.

&uot;In that first game, Bates took us out of that,&uot; McGowan said of the Braves’ No. 1 weekend starter. &uot;He’s got too many problems. I don’t know if his mind is on baseball or what. He could be a good ball player. That’s why he didn’t play (in Game 2). You can’t bring problems to the baseball field. You’ve got to be ready to play.&uot;

LIGHTS ON &045; The problems with the Alcorn field’s lighting system got worked out Sunday. A technician came out during the day to inspect the system, which had all the bulbs on two poles completely out.