Jags Ring in Another Baseball Championship

BATON ROUGE, LA. – For the 12^th time in 19 years, the Southern University Baseball team (43-5 overall, 35-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) has won another SWAC championship.
Eleven members from Jags head coach and 2003 SWAC Coach of the Year Roger Cador’s team entered the tournament as selectees of the 2003 All-SWAC Baseball Team and five made the SWAC’s All-Tournament Team.
Ten home runs were hit throughout the Jags relentless pursuit of keeping the SWAC Championship at home where Southern delivered some home cooking for the home crowd at Lee-Hines Field. The 85-degree temperature provided more than enough heat for an already smoking Jaguar lineup.
“Our fans supported us very well and they have played a key role in giving us that home field advantage, said Cador.”
GAME I – SU 6 – JSU 4
On Friday, after Mississippi Valley State defeated the Tigers of Jackson State 19-17, a two-run homer by senior first baseman and the tournament’s outstanding hitter Kevin Vital and a solo homer by junior second baseman Rickie Weeks pushed the Jags in their 6-4 win over the Tigers.
Former Tiger and senior pitcher Dewon Day struck out five batters in seven innings to set up senior pitcher Damien Ursin and freshman pitcher Emary Frederick to leave the Tigers limp with a loss.
Entering the tournament, the 2.10 ERA pitcher was selected as the 2003 SWAC Outstanding Pitcher and named to the All-SWAC Tournament’s Team as the outstanding pitcher.
“I guess that I was pretty amped and was pitching off of the emotion of playing my old team,” said Day. “I had a lot of adrenaline running and as a matter of fact the whole team did, so I couldn’t help but to pitch well…Overall though, I wanted to beat them, so that was also my motivation.”
Along with the commanding pitching that Southern delivered to JSU, the defense of the fielders provided extra security for head coach Roger Cador.
All-SWAC junior shortstop Fernando Puebla provided a glove exhibition reminiscent to the early play of former St. Louis shortstop and Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith.
Serving as a “human vacuum cleaner” for almost any ball that was hit between second and third base, Puebla was provided with multiple opportunities throughout the game to assist Vital with putting out wishful batters at first base.
GAME II – SU 23 – MVSU 12
After defeating the Tigers, the Jags had to prepare for the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State (29-26 overall, 23-9 SWAC).
The Devils had come into the tournament as champions of the SWAC’s eastern division. They had also won more games this season than the 22 they had won in the previous two, but proved to be no match against a Jaguars squad that wanted to hold on to their championship reign.
In a game where senior third baseman Antoin Gray provided five runs and four runs batted in, the Jags delivered a 23-12 exorcism to the Devils and provided no solace for the Mississippi team as they collectively belted 19 hits and four homers against a struggling MVSU pitching staff.
In the bottom of the first inning, Weeks slammed a two-run homer that matched two previously scored runs by the Devils.
Weeks’s effort earned him a seat on the 2003 All-SWAC Baseball Team, SWAC All-Tournament Team and SWAC Outstanding Hitter and Player of the Year selections. He was also named the most valuable player of the tournament.
“I told them to (walk Weeks)…and they didn’t do it,” said MVSU head coach Doug Shanks. “I’ve seen Weeks hit and I wasn’t going to pitch to him…They don’t pitch to Barry Bonds, do they?”
In the bottom of the fourth inning, one of Vital’s four hits was a three-run homer as he blasted a fastball over the left field wall where it hit the top of a light post putting the Jags up 19-10.
“I was really excited coming into the game, and a lot of things were being said by the Valley players,” said Vital. “I just wanted to show them.”
In the bottom of the sixth inning, sophomore outfielder Andrew Toussaint knocked an inside the park home run catapulting the Jags to 21 runs and aiding them in their eventual win. The SWAC Newcomer of the Year had a .333 tournament average and a .667 tournament slugging percentage, along with five hits and one homer.
GAME III – SU 10 – MVSU 7
Southern met Mississippi Valley again in the conference championships on Sunday and proceeded to continue where they had left off with the Devils.
The Jags began scoring two runs in each of the first three innings in their 10-7 rout over the Devils. Home runs hit by Weeks and junior outfielder Marcus Townsend, III provided solace in the first seven innings of the game.
Although Southern did not score again after the seventh inning, MVSU did their best to play catch up as they scored two runs in ninth inning for a rally, but it was not enough.
“They are just a good team,” said Shanks. “Coach Cador is a great coach and I hope that he does well at the regional.”
In the win, junior pitcher Corey Poret struck out six Delta Devils in his eighth win of the season.
“This is a great win for the team,” said Cador. “It gets harder and harder every year, but if it weren’t tough, it wouldn’t be championship play.”
Cador’s career record at Southern is now currently 585-300-1 and he now has his sites set on the NCAA Tournament.
The tournament selection show will be held on the ESPN 2 network on May 26 at 11:30 a.m.
The Jags have made two consecutive tournament appearances and their .357 overall batting average currently leads the NCAA. The Jags also lead the nation in scoring with an average of 10.5 runs per game and they lead the nation with a .889 win-loss percentage.
Until then, he would like to get extra games played so that they players can get some practice.
The Jags had tentative scheduled a game with the University of Southern Mississippi on May 13, but to no avail. There is talk of playing Oklahoma State University later on in the month.
The further the Jags go into the tournament, the longer Cador can be with his cherished team.
Projected by some major league scouts to be the largest number of draft picks from Southern for a single season, the exiting players at Southern have nothing but good memories in their days of play at Southern.
” I have had a lot of good memories playing four years here at Southern,” said Vital.
Weeks, however has his sight on other things.
“It’s going to be bittersweet, but right now, I am not thinking about that,” said Weeks. “I am now concentrating on regionals.”
According to Cador, he could not have been happier with the job that his squad has done for him, winning their third championship in a row.
“It’s not bitter at all, it’s all sweet. They have won a lot for me…We want them to go forward to the next
level…This is what they work so hard for-an education and eventually a move to the majors…”
Which is definitely a level on a higher plain…