Kansas State nips Grambling State, 9-8‎

"Everybody loves an underdog," said James Cooper, an interim coach who's been told privately he will be retained as Grambling's skipper next season. "We noticed how they were rooting us on and how they changed the Pig Sooie chant into a Grambling chant."

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The baseball puzzle for Kansas State was seemingly completed Saturday when its leading hitter broke out of an NCAA Regional funk. Nick Martini, extra dry after an 0-for-6 start to begin the regional, got going in a big way. The co-Big 12 player of the year ripped a three-run double to the left-center-field gap to give the Wildcats an eight-run lead in the fifth inning. "I was struggling a little bit at the beginning of this," said the sophomore outfielder, "and that double helped us get ahead. From there on, we just had to stay focused."

Easier said than done.

Grambling, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 25 years as one of two teams in the field with a losing record, rallied within a run before Kansas State held on 9-8 in Baum Stadium. K-State will play at 2:05 p.m. Sunday in an elimination game against the loser of Saturday night's game between Arkansas and Washington State.

But momentum shifted in the top of the sixth when the Cats' Kent Urban was thrown out at the plate by Tigers left fielder Mychal Roby. After scoring in each of the first five innings, K-State did not score again. And Grambling caught fire. "The first five innings was the way we were hoping to draw it up," K-State coach Brad Hill said. "It didn't end up the way we wanted it to end up, but I give them a lot of credit. Sufficiently pumped, the Tigers displayed the same offensive clout as in a 19-7 loss against Arkansas the day before.

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It's Over! Grambling State University Tigers had a successful baseball season-- 2010 SWAC Champions, and found a permanent head coach in James Cooper.

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Box Score

Bethune-Cookman eliminated 12-6 in Gainesville Regional by FAU

GAINESVILLE, FL — Sean Bukovich and Anthony Mesa drove in three runs apiece and Florida Atlantic eliminated Bethune-Cookman from the NCAA tournament with a 12-6 victory. The Owls (36-23) pounded out 18 hits, including eight for extra bases, and advanced to play Oregon State or Florida in the Gainesville regional Sunday. The Wildcats (35-22), back on the field about 12 hours after losing in the opening round, stranded five runners in scoring position and hit into two double plays. They fell to 1-20 in regional play.

After not getting key hits in Friday’s opening 6-4 loss to the Beavers, Saturday everyone was hitting with men on, as eight Owls had at least one RBI in the game. The Owls are now 57-15 all-time versus the Wildcats, and Bethune still has just one win in its 11 regional appearances. Hats off to starter Ryan Garton, who did not wilt in the scorching heat of a 1 p.m. start, going 7 innings and giving up 5 runs on 11 hits to preserve the bullpen for Sunday’s must-win game. Climbing out of loser’s bracket will be tough. If Florida wins, the Owls would need to beat the Beavers and then beat the Gators in two straight games.

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EKU Football Game Against Kentucky State Moved to Oct. 2

RICHMOND, Ky. – The 2010 football game between Eastern Kentucky University and Kentucky State University, which was originally scheduled for Sept. 25, has been moved to Oct. 2 due to a scheduling conflict. The game will serve as the home opener for the Colonels. The Oct. 2 date is the latest EKU has played its home opener since 1964. Eastern Kentucky is 4-0 all-time against Kentucky State with the two in-state schools last meeting in 2000. EKU’s first game of the 2010 fall season is set for Thursday night, Sept. 2 at Missouri State. The Colonels will be aiming for their third OVC title in the last four years.

Kentucky State University has not released their 2010 Football Schedule.

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Coppin State: 40-foot triple jump has Jennifer Mitchell in rarefied air

Jennifer Mitchell, a 16-year old early graduate of Newburgh Free Academy and holder of the school record in the Triple Jump has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Coppin State University in the Fall. Mitchell selected the Eagles over North Carolina A&T State University.

MIDDLETOWN, NY — Jennifer Mitchell of Newburgh Free Academy (Newburgh, NY) has become an assassin on the triple jump runways. At the Section 9 indoor Class A championships, Mitchell edged out Sara Wickes of Monroe-Woodbury for the title on her final jump. At Friday's sectional outdoor state qualifier, Soroya Hudson of Cornwall had already broken the Section 9 outdoor mark when Mitchell unleashed the first 40-foot jump in section history, at 40 and 11/4 inches. That is the second-best jump in the state, trailing only Penn State-bound Marlene Ricketts of Westbury (Nassau County) at 42-4 (tops in the country). Mitchell's jump is 24th in the nation.

