James Cooper is about to begin his first season as a Division I baseball coach, but he'll have plenty of experience within the Grambling Tigers to draw from. The Tigers return nine of the 12 players who started at least 20 games last season. Despite a 17-37 record last season, Grambling did come within one win of playing for the SWAC Tournament title. Cooper, a native of Cullen (La.) and Grambling graduate, replaced former coach Barret Rey. Although he'll have plenty of help in the lineup, including 2009 leading hitter Steve Kletke, Cooper will look for some new help on the mound as the season begins at Stephen F. Austin on Friday.
Coach Cooper started season at 0-2, dropping games on the road at Stephen F. Austin, 4-0 and 9-4. The Tigers play this afternoon to end the series. Gone are starting pitchers Baron Hinton and Manny Kumar, who combined for eight of the Tigers' 17 victories last season and finished 1-2 in innings pitched. Hinton led the team (players who pitched more than 10 innings) with a 4.59 ERA. The Tigers lose 30 starts from five departing pitchers, but retain Adrian Turner. The Kenosha, Wis., product tied for the team lead with seven starts as a sophomore in 2009.
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Coach Cooper started season at 0-2, dropping games on the road at Stephen F. Austin, 4-0 and 9-4. The Tigers play this afternoon to end the series.
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