The lights were bright and fans packed Lee-Hines Stadium for the Friday night matchup between SWAC rivals , Southern versus Grambling State. Coming off a heartbreaking 12-10 loss on Thursday, the Jaguars came into game hungry for redemption. Early on, it looked like another long night for the Jaguars as Grambling jumped out to a commanding 7-0 lead by the second inning.
Brant Stewart (#30) sparked the momentum with a single home run, putting the Jags on the board. Jacoby Radcliffe (#21) and freshman Beny Bikar Jr. (#3) followed up with smart baserunning and capitalized on Tiger errors, slowly putting points on the board. In the bottom of the fourth inning Taj Bates (#10) homered, and Kameron Byrd (#20), Rashard Grace (#19), and Stewart all crossed the plate, putting the Jags ahead 11-8.
Grambling, however, refused to fold. Grambling reclaimed the lead in the seventh from multiple runs off walks tying the score. A two-run homer followed in the eighth by Tiger batter #8 giving them a 14-11 lead. Southern answered right back as Radcliffe launched a solo homer. With KJ White (#5) on base, Cardell Thibodeaux (#2) hit a two-run homer to even the score at 14-14. Going into the bottom of the ninth inning, neither team scored, keeping tensions high as they prepared for a tied game going into the 10th inning.
Entering the bottom of the 10th, Grambling failed to take advantage of the opportunity and struck out without putting any points on the board. Radcliffe stepped up and reached base advancing to third after a steal. With White at the plate, Radcliffe dashed home on the hit, scoring the game-winning run and sealing the comeback. The Jaguars clinched the victory with a final score of 15-14. “I just came out and competed,” said KJ White. “We made plays when we really needed to. All glory to God! We kept playing and didn’t give up.”
As the night ended, the Jaguars remained motivated heading into their next game. Kameron Byrd shared, “Trying to get our first series win of the season and playing for my teammates really keeps me motivated. We’re just trying to play for each other and Southern.” With the series tied 1-1, the Jaguars look to carry this momentum into Saturday’s game and claim their first series win of the season.