"That's amazing,'' Mitchell said of her feat. "I couldn't ask for anything more.''

The triple jump is perhaps the most competitive of all girls' events this season with four athletes ranked in the top 13 in the state, and all over 37 feet. Hudson will also advance to next week's state meet at 39-6 (three inches better than former record holder Dana Weeks of Washingtonville) but Wickes gets nothing for her 38-8 effort.

Mitchell jumped 38-8 in the indoor Class A meet and won the state indoor public school title (she was second in the Federation) at 38-51/2. Mitchell thought she would be able to carry that over to outdoors but she started the season in the 33-34-foot range. Before the championship season, her best marks had only reached 37 while Hudson was soaring, making Mitchell a little nervous.

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Note: Jennifer Mitchell's record 40 feet, 11/4 inch Triple Jump is better than Florida A&M's incoming freshman Cynia Clark of Lithonia, Georgia Redan High School. The 18 year old Clark is the Georgia Division 5A-- 2009 State Champion in the Triple Jump with a distance of 38-03.

Florida downs Bethune-Cookman, 7-3

Coach Mervyl Melendez and the Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats fall to 1-19 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.

Gainesville, FL -- Freshman right-hander Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) notched a career-high 10 strikeouts over 7.1 innings as top-seeded Florida (43-15) defeated fourth-seeded Bethune-Cookman (35-21), 7-3, on Friday night at McKethan Stadium. In his NCAA Regional debut, the rookie (8-3) did not allow a hit until the fifth inning in picking up his sixth-straight victory. The fourth-ranked Gators will meet third-seeded Oregon State (32-22) in a winner’s bracket game at 7 p.m. tomorrow live on Sun Sports, while the Wildcats face second-seeded Florida Atlantic (35-23) in an elimination game at 1 p.m. The Beavers edged the Owls, 6-4, earlier this afternoon.

“Hudson Randall was outstanding on the mound,” third-year head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We knew Bethune-Cookman would be a tough opponent. We jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but like we expected, they battled and gave it everything they had. It was hard to pull away from them. Bethune is always tough and they proved it again tonight.” The Wildcats used a two-out RBI single by sophomore Alejandro Sanchez (2-for-4) to narrow the gap to 4-1 in the fifth. Leonard had come through with Bethune-Cookman’s first hit with a one-out double just out of the reach of senior center fielder Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.). Although Randall had junior Emmanuel Castro fly out, Sanchez lined a single into left field that eluded a diving Pigott to score Leonard.

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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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A Tale of Two Conference: SWAC supports Legacy Bowl; MEAC schools against it

Unlike most SWAC schools, MEAC powers Florida A&M University Rattlers and South Carolina State University Bulldogs like to play Football Bowl Championship Subdivision schools like Miami, Georgia Tech, South Florida, South Carolina, Florida, Clemson and others for both the high payouts and competition.

On paper, it seemed brilliant and simple. The Legacy Bowl would pit the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference -- against each other. Airing on ESPN, it would guarantee a $3 million payout to be split by the conferences. It would also end the arguments, such as when South Carolina State edged out Prairie View A&M for the Sheridan Broadcasting Network's Black National Championship -- neither team played each other (in fact, the MEAC and SWAC rarely play each other).

Ever since reports about the proposed bowl began to leak out -- first from the Jaguar Journal radio show, then TSPNSports.com and, finally, College Sporting News -- it has seemed like a done deal. Reports say the various presidents of the SWAC and MEAC are 100 percent behind the deal. But, hold on. The proposal has hit a big snag. The game is slated for Dec. 17, 2011, right in the middle of the FCS playoffs. While the SWAC does not participate in the Football Championship Series playoffs, the MEAC has an automatic berth. In fact, the first FCS (formerly known as Division 1-AA) championship game in 1978 was won by Florida A&M over UMass).

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FAN POLL: Question 2: How should MEAC Presidents vote on Legacy Bowl game? Question 1: Should the NCAA require ALL Division I, FCS football conferences, like the SWAC, to participate in NCAA football playoffs to remain at the Division I level in football?

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