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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Atkins, Alabama A&M offense solid

Bulldogs' QB takes unit to five TDs in scrimmage

Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones has been bragging about Kevin Atkins since spring practice started more than a week ago. Jones has said Atkins looks more like a veteran than a seldom-used redshirt sophomore. That was the case Saturday as Atkins looked sharp in A&M's first scrimmage of the spring. He completed 12-of-19 passes for 172 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in the nearly 90-play scrimmage at Louis Crews Stadium.

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Alabama State rallies to beat Texas Southern

HOUSTON, TX -- Brandon Gordon and Brandon Brooks scored 13 points apiece to help Alabama State come from behind to beat Texas Southern 72-67 on Saturday night.

Joel Bosh and Andrew Hayles each added 12 points for the Hornets (16-19, 12-3 SWAC). Gordon hauled down eight rebounds while Brooks tallied five assists.

Anthony Ike scored 20 points to lead Texas Southern (7-12, 6-9). David Burrell added 14, while Sollie Norwood scored 13 and Damian Henderson had 11.

The Hornets outrebounded the Tigers 45-24.

Texas Southern led 42-35 at the break.

Hampton Lady Pirates defeat rival Norfolk State, 76-52

Photo: Chinyere Ukoh scored a double/double in 18 minutes of action scoring 17 points/11 rebounds. The 6-3 junior forward is from Woodbridge H.S., Woodbridge, VA.

HAMPTON, Va. – In the 74th meeting between the Hampton University Lady Pirates and the Lady Spartans of Norfolk State University, the Lady Pirates defeated NSU 82-61 in Hampton’s Convocation Center on Saturday night.

The Lady Pirates, 14-12 overall and 7-6 in the MEAC, led the Spartans, 5-19 overall and 1-12 in the MEAC, by 26 at the half, 54-28.

“We had great momentum heading into halftime and I told the girls that in the second half we had to come out and play with that same intensity,” said HU head coach Walter Mebane.

The Lady Pirates, who lead the all-time series against the Spartans 40-33, went on 19-0 run after spotting NSU a 3-0 lead at the outset of the game, taking a 19-3 lead with 16:14 to play on a Mikki Clayton jumper. But the Lady Spartans would battle back with a 7-0 run of their own to narrow their deficit to 19-10 with 14:08 on the clock. That was about as close as NSU would get after that.

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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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Healthy Hampton a winner over Norfolk State

Photo: Hampton Pirates 6-1 Sophomore guard Vinny Simpson, from Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal Dougherty, hit for 18 points, 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds to help beat NSU Spartans.

HAMPTON, VA - Remarkable what healthy bodies and successful jump shots will do for a basketball team. Two days off last week and five days between games gave Hampton University its full complement of players, and seemed to restore the Pirates' perimeter effectiveness.

If Saturday's second half against rival Norfolk State is any indication, the Pirates are capable of a run in the upcoming MEAC tournament. Playing perhaps their best half of the season, HU carved up the Spartans 87-72 at the Convocation Center.

"We had everybody there," HU coach Kevin Nickelberry said. "When we have everybody there, we're a pretty good team.

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Powerful second half sends DSU on way to easy victory

Photo: Selena Galloway had another solid game with 9 points, 2 assists in 14 minutes of action. The 5-8 sophomore guard is from Jersey City, NJ (James J. Ferris HS).

Defensive effort sinks Morgan State, improves MEAC outlook

DOVER -- Three coat removals in the first half by the Morgan State women's basketball coach were followed by none in the second. Typical tongue-lashings toward his players during the first half turned into simple, quiet reminders later on.

Chalk up Beasley's second-half demeanor to the challenge presented by Delaware State, which played one of its better halves this season to defeat the Bears 66-49 and gain an important edge heading into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament, March 11-15 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C

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DSU stifles Bears, but still falls short

Photo: DSU's Sophomore center Frisco Sandidge finished with a career and game-high 19 points/11 rebounds.

Morgan State clinches share of MEAC title

DOVER -- It probably was midweek when it occurred to Delaware State men's basketball coach Greg Jackson how his team might beat its next opponent, Morgan State. He had to contend with one of the highest-scoring teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Jackson also had a feeling he'd be without DSU's leading scorer, senior Roy Bright.

It meant that Jackson would have to emphasize his possession-style offense even more than usual. And in one of the lowest-scoring games in his eight-year tenure as coach, a 39-36 loss to Morgan State at Memorial Hall on Saturday, his method nearly worked.

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Tennessee State Rolls to 89-70 Win Over EKU

Richmond, Ky. – Visiting Tennessee State scored 51 second half points while shooting 61.5 percent from the floor to earn an 89-70 victory over the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team Saturday night in McBrayer Arena. The Colonels (14-15, 10-10 OVC) concluded the regular season with five straight conference losses.

