NEW ORLEANS, La. | Rafael Ramirez went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and four RBIs, while Ace Felder went 4-for-4 as the Grambling State University baseball team plated eight runs over the third and fourth innings to defeat Alabama State, 12-7, on Thursday night to advance to Friday's Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Winner's Bracket final at Wesley Borrow Stadium.
 
Grambling State (25-24), the No. 2 seed from the West Division, will meet the winner of Alabama State, the No. 1 seed from the East Division, or Prairie View A&M, the No. 4 seed from the West Division, at 6 p.m. on Friday. Alabama State and Prairie View A&M will meet at noon on Friday in an elimination game.
 
Alabama State (28-21) struck for a pair of runs in the opening inning on three hits to grab an early 2-0 lead.
 
Grambling State responded with four runs on four hits and took advantage of one error to grab a 4-2 advantage in the top of the third.
 
Ace Felder singled to center and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by D'Quan Matthews. With two down, Marshawn Taylor singled to right to score Felder from second. Rafael Ramirez followed with a base hit to right to plate Taylor as Matthews stopped at third. Isaiah Torres ripped a shot to right that fell right in front of the right fielder as Matthews and Ramirez scored to give Grambling State a 4-2 lead.
 
The Tigers added to the lead in the fourth when Felder walked and advanced from first to third on a ground out by Trevin Bolden. After a walk to Matthews, Taylor singled up the middle to plate Felder from third. After a pitching change, Drexler Macaay was hit by pitch to load the bases. On an 0-2 count and with two outs, Ramirez doubled off the wall in left center to clear the bases as Grambling State exploded for four runs on two hits to take an 8-2 advantage.
 
Alabama State responded in the bottom of the inning with four runs on four hits to cut the Grambling State lead to 8-6.
 
The Tigers added one run in the top half of the seventh when Ramirez opened the inning with a double down the right field line and came in to score on a base hit to center by Torres to give Grambling State a 9-6 advantage.
 
Grambling State continued to add to the lead in the eighth.
 
Felder led off the inning with a single to left and advanced to second when Bolden reached on a sacrifice bunt and took third on an error. Matthews plated Felder on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Macaay delivered a base hit to left to score Matthews from third as the Tigers pushed the lead to 11-6.
 
The Tigers added an insurance run in the top of the ninth to cruise to the 12-6 win.
 
Inside the Numbers
* Grambling State scored 12 runs on 12 hits and stranded five baserunners.
* Rafael Ramirez led the way offensively by going 3-for-5, with four RBIs and two runs scored.
* Ace Felder went 4-for-4, with three runs scored.
* Marshawn Taylor and Isaiah Torres each picked up a pair of hits.
* Drexler Macaay added one hit.
* Grambling State turned three double plays in the game.
* Ryan Huntington started on the hill and went four strong innings. He gave up six runs on eight hits, with five strikeouts and three walks.
* Daniel Beizer (6-1) earned the win by giving up just one run on seven hits, with a pair of strikeouts and two walks in 4.1 innings of relief.
* Ryan Evans worked 0.2 innings in relief.
* Alabama State finished with seven runs on 15 hits, committed three errors and left 12 on base.
* Yamil Pagan led the Hornets by going 4-for-5, while Cage Cox was 3-for-5.
* Dalton Wilder (3-4) pitched 3.2 innings and surrendered seven runs (six earned) on five hits, with a pair of walks and one strikeout.
* Channing Walker and Chase Laney pitched in relief.
 
News and Notes
* Grambling State has won back-to-back games in the SWAC Tournament for the first time since 2015.
* Grambling State placed six members on the All-SWAC Teams as Marshawn Taylor, Richard Ortiz and Isaiah Torres earned first-team honors, while Rafael Ramirez, Raul Baduel and Daniel Beizer were named to the second team.
* This year's championship will be televised live on ESPNEWS with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. The winner of the tournament will receive the SWAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament.
 
Up Next
Grambling State advances to the winner's bracket final on Friday and will meet either Alabama State or Prairie View A&M. Those two teams will play an elimination game at noon on Friday. First pitch for the winner's bracket game is set for 6 p.m. at Wesley Barrow Stadium.
 
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