Grambling excited for its first Urban Invitational

James Cooper isn't even 30 years old, and he has only been the head baseball coach at Grambling State University for one full season. But he has already experienced some of the difficulties that come with trying to recruit the best baseball talent to a small college.

Twice he has seen an athlete essentially commit to his program, only to be spurned. One of those players went instead to Louisiana State, which guaranteed the recruit a walk-on spot.

And he has seen potential recruits turn down baseball for basketball and football elsewhere. That has happened at least four times.

Grambling State University Head Baseball Coach James Cooper

URBAN INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
Date  Time   Game
2/25 6:30 p.m. Southern vs. UC Irvine UC Irvine
2/25 6 p.m. B-CU vs. Grambling UYA
2/26 1 p.m. UC Irvine v.s B-CU* UYA
2/26 5 p.m. Grambling vs. Southern* UYA
2/27 1:05 p.m. Grambling vs. UC Irvine UC Irvine
2/27 1 p.m. Southern vs. B-CU UYA
* Broadcast on MLB Network
All times PT

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Ed McCann Resigning From Centenary; Heading To Alabama A&M Bulldogs

Ed McCann Head Coach

Ed McCann, the Centenary College of Louisiana Gents baseball coach since 1999, is resigning and will be the next head coach at Alabama A&M in Huntsville.
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In an afternoon phone interview with KTBS, McCann said he looks forward to going to a university that, "Cares about baseball and cares about athletics." Centenary College is one year away from dropping down to NCAA Division III from their current status as a Division I school. McCann, a tireless worker, who sold Centenary baseball to everyone and anyone he met, has already secured his first recruit for A&M, a young man out of Detroit, Michigan. During McCann's tenure, the Peyton Sheehee Stadium was constructed as well as improvements made to the baseball and soccer offices nearby, courtesy of the Mike McCarthy family.

Michael Tompkins

Assistant Coach

Michael Tompkins, who completed his eligibility this past season as a Gent, will follow McCann to A&M as an assistant coach. McCann is expected to hand in his letter of resignation on Monday or Tuesday and then it's off to the SWAC for Easy Ed McCann.

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Grambling State's Jeremy Shelby Signs With Baltimore O's

GRAMBLING, LA --
Jeremy Shelby saw a lifelong dream fulfilled when his name was called by the Baltimore Orioles during the 2010 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. Taken in the 38th round, Jeremy contends that playing in the MLB is a dream shared by his entire family.

The second oldest of six children, Jeremy proudly enters the rank of Shelby's to play in the major league. Jeremy now follows in the footsteps of his father, John "T-Bone" Shelby, Jr., who was drafted in the first round by the Orioles in the 1977 and his brother, John Shelby, III, who was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2006.

To say baseball is in his blood would be an understatement. Jeremy has been around baseball his entire life. By the time Jeremy was five, he and his brothers were out catching fly balls while his dad was coaching in the minor league.

The year after he was born was the year Kirk Gibson hit the walk off homerun for the Dodgers (Los Angeles) in the World Series. His dad was the centerfielder for the Dodgers in that game.

Jeremy, who is now 22, had not originally intended to go to Grambling. Instead, his journey to Tigerland began with a trip to a junior college in Tennessee. In fact, Jeremy was previously drafted in the 46th round by San Diego in 2000, but passed up the offer to attend Columbia State (TN) Junior College where his dad had also played briefly.

Jeremy's trek to Grambling did not happen by chance, but after a lot of encouragement by his teammate, Byron Huff. Byron thought Jeremy's speeding and hitting skills would be better showcased in the Southwestern Athletic Conference which he thought would also improve Jeremy's chances of being drafted.

GSU's 6-4/190 senior Jeremy Shelby

Jeremy says he didn't initially listen to his friend but finally decided to call Coach Barnett Rey (former GSU head coach) who offered him a deal he couldn't pass up. Right then, Jeremy verbally agreed to come to Grambling. He says that was the best decision of his life. Jeremy contends that the support he received from the coaches and the fans helped get him into the league.

