Southern Jaguars sweep Prairie View Panthers

Photo: Southern's head coach Roger Cador said, “We finally won an ugly game. We made more errors than hits and we came out on top by two runs."



Pitching stands out in wins over Panthers

Saturday was a day long in coming for two of Southern’s senior relievers. First, Theo Ycoy, in his fifth year, got his first win, going 1 1/3 innings as the Jaguars rallied for a 6-3 win over Prairie View.

Then, Cody Elliott, a sixth-year senior who has had Tommy John surgery and just got cleared to play earlier this month, earned his first save by pitching a scoreless seventh in a 4-2 victory at Lee-Hines Field.

As SU (10-9, 8-3 Western Division) rebuilds its bullpen, those are the performances the Jaguars will need as SU seeks its first Southwestern Athletic Conference title since 2005.

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Southern, Prairie View working their way back

The teams which finished in the Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball tournament’s title game last season — Southern and Prairie View — will meet today to start a three-game series.

Both are still among the Western Division contenders, but both lost two of three to division leader Grambling, both make way too many errors and both are trying to find some consistency as they retool.


In short, even this weekend, both have a lot of work to do.

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UAPB gets $500,000 from Angel for complex

Photo: Torii Hunter donates half million dollars to build new UAPB baseball complex. Hunter did not attend UAPB or any other college.


PINE BLUFF, AR — Major league baseball player Torii Hunter committed $500,000 on Friday afternoon toward a proposed $9 million University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff baseball complex, which will bear his name.

UAPB Athletic Director Skip Perkins said Hunter closed the deal Friday morning.

Perkins said the complex will be named the Torii Hunter Baseball Complex. The donation is the largest ever to the school’s athletics department from a single person, Perkins said.

“We are very, very grateful,” Perkins said. “We’re ready to rock and roll now. That was a huge component to our fundraising efforts.” Perkins said the fundraising committee will begin its drive next month, although he wasn’t certain exactly when.

Hunter, a Los Angeles Angels outfielder and a 1993 graduate of Pine Bluff High School, was traveling with the team Friday afternoon and unavailable for comment, said Larry Babcock, a spokesman for the Angels. A message left on Hunter’s cell phone Friday was not returned.

Hunter did not attend UAPB or any other college. He was a first-round draft pick for the Minnesota Twins straight out of high school. He played his first major-league game in 1997.

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Southern can't overcome early deficit

GRAMBLING — Grambling broke out to a 6-0 lead after three innings and held off Southern, 7-4, in Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball action Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers (10-11, 8-4 SWAC West) took two of the three games from the rival Jaguars (7-9, 6-3).

“We lost the game in the first three innings,” Southern coach Roger Cador said. “They had a couple of Texas hoppers and a home run and after that we were playing catch-up.”

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Southern splits with Grambling State

GRAMBLING — Southern pitcher Jarrett Maloy gave up just four hits in going the distance to help the Jaguars salvage a split of a Southwestern Athletic Conference doubleheader with Grambling State on Saturday.

Southern took the nightcap, 3-1, behind Maloy’s solid pitching performance. In seven innings of work, he struck out six while walking just one.

Grambling scored all of its runs in the third inning of the first game to take a 5-4 win in the opener of the three-game SWAC West series.

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Brooks, SU dominate Coppin State

Photo: SU Coach Roger Candor.

The important part of Southern University’s 19-5 win over Coppin State came in getting a solid, knuckle-down start from junior right-hander Sherrard Brooks.

Brooks, who had struggled in three appearances, settled down after a rocky first inning, got out of a jam in the second and dominated from there until coming out after the sixth.

For a team with two starting pitchers, Chris Donaby and Seth Monaghan, out with injuries and still trying to build its bullpen, having Brooks gain confidence is a big help.

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Banged-up Southern University to host Coppin State

The Southern University baseball team, which hosts Coppin State tonight and has a key Western Division series this weekend at Grambling, is in a world of hurt.

Eight position players and two starting pitchers have a variety of injuries.

SU (5-7) hosts Coppin State (2-14), a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, at 6 p.m. today at Lee-Hines Field.

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Alcorn State baseball sweeps Alabama State, leads SWAC East 6-0

LORMAN - Alcorn State moved to 10-1 and 6-0 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference East by completing a three-game sweep over Alabama State on Saturday.

The Braves put 15 hits together with 12 walks. They beat the Hornets 14-5 two times on Friday. For the three games, Alcorn racked up 40 runs and 45 hits.

Grambling baseball takes two from Prairie View

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas- Grambling State won the first two games of a three-game series against the Prairie View by the score of 4-2 and 3-0 in games one and two respectively.

The Panthers struggled offensively, tallying only one hit in game one against grambling ace Mario Jefferson. In seven innings of work, Jefferson struck out nine and didn't allow a run.

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Cador 'concerned' as Southern opens SWAC play

Winless and yet to establish a consistent offense and left trying to regain the glory two years since a reign of conference domination ended, the Southern University baseball team begins Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division play today.

