'Raggedy' MVSU puts on own Ritz with Notre Dame

'Raggedy' MVSU puts on own ritz

ITTA BENA, MS — Yes, those were the Notre Dame Fighting Irish out there on the modest baseball diamond of Mississippi Valley State on Friday - Notre Dame with all the trimmings: Brilliant, old gold batting helmets, navy blue jerseys, with gold numbers and lettering and bright green shamrocks on the sleeves. This was Notre Dame, in Itta Bena, playing on a field that Valley coach Doug Shanks and his coaches worked on through Thursday night making sure it would be playable. This is Magnolia Field, where the one-man grounds crew dresses in green and white striped pants, courtesy of a nearby penal farm where he is housed and fed. "Hardest worker you ever saw, but we have to have him back by 4," Shanks says.

This was Notre Dame, the gold standard of college athletics, winning 12-4 over Mississippi Valley State, which Shanks quite frankly will admit, has "the worst Division I baseball facilities in America." The crowd was standing room only Friday. Of course, at Magnolia Field, there is essentially standing room only. The official nickname for MVSU's athletic teams is Delta Devils. The baseball players call themselves the Ragamuffins. No explanation necessary.

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Coach Doug Shanks at the Valley.

Irish Upend Mississippi Valley State, 8-3

GREENVILLE, MS - Notre Dame senior RHP Billy Boockford (Glen Elyn, Ill.) picked up his first career victory and senior 1B Casey Martin (Chesterton, Ind.) added two hits, including a solo home run for the second consecutive day, to lead the Irish past Mississippi Valley State, 8-3, in college baseball action from Legion Field Saturday afternoon. An energetic crowd of 1,875 watched Notre Dame improve to 2-0 on the season. Boockford, who entered today's contest with just one previous pitching appearance, tossed 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings of relief. The right-handed hurler walked a batter and recorded a strikeout.

Junior Todd Miller (Franklin, Tenn.) picked up the save. Miller, who tied for the team-lead in saves last season with five, worked 2.0 scoreless innings of relief. He surrendered three hits and one walk, but also struck out one. Martin and junior Cameron McConnell (Bannockburn, Ill.) were the only two Irish players with more than one hit, but seven of the nine starters registered a base hit. It marked the second consecutive day with seven of the nine starting players recorded a hit.

Notre Dame grabbed an early 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and second inning. Senior 2B Ryne Intlekofer (Moorpark, Calif.) opened the game with a double and came around to score on senior OF David Mills' (Battle Creek, Mich.) RBI single. Junior 3B Greg Sherry (Mendham, N.J.) added an RBI single in the second to score McConnell, who reached with a one-out single.

After the Delta Devils cut the Irish lead in half, 2-1, Notre Dame pushed the lead to 4-1 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning. Junior David Casey (Whitefish Bay, Wisc.) drew a two-out walk and raced home on junior Mick Doyle's (LaGrange Park, Ill.) RBI double. Doyle would eventually score on a Mississippi Valley State error to make it 4-1.

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No pitching coach for Southern Jaguars

After weeks of rotten luck and disjointed practice schedules, the Southern baseball team caught a break Saturday afternoon. Rain and snow vanished, the sky cleared and the sun showed up. In the parking lot outside Lee-Hines Field, with the constant ring of aluminum bats in the distance, pitchers stretched and laughed. Right-hander/class clown Seth Monaghan made goofy faces and goofier dance moves. Teammates talked trash. Minutes later, they took off for some running exercises.

With less than a week to go before the Jaguars’ season opener at UCLA, everything seemed in place. Except for the presence of a pitching coach. For the second straight year, Southern will attempt to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship without a full-time pitching coach — something longtime head coach Roger Cador had hoped for this summer when he agreed to a three-year contract that will pay him at least $125,000 per season. Two months after winning his 14th conference title, Cador — who begins his 26th season behind the wheel of the baseball program — interviewed twice with the University of New Orleans (Cador agreed to a new deal with SU, his alma mater, before UNO made an offer).

