Despite sweep over Tigers, Jaguars pitching still suffers

In baseball, many coaches will argue that solid pitching equals good defense, but lately, Southern’s pitching has been less than solid and Saturday’s doubleheader against Grambling State was no exception.
After posting a pair of convincing wins over the Tigers on Saturday, the Jaguars’ lack of focus led to almost cost them a win in the third and final game of the weekend series.
Fortunately for Southern, head coach Roger Cador’s Jaguars managed to pull out a 9-6 win at Lee-Hines Field.
“We’ve shown signs of being able to be a good team, but we’ve been inconsistent because of lack of concentration,” Cador said. “The players understand that we are where we are right now because we haven’t done the little things well.”
Problems began after Southern junior pitcher Joshua Kirk left the game in the seventh inning. Grambling State senior pitcher Branden Waters scored on a wild pitch; freshman outfielder Walter Roquemora scored on a double steal, and sophomore outfielder Marques Hatch stole home on the Jaguars junior pitcher Antonio Garth, who had relieved freshman right-hander Mitchell Henderson.
“We shouldn’t expect to win when we don’t execute,” Cador said. “We have to get better pitching. We have not been as consistent in that department and once your pitching is not as consistent your defense tends to suffer because pitching and defense go hand and hand.”
The sweep places Southern (9-11 overall, 6-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) within two games of conference leader Prairie View A&M, who the Jags will host Sunday at 1 1.p.m.