Sunday’s Sweep

The weather in Baton Rouge has been anything but pretty this past week. For SU baseball that caused them to have two games to be rained out. They were scheduled to play BRCC and UNO. Also, their series set for Saturday afternoon against conference for Arkansas Pine Bluff was rescheduled to a double header Sunday afternoon. 1 p.m. Sunday the Jaguars finally took to the diamond again.
After being off of the field for nearly a week, one would think the team would come out cold and stiff. However, the team came out against the Golden Lions firing on all cylinders. In the first game of the double header, it was the pitching that owned the match. Senior ace Santos Saldivar secured the win for the Jags 4-3. UAPB would kick off the scoring in the opener. Their leadoff hitter ripped a single into left field but the ball passed under the glove of Jaguar left fielder Tyler Kirksey. That put the runner in scoring position in the first inning with no one out. That same inning, SU right fielder D.J. Wallace failed to catch a routine fly ball and that led to a two-run triple. UAPB would pick up another run on a sac fly in the next inning.
After giving up three runs, Saldivar would control the remainder of the game one. The Golden Lions would send batter after batter up to the plate and Saldivar would send them right back where they came from. He had nine strikeouts after five innings and eleven through six innings. After eight innings he reached fifteen strikeouts, he amassed and would finish with sixteen strikeouts.
The game was tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth. SU had the winning run sitting on third base, itching to be brought home. Second baseman Marcus Tomlin would drive in the game clinching run by shooting a single back up the middle. That run gave the Jags a well-earned win and cemented an excellent outing for Santos Saldivar. “I didn’t even get out of the dugout, I was tearing up, and I didn’t want Marcus to see me,” said Saldivar when the game winning run crossed home plate.
In game two of the double header, it was the hitting that would secure a win for the Jags. The Golden Lions would again start the scoring, going up 1-0 in the third inning. However, SU would counter UAPB’s every move. Shortstop Robinson Mateo would tie the game early with a sac fly of his own. UAPB would score two more runs, both coming on RBI doubles. Nonetheless, SU would retaliate. Third baseman Marcus Hodge and outfielders Lance Jones and Kirksey would all bring in RBI’s in the bottom of the fifth inning; giving SU a 4-3 edge.
They would continue the hot hitting, as they had 19 hits and fourteen players to cross home plate. Hodge and catcher Jose de la Torre were the power hitters in the second game as they both sent balls over the wall. Hodge’s three run homerun would seal game two of the double header and give the Jags a 14-9 victory; completing the sweep on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. “We just tried to make an adjustment in Game 2. We were taking nice, simple swings and just putting the bat on the ball,” said Hodge. SU has won eight consecutive conference wins and have earned a spot in the SWAC tournament.