GRAMBLING, La. | Raul Baduel pitched eight solid innings and
Richard Ortiz belted a grand slam as the Grambling State University baseball team cruised to a 10-5 victory over Texas Southern in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) series opener on Friday night at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park.
Grambling State (14-13 overall, 7-3 SWAC) struck first with two runs in the bottom of the opening inning.
With one down,
Marshawn Taylor singled to center and advanced to second on an error by the Texas Southern second baseman. With Ortiz, who reached on a fielder's choice, on first, Rafael Ramirez plated Taylor with a base hit to center.
Isaiah Torres walked to load the bases and Ortiz came across to score on a wild pitch to give Grambling State a 2-0 advantage.
Texas Southern (9-17, 6-3) plated a run in the top of the fourth to cut the margin to 2-1, but Grambling State answered with four runs on four hits to take a 6-1 advantage.
Trevin Bolden began the inning with a single to right center, but was out at second when
Kristian Franklin reached on a fielder's choice.
D'Quan Matthews walked and Taylor singled through the right side to load the bases. With two down, Ramirez singled down the right field line as Franklin and Matthews scored. Taylor scored on a wild pitch and Ramirez plated the final run of the frame on a single by
Garrett Smith to give GSU a 6-1 lead.
Texas Southern cut the deficit to 6-2 with one run in the seventh, but Ortiz belted an 0-1 pitch over the left field wall for a grand slam to give Grambling State a commanding 10-2 lead.
Texas Southern continued to fight back and closed the gap to 10-5 with three runs in the eighth.
Inside The Numbers
* Grambling State scored 10 runs on 12 hits and left 10 on base.
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Marshawn Taylor went 3-for-3 with three runs scored.
* Rafael Ramirez was 2-for-5, with three runs batted in and one run scored.
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Richard Ortiz finished the night by going 1-for-5, with two runs scored and four RBIs.
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Garrett Smith also registered two hits.
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D'Quan Matthews,
Isaiah Torres,
Trevin Bolden and
Kristian Franklin each recorded one hit.
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Raul Baduel (2-1) surrendered five runs on nine hits, with three strikeouts and two walks in eight innings to pick up the win.
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Kaelin Woodard worked one inning in relief.
* Texas Southern finished with five runs on 10 hits, with one error and stranded four on base.
* Kamren Dukes led the way for TSU by going 3-for-4 with one run scored.
* Mason Furlong (1-4) took the loss as he gave up six runs (five earned) on six hits, with five walks and a pair of strikeouts in 3.2 innings.
* Alexander Carrillo, Robert Loza and Seth Oliver pitched in relief.
Up Next
Grambling State continues its three-game SWAC series on Saturday against Texas Southern. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park.
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