BATON ROUGE, La. | The Grambling State University baseball team dropped game one of a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) series, 18-8 against Southern University on Friday at Lee-Hines Stadium. 
 
Grambling State (10-11 Overall, 7-3 SWAC) could not recover from giving up seven runs in the fourth inning as the Tigers dropped the series opener in eight innings.
 
How It Happened 
The Tigers came out strong scoring four run in the second inning.
 
Trevin Bolden walked and moved to third on a Micahel Sookdeo doubled to center field. CJ Mervilus, Drexler Macaay and Isaiah Torres walked as Bolden and Sookdeo scored. After a pitching change, Rafael Ramirez, III singled to right as Macaay and Mervilus scored.
 
Southern (11-10, 6-1) plated one run in the third and seven more in the fourth to grab an 8-4 advantage. 
 
Grambling State scored one run in the fifth, but the Jaguars matched it with one in the bottom of the frame.
 
The Tigers cut the deficit in the sixth with a pair of runs, but Southern had a response as the Jaguars plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 12-7 lead.
 
The Tigers plated one more run in  the top of the eighth, but the Jaguars won the game with a six-run eighth.
 
Inside the Numbers
> Grambling State finished with eight runs on 10 hits, committed five errors and left 13 on base
> Michael Sookdeo led the Tigers at the plate by going 4-for-5 with two RBIs and one run scored
> Nick Wheeler went 2-for-4, with one run scored 
> Trevin Bolden, Rafael Ramirez Drexler Macaay and Ian Bailey each had one hit. 
> Bryan Delgado (4-2) took the loss in five innings of work. He was tagged for nine runs (six earned) on 11 hits, with one walk and one strikeout
> Kerry Boykins, Jr. pitched the final 2.2 innings in relief
> Southern finished with 18 runs on 21 hits, committed a pair of errors and stranded nine on base 
> David Hunter led the Jaguars at the plate by going 5-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored 
> Austin Haensel (1-0) took the victory in 3.0 innings pitched. He surrendered one run (one earned) on five hits, struck out one and walked one 
 
Up Next
Grambling State continues its three-game SWAC series against Southern on Saturday. First pitch from Lee-Hines Stadium is set for 3 p.m.
 
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