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SU Jaguars 2010 Baseball Schedule

DATE OPPONENT SITE TIME

FEBRUARY
19 Friday UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (Jackie Robinson Stadium) 8:00 P.M.
20 Saturday Cal State Northridge, Los Angeles, CA (MLB Urban Youth Academy) 4:00 P.M.
21 Sunday Bethune-Cookman, Los Angeles, CA (MLB Urban Youth Academy) 4:00 P.M.
24 Tuesday University of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, LA 6:00 P.M.
27 Friday Baton Rouge CC (Exhibition) Baton Rouge, LA (Pete Goldsby Field) 1:00 P.M.

MARCH
2 Tuesday University of Loyola, New Orleans, LA 6:00 P.M.
6 Saturday +Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA 1:00 P.M.
6 Saturday University of New Orleans, Thibodaux, LA 4:00 P.M.
7 Sunday Nicholls State University, Baton Rouge, LA 1:00 P.M.
9 Tuesday Southeastern Louisiana Univ., Baton Rouge, LA 6:00 P.M.
13 Saturday *+Prairie View A&M Univ., Baton Rouge, LA 12:00 NOON
14 Sunday *Prairie View A&M Univ., Baton Rouge, LA 1:00 P.M.
16 Tuesday Univ. of Louisiana-Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 6:00 P.M.
20 Saturday +Baton Rouge CC (Exhibition) Baton Rouge, LA 1:00 P.M.
21 Sunday Baton Rouge CC (Exhibition) Baton Rouge, LA (Pete Goldsgy Field) 1:00 P.M.
23 Tuesday Nicholls State University, Baton Rouge, LA 6:00 P.M.
27 Saturday *+Arkansas Pine Bluff Univ., Pine Bluff, AR 1:00 P.M.
28 Sunday *Arkansas Pine Bluff Univ., Pine Bluff, AR 1:00 P.M.
30 Tuesday Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA 6:00 P.M.

APRIL
3 Saturday *+Texas Southern University Baton Rouge, LA 12:00 NOON
4 Sunday *Texas Southern University Baton Rouge, LA 1:00 P.M.
6 Tuesday University of New Orleans Baton Rouge, LA 6:30 P.M.
10 Saturday *+Grambling State Univ. Baton Rouge, LA 12:00 NOON
11 Sunday *Grambling State Univ. Baton Rouge, LA 1:00 P.M.
13 Tuesday University of Loyola Baton Rouge, LA 6:00 P.M.
17 Saturday *+Prairie View A&M Univ. Prairie View, TX 1:00P.M.
18 Sunday *Prairie View A&M Univ. Prairie View, TX 1:00P.M.
20 Tuesday Delgado CC (Exhibition) Baton Rouge, LA 6:00 P.M.
21 Wednesday FAMU, Baton Rouge, LA 6:00 P.M.
22 Thursday FAMU, Baton Rouge, LA 3:00 P.M.
24 Saturday Jackson State University Baton Rouge, LA 1:00 P.M.
25 Sunday Jackson State University Jackson, MS 1:00 P.M.
27 Tuesday Southeastern Louisiana Hammond, LA 6:00 P.M.

MAY
1 Saturday *+Arkansas Pine Bluff Univ. Baton Rouge, LA 12:00 NOON
2 Sunday *Arkansas Pine Bluff Univ. Baton Rouge, LA 1:00 P.M.
5 Wednesday Alcorn State University Lorman, MS 6:00 P.M.
8 Saturday *+Texas Southern University Houston, TX 1:00 P.M.
9 Sunday *Texas Southern University Houston, TX 1:00 P.M.
11 Tuesday Univ. of Louisiana Lafayette Baton Rouge, LA 6:00 P.M.
15 Saturday *+Grambling State Univ. Grambling, LA 1:00 P.M.
16 Sunday *Grambling State Univ. Grambling, LA 1:00 P.M.
18 Tuesday Alcorn State University Baton Rouge, LA 6:00 P.M.
26-29 Wed.-Sun. SWAC Tournament Shreveport, LA TBA

Bold = Home Games
* = Conference Games
+ = Double Header Games
All game times are Central

Bill would name Alcorn State baseball facilities for former coaches McGowan and Foster

The legendary Willie E."Rat" McGowan, Sr. (#25 in photo) will be honored with the naming of the Alcorn State University baseball stadium.

