Sunday, April 27, 2014

SWAC baseball tournament expected to move to Baton Rouge or New Orleans

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  -- The chairman of the Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball coaches committee said Sunday that the conference tournament is being pulled from Fort Worth, Texas and is expected to land in Baton Rouge or New Orleans.

Grambling coach James Cooper said there were “safety concerns” at LaGraves Field, which he inspected last week, that can’t be resolved in time for the tournament, which begins May 14.

“The field had a bunch of issues with it that would be a hazard for the student-athletes,” Cooper said. “So the tournament is not going to be in Fort Worth.

“Right now, it looks like the SWAC tournament will either be at Southern or the Urban Youth Academy in New Orleans.”

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Loss keeps Southern out of tourney

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  Southern finished its home baseball season with a loss that guaranteed it won’t qualify for the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.

The Jaguars lost to Grambling 16-7 on Sunday afternoon at Lee-Hines Field to fall to 8-24 and 4-15 in the SWAC, guaranteeing a last-place finish in the West Division. The Tigers, second to last in the West, improved to 13-27 and 11-13.

Southern, which visits McNeese State in a non-conference game Wednesday, can’t win more than nine SWAC games. Third-place Prairie View A&M fell to 10-10 when it lost to Texas Southern 6-1 on Sunday.

“We don’t deserve to go because we didn’t do it on the field,” Jaguars coach Roger Cador said.

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Cardiac NCCU Eagles Storm Back To Take Series From FAMU

DURHAM, North Carolina  --  Through the first five innings, Florida A&M seemed to be on a path to ruin Senior Day, but North Carolina Central University's "Cardiac Eagles" did it again.  Trailing 11-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth, the maroon and gray scored the next 11 runs in the game to take the rubber match between the two to win the series 15-11 on Sunday afternoon at the Durham Athletic Park.

For the second straight game, the much-improved Rattler program jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but the Eagles would not die.

In the bottom of the third, freshman Carlos Ortiz (Cleveland, Ohio) crushed his fourth home run of the year to right field to finally get NCCU on the board at 5-1 after leaving men stranded through the first two innings.

The Rattlers responded with a two-run bomb to left centerfield by Michael Birdsong to make it 7-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth.

Sophomore Christian Triplett (Wilkesboro, N.C.) revved up the Eagle offense with a one-out double, followed up by a Zack Lee (Wilson, N.C.) two out walk, when Ortiz did it again with a bomb to right field, his fifth of the year, to make it 7-4 to bring the home faithful to their feet.

Florida A&M's potent offensive attack recovered to strike four more runs on the board in the top of the fifth to take a commanding 11-4 lead on the maroon and gray as senior Bennie Robinson ripped a single to drive in two runs with the bases loaded for the Rattlers.

FAMU did not score the rest of the day, while the Cardiac Eagles were just getting cranked up.

In the bottom of the fifth with NCCU trailing 11-4 sophomore James Dey (Charlotte, N.C.) followed up senior Carter Williamson's single with his first career home run to trim the margin to five at 11-6.  After redshirt junior Eric Kimber (Greensboro, N.C.) and freshman Jared Kehagias (Sanford, N.C.) were retired to put two outs on the board, Triplett's single followed up by a Kory Wood (Spring Lake, N.C.) walk began another three run two out rally for the maroon and gray as Lee registered a two RBI single as well as Tyson Simpson (Burgaw, N.C.) ripped an RBI single and the lead diminished to just two at 11-9.

FAMU threatened to score for the sixth consecutive inning, but the Eagles tightened up in the sixth with the bases loaded while Kimber's second career triple to left centerfield allowed the maroon and gray to tie the game at 11 after six complete.

After a second straight scoreless inning, the Eagles put the Rattlers away for good in bottom of the seventh with four runs to take a 15-11 lead, highlighted by Triplett's two RBI single and Wood's RBI single as well.

NCCU led 15-11 heading down the stretch and sophomore righty Andrew Vernon (Raleigh, N.C.) closed the game to earn the win with his 3.0 innings of work with four strikeouts in the comeback win.

Ortiz finished the day 4-for-5 with two home runs, four RBI, and three runs scored, while Triplett went 3-for-3 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored.

Florida A&M's Birdsong went 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs scored to led the Rattler offense in the loss.

During the weekend, the maroon and gray hit seven home runs as a team and batted .326 as Williamson led the Eagles going .533 at-the-dish (8-for-15) with a home run, four RBI and two runs scored, while Ortiz batted .467 (7-for-15) with three home runs and six RBI along with six runs scored.

NCCU (17-26-1, 12-10 MEAC) has clinched a berth into the MEAC Tournament which will take place on May 15-18 at Marty Miller Field in Norfolk, Va. with the only question remaining is which seed the maroon and gray will be.  The Eagles could technically earn at least a share of the Southern Division title, stay tuned for more updates.

Visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or download the NCCU Sports Network app available in the App Store, Google Play and Amazon for the latest on NCCU Athletics.

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Chris Hooks, Assistant Sports Information Director/Broadcast Media Coordinator
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Stillman Defeats Tuskegee, Earns Seventh SIAC Title in Eight Seasons

STILLMAN COLLEGE TIGERS BASEBALL
OZARK, Alabama — The Stillman Tigers entered this week's SIAC Baseball Championship with questions to be answered and responses being few and far between.  Could the team shake off the recent set of defensive issues and play well enough to be competitive?  Would the team's pitching hold up during the tournament?  Could the team playing with 11 seniors find their way back to the tournament championship?  Could the Tigers overcome sub-par performances near the end of the season and repeat as champions? The answer to those questions proved all to be the same:  YES.