For Tennessee State, Bruce Price finished with 20 points and a game-high six assists. Three other Tigers recorded double figures – Jerrell Houston (19 points), Gerald Robinson (18) and LaDarious Weaver (12). TSU will be the No. 6 seed in the upcoming OVC tournament.

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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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Conference marks fall at SWAC meet

A handful of conference records fell by the wayside Saturday as the 2008 Southwestern Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships got under way at Carl Maddox Field House with field events, relays and the preliminaries of several sprints.

The meet concludes with events starting at 8 a.m. today.

New records were set in both 3,000-meter events, the women’s 400, the women’s 800, the men’s 200 and both distance medley relays.

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Quick start helps FAMU coast past Winston-Salem State

Photo: FAMU Lady Rattlers head coach Debra Clark.

The Florida A&M Lady Rattlers picked up a rare breather, easily taking care of the Winston-State Lady Rams 59-32 on Saturday afternoon at Gaither Gymnasium. FAMU (12-15) took a 40-11 lead into halftime and never looked back.

"I'm glad to get the win," said FAMU women's basketball coach Debra Clark. "They came out and played a great first half."

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Robinson, FAMU Rattlers score big

Florida A&M senior guard Leslie Robinson was recruited as the heir apparent to former shooting guard Terrance Woods, the school's most prolific 3-point shooter. Robinson has played that part in the second half of the season as the Rattlers fight for one of the top five seeds in the upcoming MEAC Tournament.

Robinson connected from behind the arc six times and scored a game-high 25 points in leading the Rattlers past the visiting Winston-Salem State Rams 68-61 at Gaither Gymnasium on Saturday.

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JSU Rutland must earn QB job

Comegy nixes automatic promotion from backup to starter for ex-MSU Bulldog.

Tray Rutland, arguably, has been the most talked about player on the Jackson State football team since transferring from Mississippi State after the 2006 season. Among fans he often was the center of debate whether he or Jimmy Oliver should quarterback the Tigers during the 2007 season.

Oliver, ultimately, won that battle, emerging as the most important individual performer in JSU's charge to its first Southwestern Athletic Conference championship since 1996. But Oliver is gone.

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Milone And Cook Shut Out Bethune-Cookman, 2-0, In USC's Home Opener

LOS ANGELES - Junior left-hander Tommy Milone (Saugus/Saugus HS) threw eight scoreless innings and allowed just two hits while tying a career-high with nine strikeouts Friday as the USC Trojans shut out the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, 2-0, at Dedeaux Field. It was USC's home opener and the first game for both teams in the MLB Urban Invitational.

Milone (1-0) did not allow a runner past second base and retired the final 13 batters he faced for USC (4-2). Junior Ryan Cook (Clovis/Clovis HS) made his first career relief appearance and threw a perfect ninth to pick up his first save as a Trojan.

USC broke the scoreless tie with both runs in the eighth. Anthony Vasquez doubled down the right field line and scored on an RBI single by senior Roberto Lopez. After Lopez stole second and reached third on a wild pitch, he scored on pinch hitter Keith Castillo's RBI single to left.

Concepcion Guzman (0-1) took the loss for Bethune-Cookman (2-2) after relieving starter Hiram Burgos, who threw seven scoreless innings. Burgos allowed just three hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

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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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Wi-Hi RB has good news for MSU Bears

SALISBURY, MD -- Wicomico senior running back David Brown signed a letter of intent Friday to play football at Morgan State University.

"I went and visited there," Brown said. "It seemed like a good college. They had everything I wanted academics-wise. They had my major. I want to study business."

Brown, who amassed 2,141 yards and 35 touchdowns on 167 carries this past season, turned down offers from the University of Delaware and Towson University to attend the school his mother, Phyllis, graduated from. "I wanted to stay close to home," Brown said. Brown will be joined at Morgan State by his brother, Carl, who will transfer from Catonsville Community College to play basketball for the Bears.

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This is an awesome incoming freshman for Morgan State. Brown not only made himself into a talented running back but he broke the Maryland state record for touchdowns in a career with 43 overall touchdowns. The 6-0/195 back averaged 12.82 yards per carry last season, returned eight punts for 341 yards and six kickoffs for 373 yards--when teams actually kicked to him. His conference coaches elected Brown-- Bayside Offensive Player of the Year.

Its always great to see our kids turn down the Colonial Athletic Conference, i.e., University of Delaware and Towson University for the MEAC, Morgan State Bears. This kid had options, so its great to get a second generation Bear in the Morgan den, with talent and good grades.

-beepbeep

FAMU, B-CU strike back at Disney

Schools say they won't play any other team in Orlando

ORLANDO — One mouse won't stop the largest black-college football game in the country from getting its cheese.

"We are looking forward to the Classic staying in Orlando and being bigger than ever," Florida A&M President James Ammons and Bethune-Cookman President Trudie Kibbe Reed said in a joint statement Friday.