JACKSON, MS — Alcorn State University could honor its sports history by naming its baseball stadium and the field inside the stadium after two former coaches. A bill that passed the Mississippi House 116-0 on Tuesday would name the park as the Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Sr. Baseball Stadium. McGowan retired in 2009 after coaching Alcorn State baseball for 40 years. The field inside the stadium would be named for the late William "Bill" Foster, the school's first baseball coach.

Foster was a left-handed pitcher in the Negro Leagues in the 1920s and '30s and is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The legendary "Rat" McGowan finished his Alcorn career with 720 wins and was inducted in the Alcorn State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998, for baseball and football. The bill moves to the Senate for more work.

Negro Leagues Baseball eMuseum: Personal Profiles: William Foster
----------
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2010 Regular Session

To: Public Property; Universities and Colleges

By: Representatives Holloway, Middleton, Clarke, Wooten, Arinder, DuVall, Espy, Gibbs, Harrison, Huddleston (30th), Johnson, Jones (82nd), Thomas, Scott, Clark

House Bill 730
(As Passed the House)
AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT THE ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY BASEBALL PARK ON THE CAMPUS OF ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY IN LORMAN, MISSISSIPPI, SHALL BE NAMED THE WILLIE E. "RAT" MCGOWAN, SR., BASEBALL STADIUM; TO PROVIDE THAT THE BASEBALL FIELD WITHIN THE WILLIE E. "RAT" MCGOWAN STADIUM SHALL BE NAMED THE WILLIAM "BILL" FOSTER BASEBALL FIELD; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The Alcorn State University Baseball Park on the campus of Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, shall be named the Willie E. "Rat" McGowan, Sr., Baseball Stadium. The Department of Finance and Administration shall prepare a distinctive plaque to be placed in a prominent place within the Willie E. "Rat" McGowan, Sr., Baseball Stadium, which states the background, accomplishments and service to the university of Mr. McGowan.

SECTION 2. The baseball field within the Willie E. "Rat" McGowan, Sr., Baseball Stadium, as designated in Section 1 of this act, located on the campus of Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, shall be named the William "Bill" Foster Baseball Field. The Department of Finance and Administration shall prepare a distinctive plaque to be placed in a prominent place on the William "Bill" Foster Baseball Field, which states the background, accomplishments and service to the university of Mr. Foster.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.

Southern battles, falls to Minnesota Gophers

Coach Roger Cador ends year with a 30-17 mark with two-and-out in the NCAAs.

Sunglasses still covered much of his face. A gleaming dark-blue helmet still sat atop his head. Near home plate at Alex Box Stadium, Southern catcher Michael Thomas bent forward and placed his hands on his knees. His eyes searched the bright reddish-brown dirt for answers. Saturday afternoon, the Jaguars had just finished their last game of the season — an intense, emotional back-and-forth elimination game in the Baton Rouge Regional that ended in an 11-8 loss to Minnesota.

“A lot of pain,” Thomas said. “Standing out there, I thought we were going to pull out the win today.” For Thomas, this was tough to process. So many times, SU had battled back — not only in Saturday’s game, but for much of their wild and mostly successful 2009 season. Thomas, for his part, had returned to action after missing 20 games with a broken hand, one of many Jaguars who’d succumbed to injures over the season.

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2009 SEASON ONE OF UPS AND DOWNS FOR UAPB BASEBALL

Alcorn State baseball coach retires after 40 years

LORMAN, MS — With Alcorn State’s baseball season coming to an end with a loss in the SWAC Tournament championship game last Sunday, one might think that coach Willie “Rat” McGowan could finally take it easy. After all, McGowan did announce his retirement last month and has coached his final game in the ASU dugout. But McGowan’s retirement doesn’t take effect until June 30, and the coach is still working hard until then.

