GRAMBLING, La. | Richard Ortiz and Rafael Ramirez III belted back-to-back homers in the third inning as the Grambling State University baseball team halted an eight-game losing streak to Louisiana-Monroe in a 9-7 win on Tuesday evening at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park.
Grambling State (19-18) came into the game having dropped its last eight games to ULM, with its last victory coming on March 19, 2013.
Louisiana-Monroe (17-19) struck first as the Warhawks picked up one run in the first inning and added to the lead as Johnny Delacruz homered in the third to give ULM a 2-0 lead
However, Grambling State answered with a four-run third.
Marshawn Taylor doubled and came in to score when Ortiz homered to tie the game at 2. Ramirez followed with a home run to right to put the Tigers on top.
Isaiah Torres walked and stole second.
Drexler Macaay singled through the left side to plate Torres as the Tigers grabbed a 4-2 advantage.
Grambling State added one run in the fifth, but Louisiana-Monroe answered with two runs in top of the sixth to cut the deficit to 5-4.
The Tigers responded in the bottom of the frame with three runs, all with two outs, on three hits.
Ace Felder doubled and scored on a Taylor single. Taylor moved to second on the play and took third on a wild pitch. Ortiz and Ramirez drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Torres followed with a double as Taylor and Ortiz scored to extend the Tiger lead to 8-4.
The Warhawks trimmed the deficit with one run in the seventh and two in the eighth, but Grambling State picked up an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth as
Kaelin Woodard preserved the lead to earn his first save of the year.
Inside The Numbers
* Grambling State registered nine runs on 11 hits, committed two errors and left 11 on base.
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Marshawn Taylor went 3-for-5, with three runs scored and one RBI, while
Richard Ortiz was 2-for-3, with two RBIs and two runs scored, including a home run.
* Rafael Ramirez went 1-for-3 and belted a homer.
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Isaiah Torres,
Ace Felder and
Cameron Shannon registered one hit a piece.
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Kerry Boykins, Jr. (3-2) was one of five pitchers who saw action on mound against the Warhawks.
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Kerry Boykins, Jr. worked three innings, only gave up one run, with no walks and fanned two.
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Ryan Huntington was the starting pitcher as he worked two innings and gave up one run on three hits.
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Kaelin Woodard,
Andy Escano and
Daniel Beizer also saw action on the mound.
* The Warhawks finished with seven runs on 15 hits and stranded 12 baserunners.
* Stephen Morrison (2-1) took the loss as he was tagged four runs on five hits, with two walks and one strikeout.
* Johnny Delacruz paced the Warhawks offense by going 3-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.
Up Next
Grambling State returns to Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play on Friday in Baton Rouge, La. to take on rival Southern.
The Tigers and Jaguars have met four times and have split the season series (2-2).
First pitch for Friday's game is set for 6 p.m., while Saturday's game will begin at 4 p.m. The series will conclude on Sunday with a 1 p.m. start time.
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