The Kentucky (Lexington) native became the first Tiger to go in the MLB draft since current interim head coach James Cooper was taken in the 33rd round as an outfielder by the Houston Astros in 2004.

Named to the 2010 First Team All-SWAC, Jeremy had a career batting average of .314 in 112 games for the Tigers with 114 hits, 89 runs scored and 64 RBI's. He also recorded 19 doubles and 12 homeruns and was 26-of-29 in stolen bases.

Jeremy has followed in his father's footsteps, attending the same junior college, being drafted by the same team, and playing rookie ball at the same field. Now, Jeremy is looking forward to playing on the very same team where his dad is the first base coach.

This is truly a dream come true, not just for Jeremy but also for his dad.

Courtesy: Grambling State Athletics Department

Arkansas Hogs crush ball, Grambling in record-setting win

FAYETTEVILLE, AK — Brett Eibner and Zack Cox returned to the lineup, and Arkansas' offense came alive Friday in a 19-7 victory against Grambling in the first game of the Fayetteville Regional. Eibner was 4-for-5 at the plate with three home runs, which tied a school record set by Tim Smalling in 2008. Eibner also recorded a double and 7 RBIs in his return from a hairline fracture in his right hand as Arkansas pounded a school-record nine home runs in the win.

Arkansas advances to play the winner of Kansas State-Washington State, which is set for a 7:05 p.m. start today. The Razorbacks will return Saturday in the winner's bracket at 7:05 p.m. Arkansas' offense had struggled since early May as Eibner and Cox rested injuries and their availability was spotty. The Razorbacks hadn't reached double figures in runs since an 11-4 win against Ole Miss on May 7. It was the same series Eibner hurt his hand after being hit by a pitch.

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Cador ready to recruit, rebuild SU baseball

The Southwestern Athletic Conference handed out a championship trophy Sunday. The Southern baseball team wasn’t there to see it, much less accept it. The trophy instead rested in the hands of James Cooper, the coach at archrival Grambling, which earned the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. Monday, while the Tigers waited to learn their NCAA regional destination, the Jaguars were back home, contemplating a season that started with promise but ended in disappointment. Like most of its SWAC counterparts, Southern had talent but also its fair share of flaws.

The Jaguars still had a shot to win last week’s SWAC tournament because no other team was dominant. Jackson State, the Eastern Division champion, crashed and burned with two quick losses. Texas Southern, the West champion, lost its first game and flamed out Friday, two days before the title game. But the same flaws Southern displayed all season — among them, sloppy defense, poor situational hitting and a suspect starting rotation — ultimately doomed the Jaguars in an 8-7 tournament loss to Alcorn State. As a result, their season ended prematurely.

In a sense, Roger Cador’s 26th season as the SU baseball coach had ended long before that. Thanks to a since-fixed glitch in his pacemaker, Cador left his team in the hands of assistant coach Fernando Puebla over the final three weeks — and while Cador watched the tournament from the dugout, he made no in-game decisions. Now, Cador said, doctors have green-lighted his offseason workload, and he intends to get back to business.

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Alcorn advances to SWAC title game with comeback win

Alcorn State Braves will play Grambling State Tigers at 2 p.m. today for the 2010 SWAC Championship and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

SHREVEPORT, LA — The Alcorn State Braves are making a habit of late-inning victories at the SWAC baseball tournament. And that perseverance has put the Braves on the cusp of their first ever SWAC tournament championship. One day after scoring a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Alcorn scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to post an 8-7 victory over Southern that puts them in the tournament championship game against Grambling State on Sunday.

“We’ve had a lot of fight and a lot of heart,” Alcorn State coach Barret Rey said. “That’s what has gotten us to where we are right now.” Southern helped Alcorn’s cause by committing six errors — three in the decisive seventh inning. Trailing 6-4 entering the top of the seventh, two Alcorn batters reached on errors by Southern infielders. With two outs, Kilby Perdomo singled to load the bases.

