GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University baseball team used a seven-run seventh inning to blow past Texas Southern and earn a 12-7 victory at Wilbert Ellis field at R.W.E. Jones Park on Friday night.
GSU (8-12 overall, 4-0 SWAC) racked up 13 hits in the win. Designated hitter
Jaylyn Bennett led the G-Men going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Chris Marcellus and
Shannon Martin were RBI machines on Friday, with both players driving in three runs apiece.
Marcellus went 2-for-5 with a triple, while Martin was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in the eighth inning.
Bennet gave GSU a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third when he laced an RBI single into centerfield.
After tying the game in the fourth inning, Texas Southern (8-15, 3-1) took its first lead of the contest, 3-1, in the fifth on a two-RBI double by Jaden Jones.
In the sixth inning,
Chenar Brown singled and advanced to second on a throwing error by the second baseman. After advancing to third on a grounder, a wild pitch allowed Brown to score and pull GSU within a run, 3-2.
After Texas Southern grew its advantage to 5-2 in the top of the seventh, Grambling State responded with seven runs in the bottom of the frame, roughing up TSU reliever Leeroy Tavarez. With GSU trailing 5-4, Marcellus came through with perhaps the biggest hit of the night, a three-RBI triple scorched down the right field line, giving the G-Men a 7-5 lead.
Marcellus scored on a wild pitch to make it an 8-5 game. Bennett wrapped the seventh inning onslaught with an RBI single, extending GSU's lead to 9-5.
Following a two-run top of the eighth for TSU, Martin hammered a three-run shot hot over the left field wall, pushing Grambling State's advantage to 12-7.
GSU reliever
Javier Martinez (2-1) grabbed the win on the mound, pitching 2.2 innings and allowing four runs on two hits. He struck out two and walked two.
Ethan Bates picked up his second save of the year in 1.2 innings of work, holding Texas Southern scoreless on one hit with one strikeout.
Mason Martinez got the start on the mound, fanning three batters in 4.2 innings. He surrendered three runs on five hits.
Texas Southern's Leeroy Tavarez (0-1) was tagged with the loss after pitching 1.1 innings and giving up seven runs on five hits.
UP NEXT
Grambling State continues its series with Texas Southern on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park.
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