No Smoke: Men’s baseball claims series victory against rival Grambling

Another chapter in the historical rivalry was written last weekend as the Jags faced off against Grambling. Going into the game, the Jags were coming off of a loss to Mississippi State and looked to get back into the win column. Southern was 6-4 in their last ten matchups against Grambling and looked to add three more wins to that stat sheet.
Both teams remained scoreless for the first two innings in the first game. Then both teams woke up the bats in the third inning. At the top of the inning, Grambling scored two runs. Southern then responded in turn with three runs with contributions from junior infielder O’Neill Burgos, Senior infielder Zavier Moore, Sophomore infielder Hunter Tabb. Those third innings runs seemingly put the dagger in their opponents as they were able to hold the Tigers scoreless for six straight innings. The Jags won the first game of the series 3-2.
The second game played out a bit differently as both teams’ offensives got a boost. In the second inning, Grambling scored the first run at the top of the inning, then Southern then scored their first run at the bottom of the second inning when Tabb grounded into a double play and brought home redshirt senior Tremaine Spears home from third base. The offensive explosion then continued third as Grambling then scored three additional runs. Southern then scored another run with the bases loaded as Spears was walked. Grambling then scored three unanswered runs as they maintained a foothold on the jags for the rest of the game. The game ended in a score of 5-11 in favor of Grambling with one game left.
Both teams looked to secure bragging rights in the series finale as they dueled once more. After the previous day’s loss, Southern came out guns blazing. They scored two runs in the first inning off of a single from Spears coupled with a fielding error. Southern then, during the rest of the game, outscored their opponents nine runs to five. Securing the series victory 2-1 adds another chapter to the illustrious rivalry. They will faceoff against McNeese State in an out-of-conference matchup in their next game. Southern will look to continue their winning ways once more.