Rodney Warren tied the game with a two-run single up the middle off Kyle Wahl, who relieved starter Chase Richard after the first error of the inning. Alcorn took its first lead of the game when David Reed reached and Perdomo scored on the second error of the inning by SWAC Player of the Year and Southern third baseman Frazier Hall.

SWAC baseball: GSU vs. Valley

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Southern coach Cador staying in background

Southern University Coach Roger Cador is taking it easy and will allow assistant coach Fernando Puebla to run the team during the SWAC Tournament.

On a hot, muggy afternoon Saturday, acting head coach Fernando Puebla had the Southern University baseball team running. The position players were doing 24 sprints in the outfield at Lee-Hines Field, the pitchers six laps around the warning track. “It’s going to be hot in Shreveport too,” said Puebla, looking forward to the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament, which starts Wednesday at Fairgrounds Field. “We need to be in condition.” What was missing was the dragging of heels and the bickering of a bunch of young men having to toil in the heat of a day where one might break a sweat just standing in the shade.

Instead, players smiled and cracked jokes. Things were loose, almost relaxed — or at least as relaxed as things can be while running 24 sprints in the outfield — as the players put in the work in preparation for the postseason. A relaxed demeanor is part of the reason the Jaguars (23-20) won five of their final six regular-season games, all after Puebla took over for Roger Cador, who sat out the late part of the season for health reasons. And although Cador said he has been cleared to return to “do whatever I want to,” he said, the veteran coach knows a good thing when he sees it. Watching from the sideline, Cador has seen his team play well.

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Southern Jaguars push on without Cador

Southern University Jaguars head baseball coach Roger Cador.

When Southern pitcher Sherrard Brooks left his hotel room Sunday morning and boarded the team bus, Roger Cador wasn’t waiting. That was the first clue. Something wasn’t right. Maybe the Jaguars’ legendary coach was out recruiting somewhere in Houston — even on a Sunday morning, just hours before their series finale against Texas Southern. That seemed strange, but Brooks figured he couldn’t put it past Cador. Worse yet, maybe Cador had been disgusted by Southern’s play the day before. In losing twice Saturday, the Jaguars suffered a double-header sweep to a Southwestern Athletic Conference foe for only the second time in six years.

Brooks decided that didn’t make any sense, either. Minutes before the first pitch of any game, in the team huddle, Cador always has a story to tell. He usually saves the most stirring of them for when the chips are down. “It would’ve been a good day to hear one of those stories,” Brooks said later. “He would have had a good one for us.” It wasn’t until the team arrived at MacGregor Park that assistant coach Fernando Puebla gave players the complete picture: Cador, who has worn a pacemaker for more than 20 years, was having health problems. The 58-year-old coach returned home Sunday to visit his cardiologist after experiencing an irregular heartbeat Saturday night and again Sunday morning in Houston.

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Jackson State Sweeps MVSU Delta Devils

The Jackson State baseball team completed a season sweep over in-state rival Mississippi Valley, by taking three games from the Delta Devils Sunday and Monday. With the wins Jackson State improves to 32-14 overall record and a 16-5 SWAC record. The Tigers also took over sole possession of first place in the SWAC Eastern Division.

Six weeks ago the Tigers swept the Delta Devils in a three game series at Robert “Bob” Braddy Field in Jackson. In Sunday’s action JSU beat Valley 6-4. Quintavious Drains picked up his 11th win. In nine innings of work he struck out seven batters, while giving up four runs on 10 hits. Willie Wesley led JSU with four hits, a run and an RBI. Lynn Lewis followed with three hits and two runs.