Southern (0-5) will play Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-7, 0-3 Western Division) in a doubleheader today and a single game Monday. The Jaguars then will host Alcorn State, a member of the Eastern Division, at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

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Urban Invitational comes to a close

COMPTON, Calif. -- The first MLB Urban Invitational has now come to a close, but the three-day event at USC's Dedeaux Field, UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium, and the MLB Urban Youth Academy created such goodwill and positive feedback from everyone involved, there is little doubt that this will set the stage for more and bigger invitationals in the coming years.

"It has been a tremendous opportunity to showcase the historical black colleges and universities [HBCUs] and a chance for the commissioner's initiative on African-Americans participation in baseball to be even further enhanced," said Major League Baseball Executive Vice President of Operations Jimmie Lee Solomon.

"What really struck me though is we had over 3,500 people here at the academy on Saturday night. People stayed here past midnight, cheering, watching the games -- we had kids running around and the crowd was extremely diverse. You can't tell me that the African-American population is not interested in our game."

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What a positive way to kick off the baseball season for Bethune Cookman and Southern University. Once again you proved that HBCUs can compete successfully in Division I Baseball. Those two losses by BCU to USC and UCLA 2-0 were great pitching duels. And how 'bout that SU slugfest with USC that ended 13-9?

The `Cats next test will be Georgia Southern on Tues, Mar. 4 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach. Southern University will play Tulane on Tuesday.

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BCU Baseball Bounces Back with 10-4 Win over Southern University

Photo: Bethune Cookman University's Eric Thomas, 5-11/185 junior P/OF, Daytona Beach CC/Bucholz H.S., Gainesville, FL

Drew Clark and Justin Hoyte hit first collegiate career homeruns

Compton, Calif. - Bethune-Cookman University bounced back on Sunday afternoon with an emphatic 10-4 win over Southern University in the final game of the inaugural MLB Urban Invitational Tournament held at the Urban Youth Academy in Compton, Calif.

Everyone knew whenever the bats joined the outstanding pitching of the Bethune-Cookman staff, and then the Wildcats would certainly be the most dangerous team in Black College Baseball. That point was made evident on Sunday afternoon as the Southern Jaguars and Bethune-Cookman Wildcats met for the first time in school history.

With controversy surrounding the game of the century between these two storied programs for years, the game was finally put on the field for the entire HBCU world to see Sunday. The problem is that it took place almost 3,000 miles away from B-CU, and about 2,000 miles from Southern's home site of Baton Rouge, La.

B-CU starting pitcher Eric Thomas was nearly flawless for the second consecutive week as he mowed down the hot-hitting Southern (0-4) bats. The hard-throwing right-hander from Gainesville, Fla. was touched just twice on the day and allowed one earned run. He struck-out six batters and was almost untouchable with the awesome B-CU defense right behind him whenever he got himself into trouble with six walks issued on the day in unusual fashion.

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The Power Of Eight Aids USC In Wild 13-9 Win over Southern Jaguars

Trojans score eight runs in the eighth for the win over Southern.

COMPTON, Calif. - The USC Trojans scored eight times in the eighth inning Saturday to defeat the Southern Jaguars, 13-9, in action at the MLB Urban Invitational. The Trojans took advantage of Jaguar pitching, which allowed seven walks in the USC eight, including three with the bases loaded. Both teams allowed a combined 20 walks with Southern accounting for 14 walks on the evening.

Senior third baseman Roberto Lopez (La Mesa/Rancho Bernardo HS) went 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI for the Trojans (5-2) while sophomore shortstop Hector Rabago (Riverside/Poly HS) also had three RBI, including a two-run home run.

Victor Franklin went 2-for-5 for Southern (0-3) with a double and three RBI while Calvin Anderson and Brad McDavid had three hits each.

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Urban Invitational a rousing success

COMPTON, Calif. -- After four years of talks and planning, the first MLB Urban Invitational was a coming out party for the Urban Youth Academy.

Tournament games started at USC's Dedeaux Field and UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday with UCLA Right-hander Charles Brewer (1-0) limiting Southern University to three hits in 7 2/3 scoreless innings, leading the No. 3-ranked Bruins past Southern, 11-2. Catcher Brent Dean powered the Bruins offense, finishing 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBIs, two runs and one walk at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Down the freeway, Junior left-hander Tommy Milone threw eight scoreless innings and allowed just two hits while tying a career high with nine strikeouts as the Trojans shut out the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, 2-0.

The games moved to the academy's main field Saturday where UCLA shut out Bethune Cookman in the first game of the doubleheader, 2-0, aided by a solo home run by UCLA right fielder Gabe Cohen and a 10-strikeout performance by UCLA starter Tim Murphy. Despite two shutout losses, Bethune-Cookman head coach Mervyl Melendez is proud that his team was invited to take part in the tournament.