“I’m recruiting and trying to find some ball players,” McGowan said on Wednesday. “We’ve got some good kids coming in. I’m going to be coaching until my last day. I want to leave the Alcorn baseball program competitive for the next coach. I think the team we’ll put together will be able to win a championship.”

Coach Willie "Rat" McGowan #25, won 720 games with the ASU Braves.

And that is something McGowan’s final Alcorn team almost did. The Braves lost the opening game of the SWAC Tournament to Texas Southern before winning four straight games to advance to the championship game. However, the Braves lost to Southern 12-10 to bring down the curtain on McGowan’s 40 years at the helm of the Alcorn baseball program.

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JSU running game to test Southern's Hall

Frazier Hall is already used to the beating he takes behind the plate. The next two days, he figures his knees will snap and crackle even more than they usually might. That’s what happens when you’re the starting catcher at Southern and you face a team like Jackson State, which tries to steal more often than Rickey Henderson. Hall knows this much: In his attempt to throw out base runners, he’ll pop up and down all weekend. “With a team like Jackson, we might pick over (to first base) a little more often, just to keep the runners honest,” said senior right-hander James Spear, who will start today’s game.

SU Jaguars Coach Roger Cador congratulates Brad McDavid after homer

“I know Frazier will be expecting them to run whenever. But we basically take the same approach with every team.” Southern (17-8) visits Jackson State (23-11) at 3 p.m. today in the first half of a two-game home-and-home series. The teams play again at 1 p.m. Sunday in Baton Rouge. (To borrow a term from soccer, these games are “friendly;” they don’t count in the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings and serve, more or less, as the traditional halfway mark of Southern’s SWAC schedule.) While the stolen base has almost vanished from baseball the last 20 years, giving way to an emphasis on the three-run homer, the Tigers have proven, the stolen base is still a deadly weapon.

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Southern, Prairie View split doubleheader

The Southern baseball team cooled off all at once Saturday afternoon at Lee-Hines Field. The Jaguars’ bats went silent. Their winning streak ended at nine, and it ended with a thud. They lost 12-1 against Prairie View in the second game of a doubleheader, thanks to a near-perfect performance from Panthers pitcher Mark Almaguer. And yet, none of that qualified as the scariest part the afternoon.

That happened at 1:14 p.m., in the fourth inning of the first game — a 12-5 victory for Southern. At that moment, ace pitcher Jarrett Maloy took a line drive to his right ankle. He collapsed and spent two minutes face-down on the mound, then eventually got up and walked around, testing the ankle. Maloy threw two warm-up pitches, then got back to work. Better yet, he worked himself out of a one-out bases-loaded jam in the fourth. That was his last inning.

GAME ONE BOX SCORE
GAME TWO BOX SCORE

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Jaguars slam Grambling to finish 3-game sweep

Victor Franklin and Edmond Morton both hit grand slams in a nine-run Southern second inning as the Jaguars routed Grambling State, 26-10, today at Lee-Hines ield. The Jaguars (14-7 overall, 11-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) completed a three-game sweep with their seventh consecutive victory overall.

Southern pushed its SWAC winning streak to 11. Romey Bracey drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the second to give the Jaguars a 3-2 lead. Franklin followed with his bases-clearing shot as SU took a 7-2 advantage.

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SLU comes back to beat Southern University in 10th

Joe Sparacino's two-out run-scoring double in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted Southeastern Louisiana to an 8-7 victory against Southern last night in Hammond. The Lions (6-3) overcame a 7-0 deficit to knock off the visiting Jaguars (3-5). Both teams had a chance to win it in the ninth. Two errors and a walk helped the Jaguars load the bases in the top of the inning, but Toddrick Stevenson popped up to the pitcher to end the threat.

In the bottom of the ninth, Ty Summerlin singled with one out and moved to third on Brandon Street's single. Josh Cryer was intentionally walked to load the bases. But Chris Franklin grounded into a double play to force extra innings. Southern had runners on the corners with two out in the top of the 10th, but Gregory Whitfield grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning.