On the strength of strong pitching, aggressive hitting and stellar base running, Stillman found just what they needed to repeat as champions of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Entering Saturday, Stillman knew it needed two strong contests if it were to have a chance at defending its title.

As Saturday drew to a close, a 10-2 win over Eastern Division winner Albany State and an 8-7 emotional win over Tuskegee – who entered that contest undefeated in the tournament in need of a single win to unset Stillman – propelled the two teams from Alabama into a winner-take-all finale on Sunday.

On day five of the tournament, Stillman took advantage of eight hits, four Tuskegee errors as they defeated the rival Golden Tigers 8-1 at historic Eagle Stadium. Playing in front of a near capacity crowd, Stillman proved to be functioning on all cylinders while Tuskegee struggled to push runs across the plate. After going scoreless in the first two innings, Stillman scored twice – the first on an RBI single by Nick Baldelli-Boggs and the second on a Brad Sevenish groundout.

Tuskegee broke into the scoring column in the top of the fifth inning when Russell Cornin opened the inning on a single and scored on an RBI single by Brandon Mapp.

Stillman responded in the bottom of the inning, scoring four runs on five hits and a Tuskegee error to build a 6-1 lead after five innings of action.  In the eighth, Anthony Delgado reached on an error before scoring on Dustin Dunn's single before Paul Winterbottom (reached on an intentional walk) scored on a sacrifice fly by Fernando Tanaka.

Stillman pitcher Ashton Johnson pitched five innings, scattering seven hits, walking one and striking out one.  He went 2-0 in the tournament, pitching 14 innings and registering a 0.64 ERA with seven strikeouts.  Johnson was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.  Tyler Vails pitched the final four innings of the tournament, scattering three hits and striking out four – including two of the final three batters of the game.

Joining Johnson on the all-tournament team were third baseman Anthony Delgado and shortstop Fernando Tanaka.  Delgado led the team with a .476 batting average this week, going 10-for-21 with six runs scored, and six runs batted in.  Tanaka batted .318 over six games, scoring seven times, driving in four runs, drawing five walks and finishing with four stolen bases.  Stillman head coach Donny Crawford was named the event's Most Outstanding Coach.

Other outstanding performances came from second baseman Dustin Dunn and pitcher Tyler Vails.  Dunn batted .385 going 10-for-26 with seven runs scored and four runs batted in.  Vails made three appearances, going 1-0 with a 1.08 ERA, nine strikeouts and a save.

The tournament is the fourth consecutive title for Stillman and the seventh over the last eight years.  Stillman also is 13-1 in SIAC tournament play at Eagle Stadium.

Stillman will now await the pairings of the 2014 NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament with the location still to be determined.

2014 SIAC BASEBALL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
1. Ashton Johnson - Stillman College
2. Fernando Tanaka - Stillman College
3. Nick Baldelli-Boggs - Stillman College
4. Cash Oliver - Tuskegee University
5. Gene Moody - Tuskegee University
6. Danny Barnes - Tuskegee University
7. Robert Latner - Albany State University
8. Ryan Latner - Albany State University
9. Jacob Campbell - Albany State University
10. Kyle Clark - Kentucky State University

Tournament MVP: Ashton Johnson - Stillman College
Most Outstanding Coach: Donny Crawford - Stillman College
Third Place: Albany State University
Runner-Up: Tuskegee University
2014 SIAC Baseball Champions: Stillman College


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Langston Repeats as RRAC Women's Track & Field Champs

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma -- Langston won its second consecutive title, finishing on top at the 2014 Red River Athletic Conference Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday at John Marshall High School. With 191 points, Langston's nearest rival was Bacone with 107.

The Lady Lions took individual event titles in the 4x800-meter relay, 400-meter dash (Sydney Scott), High Jump and Javelin (both won by meet MVP Janaa Evans). Our Lady of the Lake captured all the distance races with Ceara O'Donnell winning the 1,500 and 3,000 while Erica Ramos won titles in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races.

RRAC Women's Track & Field Championships Results  (CLICK HERE)

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Wiley Wildcats Tops Field at RRAC Men's Track & Field Championships


Wiley collected its first RRAC men's track & field title.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma -- Wiley College Wildcats captured the team title on the final day of the 2014 Red River Athletic Conference Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships at John Marshall High School by edging Bacone by 10 points. The Wildcats swept all of the distance races including a sweep of the medal stand in the 5,000-meter run.

Wiley's Patrick Mutai took the individual title in the 3,000 and the 5,000 and finished second in the 10,000 in addition to helping the Wildcats win the 4x800-meter relay. Wiley also performed well in the throwing events, led by meet MVP Atsu Nyamadi (1st in Discus, 2nd in Shot Put and Javelin) and John Ampomah (1st in Javelin).

2014 RRAC Men's Track & Field Championships Results (CLICK HERE)

Men's Team Scores

RankTeamScore


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Jordan Jones signs with Mississippi Valley Delta Devils

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KRQE) – Sandia High senior Jordan Jones signed a letter of intent to compete for Mississippi Valley State University Friday where he will play basketball and football.

Jones averaged 15 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for the Matadors in basketball this season. At 6 foot 6, Jones was a big target for the Matadors football team who was able to convert big plays when needed.

He is well aware that NFL great Jerry Rice once called MVSU home.

When asked about playing receiver at the same school that produced Rice, Jones said ...



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