In Monday’s opener the Tigers won 5-3. Courtney Nelson picked up his ninth win of the season. He pitched 7.1 innings of work. He struck out four batters, while giving up three runs and nine hits. Terrance Washington picked up the save. Chad Hall and Malcolm Tate recorded two hits each. JSU beat Mississippi Valley State 10-6 in Monday’s nightcap. Jeremy Gray picked up his fourth win of the season. In 8.2 innings he allowed 12 hits and six runs, while striking out two batters. Malcolm Tate led JSU’s offense with three hits, two runs and two RBI.

The Tigers will host Alabama State May 14-15 in a three game series at Braddy Field. Admission is $5 per game.



Provided by: JSU Media Relations

JSU Tigers make some history, deal more misery to Mississippi State Bulldogs‎

PEARL, MS — Quintavious Drains pumped his fist, walked toward the Jackson State dugout and then met the mob of players pouring out in ecstatic celebration. There were chest bumps, bear hugs, high-fives and even a bit of dancing. Yep, David had beaten Golliath. Jackson State beat Mississippi State 3-1 Tuesday night at Trustmark Park, knocking off the tradition-rich program for the first time in 18 years. The Tigers (29-14), in position to win their first SWAC title in a decade, won their 10th straight game and won for just the eighth time in 58 meetings with Mississippi Sate (20-24).

"We were ready. We were ready," said Drains, a sophomore pitcher who got the save. Said JSU coach Omar Johnson: "It means a lot to the people at the university." Meanwhile, the Bulldogs dropped their seventh straight and lost to JSU for the first time since an 8-4 defeat in Jackson in 1992. State, which was swept in the past two SEC weekend series, beat Jackson State 18-2 on April 6 in Starkville to make it 23 in a row over the Tigers. This time around the Bulldogs failed to handle Drains and JSU starter Cortney Nelson. They had a season-low three hits and hit into three double plays. Their only run came in the sixth on Connor Powers' homer.

PHOTO GALLERIES: JSU - MSU

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Armstrong two-run HR caps Southern U. rally over FAMU

James Armstrong freely acknowledged he’d been in a slump, and he needed to hit his way out of it. Thursday afternoon, in the bottom of the ninth inning, he did it in a big way. Pinch-hitting for fellow senior Greg Whitfield, Armstrong smashed a game-winning two-run homer over the right-field wall, capping a six-run inning that gave Southern an 11-10 victory over Florida A&M at Lee-Hines Field, completing a two-game sweep.

It was also the third pinch-hit homer in the last two years for Armstrong. “He seems like he does that better than anything else,” SU coach Roger Cador said. “I’d been saving him all game for the right situation. Finally, we get it.” It was the first homer of the year for Armstrong, who lost his starting job in left field to Kyle Smith, thanks his recent struggles at the plate and in the field.

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Southern Jaguars salvage split with Texas Southern Tigers

Late in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Lee-Hines Field, Southern first baseman Frazier Hall disappeared into foul territory, jogging toward a small cranny between Texas Southern’s dugout and bullpen. Unaware teammates soon found him near the wall, doubled over, writhing in apparent pain. It seemed that the 83-degree temperature, grouped with humid air, a sunny sky and no wind, made for bad conditions in Hall’s stomach. He overheated and lost his breakfast. Undeterred, however, Hall declined to leave the game.

Contrary to a theory that floated through the stands, Hall wasn’t nauseated by the Jaguars’ play — even though they were fairly sloppy in a split with the Tigers, losing the first game 6-4 and winning the second game 9-3. In two games, they committed nine errors, stranded 13 runners and hit .258 as a team, showing lack of discipline in many at-bats.

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SU Cador hopes fish tale helps spark Jaguars‎

Late Tuesday night, sometime after the Southern baseball team outlasted Nicholls State and returned from Houma, longtime coach and part-time motivational speaker Roger Cador found himself transfixed on a television nature show. It detailed the life cycle of the salmon — how they start in Alaskan rivers, swim downstream into the Pacific, grow into adults, then swim upstream to lay eggs in the same Alaskan river ... only to die a few weeks later.

