Jags Scalp Braves, Win Three of Four Over Grambling, Gets washed Out vs LSU

The prevalent clapping of thunder and the storm clouds that loomed over Lee-Hines Field last Wednesday should have been some sort of indicator for the Alcorn State University Braves baseball squad (10-7 overall) and the 10-3 thrashing that they received from the Southern University Jaguars baseball team (17-4 overall, 11-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference)
As lightning whipped through the sky last Wednesday night, Jaguars head coach Roger Cador allowed members from his pitching staff to whip through a Braves’ rotation that kept breezes blowing from the multiple strikes that were delivered.
The Jags did not provide much lead way for the Braves after freshman starting pitcher Nathaniel Rhenwrick allowed sophomore infielder baseman Lawrence Woods to hit a solo home run in the second inning.
At the bottom of the third inning, the Jags were already commanding a 3-1 lead when junior third baseman Antoin Gray hit a sacrifice fly to deep center, bringing in junior catcher Joey Mouton and junior shortstop Fernando Puebla to come in and score two more runs for the Jags.
“Although I did get out, getting runs in was more important,” said Gray. “Sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do for the team to win.”
In the top of the fifth, Braves’ senior outfielder Edric Patton’s hit to left field brought in a run, but his glory was stopped short as he was caught trying to steal second base as junior infielder Sylvester McClain was at bat.
The Braves managed to get another run in during the fifth inning, but that was all after Jags sophomore pitcher Ronald Moore was brought in.
Mouton came in again off of a hit by Gray in the bottom of the sixth and in the seventh inning, the Jags brought in four more runs.
In the eighth inning, Cador brought in “El Duque”, that is, freshman pitcher Emary Frederick. Frederick delivered the heat to the glove of freshman catcher Jatavius Lockhart as three Braves batters came up and the same three batters were sent to the dugout promptly.
Jags junior pitcher Damian Ursin closed the game and the Jags went on to win 10-3.
“He’s done really well out there,” said Cador. “He’s good in the set-up roll for Damian Ursin.”
In this past weekend’s four-game outing against the Tigers of Grambling State University (7-8-1 overall, 5-3 SWAC), the Jags took three of the four games to maintain their dominance in the SWAC.
In the first game, Southern beat Grambling State 4-1, with senior pitcher Dawon Day winning the decision after six innings pitched.
In the second game, SU allowed the Tigers to end the game with one up as they lost 6-5.
On Sunday, March 16, the Jags took out the frustrations of losing by one at the hands of Grambling by dismantling a Tigers’ squad 14-2.
Gray, sophomore outfielder Andrew Toussaint, junior outfielder Jason Trimm and junior catcher Joey Mouton hit homeruns in the scoring binge.
The last and final game of the weekend proved to be the grand finale. The Jags shut out the Tigers 7-0. Puebla contributed a homer in the Jags win.
The near-sweep of the Tigers put the Jags in perfect position to prepare for their Tuesday match-up with cross-town rivals Louisiana State University.
On Tuesday evening, the predicted rain had held off long enough for both teams to feel each other’s batting vibes. But the threat of rain could not hold off the hundreds of fans that came to see the two teams meet up for their one and only game of the season. Fans lined the overpass known as “The Hump” to see the Jags face the Tigers.
Senior pitcher Antywna Beasley started off on the mound for the Jags and his first pitch was a heat seeker. On a full count, LSU sophomore outfielder Bruce Sprowl hit the ball straight to Puebla and was thrown out at first. The next at bat, sophomore outfielder J.C. Holt hit a mound-bouncer straight down the middle for a base hit.
With one out and one on first base, junior infielder Aaron Hill came to bat and on a two-two count, Holt stole second base, just seconds shy of being tagged out by Jags second baseman Rickie Weeks. On the next two pitches, Hill was walked and LSU had two men on base.
That is when junior infielder Ivan Naccarata hit one to left corner and brought in 2 runs for the Tigers.
After a series of shaky pitches, Beasley got rid of his next batters and the Jags got ready for offense.
Sophomore catcher Brandon Mason was caught looking at the first and swinging at the second pitch, but junior pitcher Nate Bumstead sent two walks and another heater that sent Mason swinging and headed to the dugout.
Gray was next and swung on the first pitch and was the recipient of a low insider on the second pitch. On the third pitch, Gray sent it to the mid-center for a double.
Next on deck was Weeks and like the other two before him, he was caught swinging and looking.
Senior first baseman Kevin Vital was next and the left hander got caught swinging and looking as he stood at a plate where the umpire undoubtedly had determined the strike zone to be the size of a twin-sized mattress.
Up until the fourth inning, the Jags and the Tigers exchanged places on the mound with three up and three down, but as the low rain clouds and the thunder started to roll in, the Jags also found them getting on a roll.
After Weeks grounded out in the bottom of the fourth, Vital hit a single that quickly became a double after being overthrown to first base. After taking on third, Puebla sent a base hit to the left corner to allow Toussaint to come in after Vital had scored on his hit. At this point, the Jaguar fans became ecstatic with the tie-up and wary of the looming clouds.
At the top of the fifth, Hill hit a triple that set up Naccarata to bring him home. Naccarata sent a pop-up and as the ball came down, so did the rain. The rain began to pour down on the fans and the players, hence the game was ultimately called.
Being that the game was not played for five full innings, it was called and a make-up game has not yet been determined.
The torrential downpour put a damper on a Jags squad that felt it had a chance of defeating their cross-town foe.
“I think that we made adjustments because at first we took some bad swings,” said Puebla. “But we were able to make changes and start hitting some balls.”
In the meantime, Cador will be able to work with a pitching staff that is recovering from injuries so that they can be in peak condition for the next time.
“The pitching is much better now, especially after our concerns earlier in the season,” said Cador. “Plus, Beasely played well; he did a wonderful job and made some quality pitches.”
He will need them for his next game; the Jags will face Prairie View A&M University in two doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday at noon.