The Grambling State Tigers recorded their first series sweep of the season after defeating Texas Southern 15-7 on Sunday afternoon in Grambling.
TSU (8-20, 4-11 SWAC) scored early as they concluded the top of the first with a 1-0 lead after Ernest Rhone sacrificed in Kyle Smith. However, Grambling (14-15, 11-4 SWAC) quickly answered TSU’s run in the bottom half and tied the game as a fielder’s choice by Mychal Roby led to a game-tying run by Adrian Turner. Roby struck again in the third as he broke the tie with a two-RBI triple in addition to scoring on a wild pitch for a 4-1 advantage. One inning later, Grambling continued to apply pressure as a sacrifice fly by Brandon Williams upped the lead to 5-1.
In a situation similar to Saturday’s doubleheader, Texas Southern once again pulled one of its middle inning rallies to creep back into the game. The Tigers recorded three runs on three hits in the top of the sixth to pull within one run at 5-4. I warned the team that a point would come in the game where we would have a big lead only to watch TSU come back and it happened,†said GSU skipper Barret Rey. Sensing the momentum shift, Grambling quickly answered in the bottom half with two runs of its own to up its advantage to 7-4. After holding TSU scoreless in the top of the seventh, Grambling delivered the knockout blow in the final two innings as they scored eight runs during that span. After TSU cut the lead to one run, I told the players to continue having good at-bats because that was what put us ahead early on,†sated Rey. They responded in the next few innings with good at-bats and that was the difference in the game. Matt Feheeley improved to 3-2 on the year with a five-strikeout performance in seven innings of work.
Williams led the way for GSU offensively with a 4-for-4 afternoon at the plate that included four RBIs and two runs scored. Shortstop Jordan Bush paced TSU’s offensive attack with three hits and an RBI. David Arredondo (0-2) suffered the loss for TSU as he gave up eight runs in 5.1 innings of work. Rey said the early run support set up by his club helped pave the way for Feheeley’s strong performance. I wanted to give Matt a cushion to work with like he did against Southern two weeks ago,†said Rey. Once we got the runs, it allowed him to pitch around the strikezone and try different things. If we were to fall behind early, it creates a situation where he has to throw directly into the strikezone.
Grambling returns to action on Wednesday evening with a single game against Jackson State. The contest, which doesn’t count in the SWAC standings, will begin at 6:30 p.m in Grambling.
