Alabama A&M baseball building on enthusiasm of coach Ed McCann

AAMU Coach Ed McCann

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- He had eight players and no uniforms. Mathematics, the rules of baseball and logic tell you that might not be the most ideal way to build a college baseball program.

"The uniforms had vanished in the middle of the night," said first-year Alabama A&M baseball coach Ed McCann of the situation he inherited. And, as for his office, "it was early-auction furniture. It looked like it came over on the Mayflower."

That Alabama A&M has a baseball team may be news to some. That is has a chance to reach the Southwest Athletic Conference tournament by winning two of three against Jackson State in the next two days may be more shocking news. Even, he will confess, to Ed McCann.

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Gonzalez, Wright lift Bethune-Cookman over Southern University

Coach Mervyl Melendez and Bethune-Cookman ends MLB Urban League Invitational with only one win--over Southern, dropping games against Cal State Northridge and UCLA.

COMPTON, Calif. -- Ryan Gonzalez pitched six strong innings and Matt Wright homered and had five RBIs to lead Bethune Cookman to a 13-8 victory over Southern University on Sunday at the Major League Baseball Urban Classic. Gonzalez (1-0) gave up three runs on three hits and struck out six for the Wildcats (1-2). Joey Sharkey and Justin Dahl combined to pitch the final three innings to secure the win.

Wright's three-run homer, his second of the weekend, sparked an eight-run fifth inning that propelled B-CU to a 12-1 lead. Justin Hoyte had two hits, including a two-run triple in the Wildcats' four-run third inning. Ryan Durrence had three hits and Emmanuel Castro went deep for the Wildcats. "We needed to win this game after losing the first two," said Gonzalez, a sophomore form Arecibo, Puerto Rico. "My fastball and curveball were working well and I felt like I was attacking the zone. I was motivated today to help my team win."

This weekend marked the third consecutive season that B-CU has opened its campaign at the MLB Urban Classic on the outskirts of Los Angeles. The third annual three-day event, which also featured No. 23 ranked UCLA, Southern University and Cal-State Northridge, helps spotlight Historically Black Colleges and Universities by giving them national exposure.

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Southern picked to defend West title

SU Coach Roger Cador.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Southern pitcher Jarrett Maloy was named Southwestern Conference preseason pitcher of the year, while the Jaguars were picked to defend their Western Division title, according to the league’s coaches and sports information departments. Prairie View A&M outfielder Myrio Richard was voted preseason player of the year, while Jackson State was predicted to repeat as Eastern champions, according to a conference news release late Wednesday night.

“Being picked to defend the title in the West is not really our goal,” Southern baseball coach Roger Cador said. “It’s an honor, but our goal is to win the whole conference.” The Jaguars begin their season on the road Friday against the University of San Diego. The Jaguars’ home opener is March 4 against Southeastern Louisiana. Maloy, a 6-1, 180-pound junior from Tallahassee, Fla., posted a 9-3 record with a 5.43 ERA (second in SWAC) last season. His win total tied for second highest in the conference.

Complete 2009 Southern University Baseball Schedule Release in PDF Format

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TSU top defending champ Prairie View for SWAC title

Candy Robinson spent most of a disappointing 2008 baseball season trying to convince Texas Southern it could be a good team.

On Monday the Tigers proved they’ve been listening to their longtime coach.

Texas Southern capped an improbable run through the 2008 SWAC tournament with an improbable victory against Prairie View A&M, claiming the championship with a 12-11 triumph at Lee-Hines Field.

The Tigers (16-32) will be the SWAC’s representative in the NCAA tournament after scoring five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to erase an 11-7 deficit.

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PVAMU ousts SU to reach SWAC final

Prairie View will get the chance to win a third consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball title today after prevailing on a wild and gritty Sunday in which the Panthers took two games by one run from traditional powerhouse Southern on the Jaguars’ own field.

Adrian Canales froze Michael Gavion for a full-count strikeout, with a runner on second base, as the Panthers beat Southern 15-14 in a zany second game at Lee-Hines Field.

And Josh Lara struck out 11 in a complete-game gem, finishing by getting SU’s Frazier Hall, a .400 hitter, to fly out to center field with Gavion on third base, as PV forced the second game 5-4 — after trailing 4-0 in the fourth — earlier Sunday.

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PVAMU Captures Emotional Win Over Southern Jaguars

BATON ROUGE, La.- The Prairie View A&M Panthers captured and emotional 5-4 victory over the Southern Jaguars in Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball action in the two team’s second meeting of the tourney.

PVAMU rallied from a 5-3 deficit to claim the win on Southern’s home turf. The win sets up a winner take all match-up where the victor will be awarded with an opportunity to participate in the SWAC’s title game where they will face Texas Southern.

PVAMU All-SWAC First Team Pitcher Wardel Taylor.

The Texas Southern Tigers remain as the only unbeaten team in tournament play as they have amassed a perfect 3-0 mark. TSU eliminated the Jackson State Tigers from title contention with a convincing 9-2 victory.

Prairie View A&M’s game versus Southern is set for 5:00 p.m. at Lee Hines field located on the campus of SU.

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Defense, big hits key to Southern U victory

Archive Photo: Jaguars head coach Roger Cador (left).

The Prairie View-Southern University baseball game unfolded as just the kind of go-for-broke donnybrook that was expected, so let’s get right to the crucial sequence where Southern won the game 14-9 Saturday at Lee-Hines Field.

With amazing defense to close the fourth inning. And with two big, first-pitch hits in a four-run fifth. That span of about 20 minutes lifted SU (28-16) into today’s 1 p.m. bracket championship game at the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.

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