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No. 3 UCLA Baseball Downs Southern, 11-2, in Urban Invitational

LOS ANGELES - Right-hander Charles Brewer (1-0) limited Southern to three hits in 7.2 scoreless innings, leading the No. 3 UCLA baseball team past Southern, 11-2, Friday evening in the first game of the inaugural Urban Invitational. Catcher Brent Dean powered the Bruin offense, finishing 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, two runs and one walk at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Brewer totaled six strikeouts and issued three walks in his first collegiate start. The Paradise Valley, Ariz., resident held the Jaguars (0-2) hitless through the first 6.2 innings, surrendering a base hit up the middle to right fielder Brad McDavid with two outs in the top of the seventh inning.

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African-Americans in NCAA baseball few and far between

Photo: Southern University head baseball coach Roger Candor.

It isn't a myth or an overstatement to say that the hardest thing to see in college baseball is an African-American ballplayer. The decline almost makes a triple play look common.

In 2007, less than seven percent of all NCAA Division I baseball players were African-American, and the numbers are expected to decline for 2008. The comparisons to basketball, where 57 percent of D-I players were African-American, and football (43 percent) are mind-boggling.

There are a grand total of seven African-American players at the five pre-eminent college baseball teams in Southern California - two at Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State, and one each at USC, UCLA and Pepperdine. Considering UCLA gave us Jackie Robinson, USC is located in the inner-city and Long Beach has a long history of producing outstanding African-American athletes, it's a regrettable local statistic.

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Southern Jaguars travels to West Coast for tournament

Photo: SU Human Jukebox Marching Band and Dancing Dolls get to do battle with the USC Trogan Marching Band in Los Angeles.

Add weatherman to Southern baseball coach Roger Cador’s capabilities. “It’s beautiful in Los Angeles. Simply gorgeous,” Cador said. Southern (0-1) plays third-ranked UCLA (2-1) at 8 p.m. CST today at Jackie Robinson Stadium in the first Urban Invitational Baseball Tournament.

In the round-robin tournament hosted by the MLB Urban Youth Academy, SU will play Southern California (3-2) on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. Saturday at the MLB Urban Youth Academy and Bethune-Cookman University (2-1) at 3 p.m. Sunday at the MLB Urban Youth Academy.

Saturday’s entertainment will also include a “Battle of the Bands” between Southern’s Human Jukebox and USC’s Trojan Marching Band.

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What a wonderful ideal--a battle of the bands at a baseball game! I know the Southern Human Jukebox is loving the opportunity to square off with the USC Trogan Marching Band. This will be an epic battle that is worth watching. Nice escape for the students before Spring Break in Los Angeles, California, no less. Go Jags!

Mississippi Valley bats nearly silent in 9-1 loss at LSU

Left-handed pitcher Blake Martin made sure his first start for the LSU baseball team would be a memorable one Wednesday night. Martin, a transfer who played his first two seasons at Birmingham Southern, pitched five strong innings in leading the Tigers to an easy 9-1 victory over Mississippi Valley State before 936 fans in Alex Box Stadium.

A junior from Boaz, Ala., Martin allowed just two hits and no runs in his first starting assignment for LSU (4-1). He struck out nine and walked just one before four relievers followed him to the mound to finish off Mississippi Valley (4-2).

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HBCU baseball can be a real head scratcher. Southern Jaguars and Mississippi Vally Delta Devils both lose to LSU with respectable scores and were competitive in the two games. Florida A&M Rattlers goes to Central Florida and get bombed by 50 runs in a 3 game series by a team going nowhere in Conference USA. Are the Rattlers really that bad or Southern U. and Mississippi Valley are really good teams that can compete with the big boys? It's going to be a long season, so let us watch how this scenario develops.

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Verdugo’s effort paces LSU win over Southern

Bitterly cold wind blew across Alex Box Stadium, but at times the most powerful force Tuesday night was the left arm of LSU pitcher Ryan Verdugo. Making his Division I debut, Verdugo struck out nine batters in five innings and held Southern to one of its three hits as LSU defeated the Jaguars 6-1.

His coach, Paul Mainieri, called him the story of the game. “He went out there and took command of the game early,” Mainieri said. LSU led 5-0 after two innings but had only three hits and one run after that.

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LSU plays at 6:30 p.m. today at home vs. Mississippi Valley State (4-1). The Valley lost to LSU in their first ever meeting last season 4-1. The Delta Devils defeated Arkansas-Monticello 13-11 on Tuesday. Southern didn't play to bad considering it was their first game of the season. The Jaguars move on to play at #1 ranked UCLA on Friday in a weekend tournament.

This is the way Division I sports should be played--competitively! Go MVSU and SU!!

Alabama State Opens Baseball Season with 9th Inning Win over Western Illinois

Montgomery, Ala. - Alabama State rode important late game performances from freshmen to take a 4-3 9th inning win over Western Illinois.

The Hornets lead 3-2 for much of the game until WIU loaded the bases in the 9th. After a hit batsman walked in a run to tie the bases, Alabama State coach Larry Watkins called for Devin Dominguez- who doubles as an ASU backup quarterback - out of the bullpen.

In the first action of his Hornet career, Dominquez shut down the rally by striking out back-to-back batters to keep the game tied heading into the bottom of the 9th.
With two outs, Cordaryl Kendrick - in his first ever collegiate at bat - stroked a pinch-hit single to drive in the winning run.

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