Somehow, in Cador’s ever-expansive mind, he saw how the story applied to his own team, which heads into the meaty part of its Southwestern Athletic Conference schedule this month. The salmon and the Jaguars. Who knew they had anything in common? Southern (8-9, 5-1 Western Division) kicks off a three-game series against second-place Texas Southern (13-14, 4-2) with a doubleheader that begins at noon today, and two days before the first pitch, the Jaguars gathered around their 26th-year coach for story time. Cador spoke of the salmon — about how they adapt from freshwater to saltwater, about how they swim against raging rapids and sometimes even leap waterfalls, just to return to the place where they mate.

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No-quit Grambling streaks into Monroe‎

First year Coach James Cooper has the Grambling State Tigers on a early season win streak.

The Grambling State baseball team was the coldest team in the Southwestern Athletic Conference at the beginning of the season. Now the Tigers may very well be the hottest After starting the season 0-9 Grambling has won eight of its last 12 games. The hot streak began in early March with two-game sweeps of Jarvis Christian and Alabama State, and continued with 2-1 series victories over a pair of SWAC foes. Grambling took two out of three games against Texas Southern, and followed by taking two out of three against Prairie View A&M this past weekend.

Grambling (8-13 overall, 4-2 SWAC) visits ULM tonight for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch, and hosts Arkansas Pine-Bluff for a three-game conference series this weekend.

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Southern University's Cador likes new format for SWAC‎

After 25 seasons of coaching baseball within the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Roger Cador has learned, again and again, that road trips within the league sometimes come with unique obstacles. After all, some of the SWAC’s smaller hometowns don’t offer much in the way of fine restaurants, comfortable hotels or even video-rental stores, much less an open movie theatre. This weekend, in fact, the Southern baseball team will spent four more innings in Pine Bluff, Ark., than it has in previous years.

And Cador is actually happy about it. The up-and-down Jaguars (5-8, 3-0 Western Division) visit Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-10, 1-5) for three games, including a doubleheader that begins at noon today. Today will mark the second time the Jaguars play a two nine-inning games in a doubleheader — a new experience this season for SWAC teams. Before, conference series began with a pair of seven-inning games on Saturdays, then finished with one nine-inning game on Sunday. The SWAC changed its format during the offseason, opting for nine-inning doubleheaders on the first day.

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FAMU rallies past Jackson State, 11-10

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Tobi Adeyemi’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth scored Daniel Lee as the Florida A&M University Baseball team rallied past Jackson State 11-10, here Saturday afternoon at Moore-Kittles Field. FAMU (3-4-1) tallied a game high 17 hits, while JSU (2-6) finished with 10 hits. The Rattlers were paced by Adeyemi, who went five-for-six from the plate with five RBI’s, and scoring two runs, while the Tigers were led by Braneric Holmes, who went three-for-five from the plate with four RBI’s and scoring three runs.

FAMU head baseball coach Robert Lucus

Tobias Lee (1-0) picked up the win for FAMU, allowing two hits, one earned run and striking out two in three and one-third innings of relief. Cortney Nelson took the loss for JSU, allowing seven hits, five earned runs and striking out six in four and one-third innings of relief. The Rattlers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Darryl Evans scored on a Jimmie Terrell single. Holmes tied the game at 1-1 for the Tigers in the top of the second inning as he scored on a Louis Mila ground out to first base. In the bottom of the second inning, FAMU took a 3-1 lead as Scott Sheplak homered to left field and Jared Jeffries scored on an Adeyemi single up the middle.

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Alcorn ready to tackle baseball season with new coach

Alcorn State baseball coach Barret L. Rey, Sr., ended his first head coaching job at Grambling State with a 56-94 record over a three year span moving the Tigers from the cellar to the SWAC semi-finals in 2009.

