NEW ORLEANS, La. | The Grambling State University baseball team saw its season came to an end on Sunday afternoon as GSU surrendered a nine-run third inning as Texas Southern captured the 2018 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Baseball Tournament championship with a 18-3 victory on Sunday afternoon at Wesley Barrow Stadium.
Texas Southern (27-26) got the leadoff batter on board when Kamren Dukes was hit by a pitch and came around to score on a ground out to stake an early 1-0 lead.
Grambling State (26-26) tied the game at 1 in the second when
Ace Felder doubled down the left field line and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With two down,
Marshawn Taylor ripped an RBI base hit up the middle to put GSU on the board.
GSU broke the 1-all tie in the third as
Isaiah Torres reached on a one-out single up the middle and moved up 90 feet to second when
Richard Ortiz singled to left. A
Garrett Smith sacrifice bunt advanced the runners a base and Felder singled to right to plate Torres as Ortiz was out at the plate, but the damage was done with Grambling State taking a 2-1 advantage.
Texas Southern took advantage of two errors and sent 13 batters to the plate in the bottom of the inning. The result was nine runs on seven hits to grab a 10-2 lead.
TSU plated one run in the fifth, three in the seventh and put the game out of reach with four in the eighth for a commanding 18-2 lead.
Inside the Numbers
* Grambling State scored two runs on 14 hits, with four errors and stranded 14 on base.
*
Marshawn Taylor and
Isaiah Torres each led Grambling State at the plate by going 3-for-5, with one RBI.
*
Ace Felder went 3-for-3, with two RBIs and one run scored.
*
Drexler Macaay recorded two hits.
* Rafael Ramirez,
Richard Ortiz, and
Garrett Smith registered one hit apiece.
*
Andy Escano (2-5) surrendered nine runs (four earned) on six hits, fanned two and walked one in just 2.2 innings pitched.
*
Daniel Beizer,
Ryan Huntington and
Ryan Evans worked in relief.
* Texas Southern finished 18 runs, including nine in the third inning, on 16 hits, committed one error and left eight on base.
* Kamren Dukes paced Texas Southern at the plate by going 3-for-5, with four runs scored and a pair of RBIs.
* Gaudencio Lucca, Christian Sanchez, OJ Olorunthimilehin, Blake Hicks and Keanu Van Kuren each registered two hits.
* Aron Solis (10-3) picked up the victory by pitching five innings. He gave up two runs on nine hits, with six strikeouts and three walks.
* Chris Suarez, Alex Carrillo and Peyton Schneider worked in relief.
News and Notes
*
Ace Felder, Rafael Ramirez and
Marshawn Taylor were named to the SWAC Tournament Team.
* Texas Southern won the rubber game of the season as the two teams split the regular season matchup (3-3).
* Grambling State was seeking its 10th SWAC Baseball Championship and first since 2010. GSU won four straight crowns from 1961-1964 and three straight from 1983-1985.
* 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.
* In 59 SWAC championships, the West Division owns a 42-17 advantage over the East Division, including a 14-4 mark over the last 17 years.
* The matchup was the first time the SWAC featured an All-West final since 2008 (Texas Southern and Prairie View A&M).
* Sunday's SWAC Championship game was broadcasted live on ESPNEWS and the WatchESPN App.
* Texas Southern receives the SWAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament.
* Texas Southern has won three out of the last four SWAC Baseball Tournament championships.
* The 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament selection show will be Monday, May 28 at 11 a.m. (central) on ESPNU.
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