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The MEAC/SWAC Challenge is headed for extinction in Florida before it get started. First, Jackson State has no natural rivalry with any Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference team and Disney clearly misjudged Bethune Cookman. Without a contract with BC-U, JSU has publicly released a schedule claiming that BC-U will play JSU in the Challenge. Not true!

The best MEAC/SWAC game being played in Florida in August (30th) is Alabama State University Hornets at Florida A&M University Rattlers--a natural and long awaited rivalry of the best kind, being played in Bragg Memorial Stadium on the campus of FAMU.

Bethune Cookman and FAMU will not being playing in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge game in Florida, so who in the SWAC and MEAC can draw 60,000 plus fans in Orlando? Nobody, but FAMU and BCU.

Disney and the MEAC Commissioner have no Plan B for this not made for television game. A Mississippi and North Carolina, Delaware, Virgina, Washington, D.C. or Maryland match up won't do squat for putting butts in the seat in the Citrus Bowl. With gas prices approaching $4.00 a gallon by the end of Summer, how many are expected to drive from Mississippi and points north to come to just another game between HBCUs? Few.

The way Disney did this, they won't get my support so move your sponsorship and your MEAC/SWAC game to Mississippi, where folks get excited about Jackson State. Shame on the MEAC Commissioner for trying to encroach upon the Florida Classic brand with Disney. Bad move...

-beepbeep

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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Black colleges facing pivotal time

Photo: BCU head baseball coach Mervyl Melendez.

Mervyl Melendez, the baseball coach at Bethune-Cookman University, respects his school's distinguished tradition within the ranks of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He tries every year to recruit African American players to the private liberal arts school, which has about 3,000 students at its Daytona Beach, Fla., campus.

"We offered, in November, seven African American kids scholarships. All but one rejected that offer and signed with different universities," he said. "After we were rejected we got kids from Puerto Rico. We recruited six, and all six said yes." And so Bethune-Cookman, whose student body is more than 91% black, fields a team in which African Americans are a minority, outnumbered by players from Melendez's native Puerto Rico.

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Urban Youth Academy hosting tourney

Bethune-Cookman, Southern University on display in SoCal

The Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy has become a true baseball gathering place, and that will become more evident when the academy hosts its first Urban Invitational Baseball Tournament this weekend in Compton, California.

Two historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Bethune-Cookman University (Daytona Beach, Fla.) and Southern University (Baton Rouge, La.), will face off against local powerhouses UCLA and USC. The Urban Invitational was created, in part, to showcase the many uses for the academy, but, more importantly to bring attention to the two universities visiting Southern California.

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New Grambling contract for Broadway would be longer, richer

GRAMBLING — Rod Broadway’s proposed new contract at Grambling State includes another year and a $14,000 increase in base pay for 2008, among other incentives.
The deal, up for approval by GSU’s oversight board during meetings held today in Lake Charles, followed interest in the first-year football coach from upper-classification Duke as well as fellow historically black college program Florida A&M.

His new agreement would begin at $170,000 then upgrade to $215,000 by 2011. It’s backdated to Feb. 7. Like most lower-division programs, there is no buyout clause: Broadway “may terminate this agreement by written notice at any time,” according to the contract.

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SWAC Women's Bowling Championship to air on ESPNU

College bowling returns to national television next week as Southern University and Alabama A&M University, two NCAA Division I programs, square off for the Southwestern Athletic Conference Women's Bowling Championship.

The championship match is scheduled to air on Wednesday, March 5 at 8 p.m. Eastern and replayed Thursday, March 6 at 7:30 a.m. Eastern. Check your local listings for time changes.

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Obama’s got game, says his brother-in-law the coach

I asked Craig Robinson to talk about the side of Barack Obama you don’t see in public. I figured he would know. Robinson is the brother of Obama’s wife, Michelle. He is 45 and coach of the Brown University basketball team. We were having coffee a few blocks from his office on Thayer Street.

He told me there is no different side.

“He’s really authentic,” said Robinson. “What you see is what you get.” He told me that wasn’t just a brother-in-law speaking.

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Craig Robinson profile: http://brownbears.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/robinson_craig00.html

Pitt Baseball Pummels Maryland Eastern Shore, 25-3

Princess Anne, Maryland - A last-minute schedule change brought the Pitt baseball team one of it's most successful days in the program's 69-year history. The Panthers were scheduled to travel to Chillicothe, Ohio this weekend for a three-game series with Youngstown State, but inclement weather conditions forced Pitt to make a quick schedule change. Instead of Ohio, the Panthers traveled to Maryland Eastern Shore for a weekend-series against the Hawks and Rhode Island.

In the opening game of the weekend, Pitt (2-2) rolled to a 25-3 win over host Maryland Eastern Shore (0-6) Friday afternoon. The win marked the 21st time in the program's history that the Panthers have scored 20 or more runs.

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The Hawks have no football team; maybe they need to drop baseball too. Dang...25-3!