LORMAN, MS — Three things are on Alcorn State baseball coach Barret Rey’s mind, and those three things are the key to a championship season, he said. “It’s what I tell them every year,” Rey said. “All we need is defense, situational pitching and situational hitting. If we have those three things, we’ll be alright.” And Rey said he’s not satisfied with simply making the SWAC championship game. The Braves did last year, only to lose 11-7 against Southern University.

“We want to make it back, without a doubt,” Rey said. “But we don’t want to just be content with just getting there this year. We want to win, and we won’t be satisfied until we win. “This is a mature team, with a lot of juniors that were in the championship game last year. If we do things right — if we don’t beat ourselves — we’re going to be awfully tough to beat.” Rey singled out hitting as his team’s biggest strength, and said his players’ athleticism has allowed him the flexibility to move them around to different positions. “We can swing the bat,” Rey said. “We’re a pretty athletic team, too, and our success is going to come from our hitting and athleticism.

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Grambling State Baseball to Start Cooper Era

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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Southern Jaguars 12, Cal State Northridge 9

Jaguars rebound for 12-9 triumph

COMPTON, Calif. — Silenced and humbled in its season opener, the Southern baseball team responded well Saturday. The Jaguars rallied twice, and they won. On the second day of the Major League Baseball Urban Invitational, Southern scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning against Cal State Northridge, and reliever Brian Foster held off the Matadors in the top of the ninth for a 12-9 victory. “We played much better today,” SU coach Roger Cador said. “We needed something from the bottom of our lineup and we got it. We needed something from Doc (Foster), and we got it from him too.”

The Jaguars’ win came less than 24 hours after UCLA roughed them up 16-2 in the season opener Friday night in Los Angeles. In that game, the Bruins scored nine runs in the first inning, and SU never recovered. On Saturday, Cal State Northridge jumped on starter Jarrett Maloy for four runs in the top of the first. The Jaguars rallied and took a 7-5 lead into the top of the seventh, when Northridge scored three times off SU reliever Joshua Rochelle.

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No. 23 UCLA Baseball Defeats Southern, 16-2, in Season Opener

LOS ANGELES - Right-hander Gerrit Cole allowed two runs and one hit in 6.0 innings to lead the No. 23 UCLA baseball team past Southern, 16-2, in the season opener for both teams in an MLB Urban Invitational contest on Friday evening at UCLA's Steele Field at Jackie Robinson Stadium.Cole (1-0) recorded nine strikeouts and no walks as the Bruins' starter.

UCLA (1-0) received at least one hit from each of its nine starters in the lineup. Designated hitter Blair Dunlap led the way with a 3-for-4 effort, including one homer, two RBI and two runs. Dunlap led off the bottom of the first by connecting on the first pitch from Southern left-hander Chase Richard for a solo homer to left. Right fielder Brett Krill finished 3-for-5 with one run, and shortstop Niko Gallego went 2-for-4 with a career-high four RBI. Catcher Steve Rodriguez belted one three-run homer in a 1-for-3 effort, collecting a career-high four RBI and two runs.

Richard (0-1) absorbed the loss for Southern, surrendering 13 runs (seven earned) and 12 hits in 4.0 innings. UCLA led 9-0 after the first inning by taking advantage of seven hits and one fielding error. Dunlap's solo blast in the first inning put the Bruins on the board. With one out and the bases loaded, Espy reached on a sacrifice fly to center that was dropped, sending home Rahmatulla.

After an RBI-single by freshman Cody Keefer and a two-out bases-loaded hit-by-pitch from Rodriguez, Dunlap reached on an RBI-bunt single and Gallego blooped a three-run double to center field. Rahmatulla's second hit of the inning scored Gallego for the Bruins' ninth run. Espy's solo homer in the bottom of the second extended UCLA's cushion to 10-0. Southern scored two runs in the top of the third. With one out, left fielder James Armstrong lined a run-scoring triple down the right-field line, scoring right fielder Michael Lindsey. A sacrifice fly to center by first baseman Frazier Hall plated Armstrong from third.

Box Score (PDF)

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