NEW ORLEANS, La. (Baseball) – Coach James Cooper and the Grambling State University baseball team took to the road to open their season in the Major League Baseball (MLB) Urban Invitational in New Orleans, La. over the weekend. The Tigers saw action against Southwestern Athletic Conference rivals, Alcorn State University and Southern University, as well as the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Grambling finished the weekend going 2-1, overall, as they defeated Alcorn and Southern.

Game One
GSU opened the tournament going head to head with the Braves. A weather delay stopped and ultimately ended play with the Tigers winning the game with a score of 4-1. Alcorn scored first in the top of the first inning, 1-0. The game was deadlocked until the fifth inning when Grambling when on a five run scoring spree. The first run came as Ace Felder crossed home plate when Nick Wheeler singled to third base, 1-1. Felder walked to reach first base, stole second base, and reached third base on a throwing error by Alcorn's catcher. Wheeler scored the second run when Wesley Drain singled to right center field, 2-1. Wheeler singled to reach first base and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Ian Bailey scored the third run as he found home on a wild pitch, 3-1. Bailey was hit by a pitch to reach first base and advanced to third on Drain's single. The last run of the game was scored by Drain when Marshawn Taylor singled to first base, 4-1. Drain reached first base on a single, stole second base, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Isaac O'Bear (1-0) picked up the win for GSU with five innings pitched for one earned run and four strike outs. Jahborus Smith (0-1) suffers the loss with four innings pitched for four earned runs and four strike outs.

Game Two
In the second game, the Tigers faced Southern in an evening game. GSU struck first as they scored three quick runs in the top of the third inning. The first run came as Taylor scored when Tray Bell hit a single into center field, 1-0. Taylor walked to reach first base and advanced to third base on Daniel Barnett's single into right field. Barnett scored the second run when Felder singled to right field, 2-0. Barnett singled to reach first base, advanced to second base on Bell's single, and made it to third base when Johan Mojica hit a sacrifice groundball. Bell was the final run of the inning when he came home as Wheeler grounded out to second base, 3-0. Bell singled to reach first base, advanced to second base on Mojica's sacrifice ground ball, and made it to third base when Felder singled to right field. Grambling rattled off a combined eight runs in the fourth and fifth inning, 11-0. The Jaguars finally got on the board in the seventh inning with three runs and two runs in the ninth inning, 11-5. Tanner Raiburn (1-0) picked up the win with 5.2 innings pitched for one hit, eight strike outs, and three walks. Daniel Franklin (0-1) took the loss for Southern with 3.2 inning pitched for eight hits, seven earned runs, four walks and three strike outs.

Game Three
To close the tournament, Grambling played Illinois-Chicago in a mid-day contest on Sunday. The Tigers competed but dropped the contest with a score of 9-3. In the second and third inning combined, the Flames were able to pick up seven run over GSU, 7-0. Grambling got on the board with one run in both the third inning and fourth inning. The first run was scored when Wesley Drain came home on a batted ball by Barnett, 7-1. Drain singled to the pitcher with a bunt to reach first base, advanced to second base as Taylor was walked, and made it to third base on a balk. The second run came when Mojica crossed home plate after Wheeler hit into a double play, 7-2. Mojica was hit by a pitch to reach first base and advanced to third when Felder hit a single into center field. Illinois-Chicago answer back with a run in both the sixth and seventh inning to make the score, 9-2. The Tigers pushed one more time for the win in the bottom of the seventh inning with one run. Felder was able to score on a wild pitch, 9-3. Felder walked to reach first base, advanced to second on Wheeler's single, and stole third base. Christian Marquez (0-1) suffered the loss for Grambling with three innings pitched for five hits, seven earned runs, three walks, and two strike outs. Jacob Key (1-0) snapped up the win with six innings pitched for two hits, one earned run, three walks, and five strike outs.

Grambling will continue to be road warriors as they travel to Norman, Okla. to face the University of Oklahoma from Feb. 21-22. Game times are set for 3 p.m.