GRAMBLING, La. | Grambling State earned a midweek victory over Wiley College, defeating the Wildcats 9-7 at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E Jones Park on Tuesday evening.
GSU (4-12) collected nine total hits, but won despite committing four errors on defense. Wiley (8-12) registered seven hits, committing three errors in the contest.
Trevor Hatton and Keylon Mack both collected two hits apiece for the Tigers. Hatton went 2-for-4 with two RBI while Mack went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Kyle Walker drove in two runs as well, going 1-for-3 with a double.
Kendrick Bershell (2-0) earned the win in relief, replacing Jacorey Boudreaux, who started the night for GSU, in the second inning. Bershell worked 3.0 innings, allowing tow runs on three hits, while fanning two batters. Jeremiah Newman, Esteban Tavarez and Ethan Bates also made relief appearances with Bates notching his second save of the year.
Grambling State didn't get off to a great start, quickly falling behind 4-0 in the top of the first inning. The Tigers allowed the first two runners on back-to-back errors by Boudreaux.
GSU responded in a big way in the bottom of the third, lighting the scoreboard up for eight runs in the the frame. After Tiger Borom drew a bases loaded walk to score the Tigers' first run of the evening, Kyle Walker smacked a two-RBI double to left field, pulling GSU within a run with no outs.
After a pitching change, Mack singled on a bunt, bringing in another run to tie the game 4-4. Cameron Bufford catapulted Grambling State in front 6-4, with two-RBI single through the left side of the infield. GSU continued to play small ball with Hatton Hatton singled on a bunt. Thanks to a throwing error, Mack ended up scoring and Hatton advanced all the way to third base.
Julian Murphy picked up an RBI on a grounder to second base, extending GSU's lead to 8-4,.
In the top of the fourth, Wiley used a pair of RBI singles to pull back within two runs, 8-6
Another error by the Wildcats helped GSU add an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Wiley attempted to turn a 5-4-3 double play, but a an errant throw by the second baseman allowed Terry Burrell III to reach base, scoring Lamarcus Jones.
Wiley tried to make it interesting in the top of the ninth, putting two runners on base with one out. Luis Mares laced a single to left field, scoring Gabriel Garcia, who reached base on GSU's fourth defensive miscue of the evening. Grambling State ended the game on a double play when Bryce Garrett lined out to Daylon Ardoin at shortstop, who threw to ball to Walker at second, catching Wiley's Allan Medoza too far off base.
Jalen Porter got the loss for the Wildcats, surrendering five runs on one hit and five walks in 2.0 innings. He also struck out two batters.
Up Next
Grambling State gears up for its first Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) series of the season when it welcomes Southern University to town. The series begins on Friday, March 17 with first pitch set for 6 p.m. at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park.
On Saturday, Grambling State baseball will retire the jerseys of legendary head baseball coaches, R.W.E Jones, who also served as president of GSU, and Wilbert Ellis.
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