GRAMBLING, La. | For the first time this season, the Grambling State University baseball team lost a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) series, dropping a pair of game to arch-rival Southern on Saturday afternoon at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park.
GSU (12-19 overall, 9-4 SWAC) lost game one 10-4 before forcing extra innings in the nightcap, falling 13-12 in 10 innings.
HOW IT HAPPENED – Game 1
In the first game, Grambling State let a 4-2 lead slip away over the final four innings. GSU was outscored 8-0 over the final four innings of the contest.
Starting pitcher
Mason Martinez paced the Tigers on the mound, striking out seven batters in 6.2 innings of work. He surrendered four runs on six hits and three walks.
Javier Martinez was tagged with the loss in a relief role, giving up five runs on six hits and a pair of walks in 2.0 innings pitched.
Southern outhit Grambling State 16-8.
Ashton Inman led the Tigers at the plate going 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the second, GSU's
Chris Marcellus tied the game 1-1 on RBI-single lined into centerfield.
In the top of the third, SU's Kyle Byrd hit an RBI-double off the centerfield wall to make it 2-1 Jags. Grambling State tied the score 2-2 on an
Ashton Inman RBI-single up the gap.
Tiger Borom gave GSU a 3-2 lead on bases loaded groundout to second base.
In the fifth inning, SU's center fielder lost sight of a fly ball hit by
Jaylyn Bennett that fell into the grass, plating the Tigers' fourth run of the contest, making it a 4-2 game.
Grambling State's luck ran out from that point as SU sprinted past the Tigers with eight unanswered runs, five of which came in the top of the ninth inning.
Southern's Antione Harris was credited with the win out of the bullpen. He pitched 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on three hits with a strikeout and a walk.
How It Happened - Game 2
The second game of the day was a true seesaw battle that saw both teams put up runs, however, it was Grambling State's inconsistency on the mound that was the Tigers' undoing.
The GSU pitching staff issued 18 walks and hit eight batters. Southern scattered just four hits over 10 innings but managed to plate 13 runs.
Offensively, Grambling State registered 18 hits, which tied a season-high.
Southern got things started early with a two-run homer in the first inning.
Cameron Bufford put the Tigers on the board in the bottom of the third with an RBI-single ripped into centerfield, cutting the Jaguars advantage to 2-1.
After SU pushed its lead to 6-1 heading into the fifth inning, the GSU bats began to wake up. An RBI single by
Kyle Walker and an RBI double by Bufford cut Southern's lead to 6-3. In the following inning, Martivius Thomas roped an RBI triple down the right field line that rolled all the way to the wall, making it a 6-4 game. A wild pitch allowed Thomas to score and pull the Tigers within a run.
GSU took its first lead of the day, 7-6, when a pair of runs scored on a throwing error by Southern's catcher on a stolen base attempt.
Thomas smashed a no-doubt two-run homer in the seventh inning, giving GSU a 9-7 lead. Thomas was 2-for-4 with a home run, a triple and three RBI. Bufford notched his third RBI of the night with a single into centerfield, stretching the lead to 10-7.
Things unraveled from the Tigers in the top of the ninth when Southern's first three batters reached base via a pair of walks and a hit batter off the arm of
Miguel Baez. After a groundout scored a run, SU worked another walk to load the bases once again. Ryan Ollison made GSU pay with a grand slam to give SU a 12-10 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, Walker walloped a two-run homer over the left field wall to tie the game 12-12 and force extra innings.
In the tenth inning,
Jeremiah Newman replaced Baez on the mound. He issued three walks to load the bases.
Michael Edwards replaced Newman and hit the first batter he faced to give SU a 13-12 lead with one out. He retired the next two batters, giving GSU one more opportunity at the plate.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, they couldn't respond in the bottom of the frame.
Newman (0-1) was tagged with the loss after pitching 0.1 innings and allowing one run on no hits and three walks.
Christian Davis (1-2) was the winning pitcher, tossing 1.0 innings and allowing two runs on three hits.
UP NEXT
Grambling State concludes its series with Southern on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Wilbert Ellis Field.
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