Southern jumped out to a 7-0 lead after 4 1/2 innings, but SLU pecked away before tying the game in the eighth on Jordan D'Arensbourg's two-run home run. Edmond Morton's two-run homer in the second gave the Jaguars a 2-0 lead. Victor Franklin's one-out solo shot in the third pushed the SU advantage to 3-0.

Box Score and Play-by-Play in .pdf Format

Box Score and Play-by-Play in .html Format

JAGUAR BASEBALL-MARCH 2009
Date Opponent Location Time
3-1 *Prairie View A&M Prairie View, TX 1:00 PM
3-4 Southeastern Louisiana Baton Rouge, LA 6:00 PM
3-10 Nicholls State University Thibodaux, LA 6:30 PM
3-14 *+Arkansas Pine Bluff Baton Rouge, LA 12:00 PM
3-15 *Arkansas Pine Bluff Baton Rouge, LA 1:00 PM
3-17 +Alcorn State University Lorman, MS 3:00 PM
3-21 *+Texas Southern Houston, TX 12:00 PM
3-22 *Texas Southern Houston, TX 12:00 PM
3-24 University of New Orleans New Orleans, LA 6:00 PM
3-28 *+Grambling State Baton Rouge, LA 12:00 PM
3-29 *Grambling State Baton Rouge, LA 1:00 PM
3-31 Nicholls State University Baton Rouge, LA 6:00 PM

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SU rides Spear, big fourth inning to 10-3 victory over PVAMU

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas — Taking the mound on an early-but-crucial Sunday afternoon in Southwestern Athletic Conference play, Southern pitcher James Spear made sure the Jaguars didn’t stumble. The senior right-hander gave Southern its third straight quality start to begin SWAC play, allowing three runs in seven innings. Better yet, the Jaguars’ batting order erupted for nine runs in the fourth inning to topple Prairie View, 10-3 — clinching the first conference series of the season for SU.

“James Spear threw a lot of strikes and got the job done for us today,” Southern coach Roger Cador said. “It makes me feel awful good that we had all three of our starting pitchers have a good outing here so early (in the season). ... We have some other guys who we’re going to look at. But for them to pitch, it’ll be in midweek games and in mop-up situations in SWAC series.”

The Southern offense, meanwhile, came alive in the top of the fourth, chasing off Prairie View starter Brandon Kendricks in the process. Trailing 2-0, the Jaguars sent 14 batters to the plate and scored nine runs on five hits. SU drew three walks and took advantage of two Panthers errors in the inning.

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Freshman lefty carries Bethune-Cookman past Southern University

Bethune - Cookman head baseball coach Mervyl Melendez

Simpson handles first college start well

COMPTON, Calif. -- Making your first collegiate start as a freshman pitcher is never an easy task. And when you're making that start more than 2,500 miles away from your school, in a high-profile tournament at MLB's Urban Youth Academy, it doesn't get any easier. But Bethune-Cookman left-hander Ali Simpson handled the pressure well, tossing 6 2/3 quality innings to lead the Wildcats to a 10-4 win over Southern University on Sunday in the final game of the second annual Urban Invitational at the Academy.

"He was definitely good today, and he gave us the edge," Bethune-Cookman head coach Mervyl Melendez. "He did a good job of keeping them off balance, and it gives some security to our hitters, because they know they don't have to do it all themselves." Simpson was admittedly a little bit nervous before his start, and it showed early, as he allowed the first three runners to reach base before Melendez came to the mound and talked to him.

