Staff writer
The big bats came back this weekend for the Grambling Tiger baseball team.
Coach James Cooper’s club rung up 26 runs in a pair of wins at Texas Southern Saturday and Sunday, and goes for the Southwestern Athletic Conference series sweep this afternoon at 1 in Houston.
Grambling (13-18, 10-4) rolled 10-1 on Saturday and 16-8 Sunday, and has won 13 of its last 20. Texas Southern (10-27, 9-11) managed just five hits in the opener.
Jahmoi Percival drove in half of Grambling’s first-game runs in a 4-for-4 day at the dish, and fell a home run short of hitting for the cycle. Jason Alvarez dominated Texas Southern hitters, striking out 10 over 7.2 innings.
Grambling lashed 16 hits (six for extra bases) Sunday, including a first-inning two-run trot shot by Percival. A grand slam in the second from Caleb Clines was followed by Keylon Mack’s two-run clout for an 8-2 advantage.
After widening the gap to 11-2, Grambling withstood a rally to within 11-7 in the fifth. Joseph Gunn’s two-run triple in the eighth reestablished control for the visitors. Then Percival continued to stake his claim to SWAC Hitter of the Week honors by delivering a two-run double for a 16-7 lead, giving him nine RBI in the first two games of the series.
Following the finish with the TSU Tigers today, the G-Men bus east to Baton Rouge to tangle with the purple and gold Tigers of LSU. First pitch at Alex Box Stadium is 4 p.m. Tuesday.
SOFTBALL: The Lady Tigers also try to break out the brooms on the road today after a twinbill sweep Sunday at UAPB, 14-1 and 6-4.
Grambling (9-13, 6-6) exploded for 11 runs in the fourth inning of the opener. Khahli Malone and Anaiyah Fultz each drove in three runs, Malone on a bases-loaded double in the fourth. Payton Shells scattered four hits in the circle.
The second game started like more of the same, with the Lady Tigers recording three runs in the top of the first. But it came down to the seventh inning, when Grambling plated a pair to break a 4-all stalemate.
Tytianna Robinson delivered a two-run single that stood up as the game-winner. Shells earned a save.
GSU hosts ULM at 1 p.m. Tuesday in a doubleheader.