"Coach calmed me down a little bit," Simpson said. "He told me it was the same game I've been playing all my life." Melendez's advice worked, as Simpson settled down and retired the next three batters. It gave him confidence, and he went on to allow just three runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings while striking out nine

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VIDEO • Highlights: San Diego 9, B-CU 6
VIDEO • Highlights: Southern 4, SDSU 2

Tournament Schedule/Results
2/20: San Diego State 6, Bethune-Cookman 3
Recap Box score Play-by-Play

2/20: San Diego 6, Southern 4
Box Score

2/21, San Diego 9, Bethune-Cookman 6
Box Score

2/21, Southern 4, San Diego State 2
Recap Box score Play-by-Play

2/22, Southern 4, Bethune-Cookman 10
Box Score B-CU 3 Game Cumulative Stats (1-2)

2/22, SDSU 3, USD (at USD) 0
Box score Play-by-Play

Southern upends San Diego State

COMPTON, Calif. — Southern University got an excellent outing from starting pitcher Jarrett Maloy and some clutch hitting late to defeat San Diego State 4-2 on Day 2 of the MLB Urban Invitational. Maloy, a preseason all-Southwestern Athletic Conference selection, tossed seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) while scattering five hits and striking out five. Daniel Garcia pitched two scoreless innings to pick up his first save.

SDSU starter Jon Berger (0-1) went 62/3 innings and gave up four runs on six hits while striking out five. SU’s Romey Bracey got the Jaguars on the board early as he tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the first inning. SDSU (1-1) tied the game with an unearned run in the top of the third. The pitching duel continued over the next three innings until the Aztecs took the lead in the top of the sixth on a walk to T.J. Thomas and an RBI double by Cory Vaughn.
























SU head coach Roger Cador.

Southern (1-1) responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning on a run-scoring single by Bracey and a two-out RBI double by Frazier Hall. The Jaguars added an insurance run in the next inning on a double by Gregory Whitfield and an RBI single by Toddrick Stevenson. Things got interesting in the final inning when SDSU put two men on with two outs, only to see Easton Gust’s fly ball to left caught on a fine play by Juan Mujica. SU concludes play in the tournament against Bethune Cookman at 2 p.m. today.

San Diego State beat defending MEAC champs Bethune Cookman 6-3 for their first win of the season on Friday.

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Pair should give boost to Jaguars baseball program

Two of Southern’s latest baseball signees checked in with school beginning this week.

Terrell Stringer, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound right-handed pitcher originally from Phenix City, Ala., was the 1,264th pick (42nd round) by the New York Mets in 2006, when he was a Class 6A All-State honorable mention at Smiths Station High.

Shortstop/second baseman D.J. Henderson (6-2, 175) of Southeastern High School in Detroit was picked in the 30th round, with the 916th overall pick, by the Philadelphia Phillies. Stringer further bolsters a pitching staff, while Henderson can help fill in at second base. “Terrell was the one we had to have,” Cador said. “We tried to recruit him out of high school, and we got him two years later. We needed that one big arm.”

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Freshman Golden Lion and SU Jaguar Named Louisville Slugger All-American

PINE BLUFF -- University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff freshman third baseman Matt Pace was named Wednesday to the "Louisville Slugger" All-America Baseball Team. He joins Southern University standout freshman Fraizer Hall, who was named to the team.

Pace, a former Warren High School standout, hit .369 with 5 home runs and a team-high 40 runs batted in during his freshman season with the Golden Lions. He was also among the nation's leaders in doubles with 23.

In addition to his recent All-American accolade, Pace was also named "Freshman of the Year" in the Southwestern Athletic Conference last month.

Southern University's Frazier Hall also earned a spot on the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team. Hall, used at catcher, first base and as a designated hitter, hit .393 with three homers, nine doubles and 33 RBIs. Hall was one of three catchers on the team.

The SU Jaguars' Hall and UAPB's Pace were the only players named to the team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference. No player was named from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference or the HBCU Independents.

View Complete List: Louisville Slugger's Freshman All-American Baseball Team

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A new color barrier?

Photo: Bethune Cookman University 2008 Baseball Team.

Baseball seeing fewer black athletes on deck.

Central High School junior Johnny Gray has never played organized baseball, although his friends have attempted to talk him into giving it a try. "They tell me I'd be good at it," said Gray, who plays basketball and runs track at Central. "But I'm so busy with basketball, I don't really have time."

Besides, Gray said, baseball just doesn't do anything for him. "It's kind of boring to me," he said. Gray's view seems typical of many young black athletes who dream of earning a college athletic scholarship. Baseball probably isn't their ticket. The number of black players in college baseball continues to decline, with black players comprising only 2.6 of the NCAA Division I total in 2006, the latest NCAA report.

That's down from 6 percent in a 2004 report by Richard Lapchick, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports. Lapchick isn't pointing fingers at the college game or its coaches. He said the dwindling number of blacks in baseball is an across-the-board problem.

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New Orleans eliminates TSU in NCAA baseball

BATON ROUGE, La. — Texas Southern entered the NCAA Tournament with the worst record in the 48-team field. Accordingly, the Tigers didn’t last long, dispatched Saturday from the Baton Rouge Regional by the University of New Orleans, 18-5.

SWAC-champion TSU, crushed by host LSU 12-1 on Friday, ended its season 16-34. The Tigers were kept in check by UNO’s Jim McGonigle, a sophomore right-hander from Houston’s Second Baptist High School who improved to 2-2 as he kept the Privateers (43-20) alive for a 1 p.m. Sunday game against the loser of Saturday’s later game between LSU and Southern Miss.

Texas Southern learned a hard lesson that playing in the NCAAs is no SWAC picnic when you are undermanned in pitching talent.

“We didn’t play as well as I expected to play, but we played hard each game,” said TSU coach Candy Robinson, who finished his 19th season at the helm with his ninth losing season in a row.

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What's right with this picture? Ninth losing season in a row and getting stomped 30-6 in two NCAA games for a 0-2 Tournament record. TSU's Candy needs to be canned!

LSU Baseball Handles TSU, 12-1

BATON ROUGE -- LSU sophomore designated hitter Blake Dean homered twice and drove in four runs to lead the top-seeded Tigers to their 21st straight win with a 12-1 victory over Texas Southern in the opening game of the 2008 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional in front of 6,536 fans on Friday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium.

The Tigers, champions of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, improved to 44-16-1 on the year and 19-0 in NCAA regional opening games. LSU set the single-season school record for consecutive victories in its last outing and has not lost a contest since April 19.

Texas Southern dropped to 16-33 on the season. LSU advances to play the winner of tonight’s contest between Southern Miss and UNO at 6 p.m. Saturday. Texas Southern takes on the loser of tonight’s game at 1 p.m. Saturday.

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Texas Southern faces #7 National Seed LSU in NCAAs

Photo: Texas Southern Tigers will face the LSU Tigers on their home field in the first round of the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

LSU is the No. 7 national seed in the NCAA baseball tournament field released today, and the Tigers could host a super regional at Alex Box Stadium for the first time since 2004.

LSU would be at home for the super-regional round if it wins this weekend's regional at Alex Box Stadium.

The Tigers will face Texas Southern (16-32) at 1 p.m. Friday in the regional opener in Baton Rouge. New Orleans (42-19), the No. 3 seed in the regional at LSU, will face No. 2 Southern Miss (40-20) at 6 p.m. Friday in the other first-round matchup.

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Southern trounces Alabama State, 14-4 behind Talbot

Southern University baseball coach Roger Cador went with experience over youth when choosing his starting pitcher.

Given a chance in the clutch, though, youth proved far superior Thursday night.

After senior Chris Donaby struggled, freshman Jordan Talbot came in with an amazing performance, easily his best of the year, leading SU to a 14-4, mercy-rule-shortened win over Alabama State in the first round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball tournament at Lee-Hines Field.

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Grambling baseball roughed up in first round of SWAC tournament

BATON ROUGE -- The opening game of the 2008 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament provided plenty of fireworks as Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils -- the No. 3 Eastern Division seed -- pounded out a 12-2 victory over the second seed from the Western Division – the Grambling State Tigers.

The Tigers broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of the third inning when Brandon Williams led off the inning with a single and scored on a triple into right field by Anthony Clifton. The run would be the only run the Tigers would manage until the bottom of the ninth when Williams scored on a Clifton ground out.

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