GRAMBLING, La. – The Tigers of Texas Southern University scored 17 unanswered runs Saturday to stun Grambling by a score of 18-7 and even their weekend series at one game apiece.
A 10-run fourth inning by the visiting Tigers ignited the turnaround as Texas Southern (10-17) improved to 7-3 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. The Tigers added seven more in the fifth and sixth innings before winning the game after seven complete frames.
Gaudencio Lucca and Olajide Oloruntimilehin combined for six hits and 11 RBIs to help TSU reclaim the top spot in the SWAC's West Division from Grambling (14-14, 7-4). The home team climbed into first place Friday after opening the three-game series with a 10-5 win over TSU.
Oloruntimilehin went 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs while also scoring four runs. It was the junior's first game with multiple home runs against a Division I opponent since belting two home runs in his collegiate debut Feb. 19, 2016, against Illinois–Chicago. He also hit two home runs against NAIA Jarvis Christian in April of his freshman season.
Meanwhile, Lucca led the Tigers with six RBIs while going 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, and three runs scored. The six RBIs were the most for a Texas Southern player since Marquis Curry knocked in seven runs in a 20-4 TSU win over Huston-Tillotson on Feb. 26, 2013.
Aaron Solis struck out seven Grambling batters over seven innings to pick up his second complete-game victory in as many starts. The local from League City (by way of Wharton County Junior College) improved his team-leading record to 5-1 for the season.
Though he ceded seven earned runs over his first two innings, Solis was almost untouchable from the third inning onward, even before TSU reclaimed the lead. He faced the minimum three batters in four of the last five innings, and retired Grambling in order in the third, fourth, and sixth innings.
Grambling seemed poised to cut into TSU's 15-7 lead in the bottom of the fifth when Solis issued a single and two walks to open the inning. But Solis recovered and struck out the next three batters, two of them looking.
Oloruntimilehin hit the first of his two homers with Christian Sanchez on base and one out in the fourth to cut the Grambling lead to 7-3. After Jose Cabreja and Ricky Urbano singled, pinch hitter Blake Hicks knocked a two-out single to score Cabreja for TSU's fourth run.
The rally appeared to be short-lived when the next batter, Kamren Dukes, hit an infield groundball, but an error by Grambling's third baseman kept the inning alive, and allowed Urbano to score TSU's fifth run.
Grambling's two-out error cost them dearly, as Lucca, TSU's next batter, knocked a game-tying double down the left field line to score Hicks and Dukes. The inning continued to snowball for Grambling as Christian Sanchez drew a walk for the second time in the inning, before Jose Camacho's two-RBI gave TSU its first lead of the game. Camacho later scored in front of Oloruntimilehin on Cabreja's two-RBI single that capped the 10-run inning and stretched TSU's lead to 11-7.
An RBI single from Lucca, followed by a three-run home run from Oloruntimilehin, gave TSU a 15-7 lead in the top of the fifth. Lucca then knocked a three-run homer of his own in the sixth inning.
Trey LeBlanc's RBI double in the second to score Oloruntimilehin accounted for TSU's first run of the game.
The Tigers conclude their series at Grambling on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics
A 10-run fourth inning by the visiting Tigers ignited the turnaround as Texas Southern (10-17) improved to 7-3 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. The Tigers added seven more in the fifth and sixth innings before winning the game after seven complete frames.
Gaudencio Lucca and Olajide Oloruntimilehin combined for six hits and 11 RBIs to help TSU reclaim the top spot in the SWAC's West Division from Grambling (14-14, 7-4). The home team climbed into first place Friday after opening the three-game series with a 10-5 win over TSU.
Oloruntimilehin went 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs while also scoring four runs. It was the junior's first game with multiple home runs against a Division I opponent since belting two home runs in his collegiate debut Feb. 19, 2016, against Illinois–Chicago. He also hit two home runs against NAIA Jarvis Christian in April of his freshman season.
Meanwhile, Lucca led the Tigers with six RBIs while going 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, and three runs scored. The six RBIs were the most for a Texas Southern player since Marquis Curry knocked in seven runs in a 20-4 TSU win over Huston-Tillotson on Feb. 26, 2013.
Aaron Solis struck out seven Grambling batters over seven innings to pick up his second complete-game victory in as many starts. The local from League City (by way of Wharton County Junior College) improved his team-leading record to 5-1 for the season.
Though he ceded seven earned runs over his first two innings, Solis was almost untouchable from the third inning onward, even before TSU reclaimed the lead. He faced the minimum three batters in four of the last five innings, and retired Grambling in order in the third, fourth, and sixth innings.
Grambling seemed poised to cut into TSU's 15-7 lead in the bottom of the fifth when Solis issued a single and two walks to open the inning. But Solis recovered and struck out the next three batters, two of them looking.
Oloruntimilehin hit the first of his two homers with Christian Sanchez on base and one out in the fourth to cut the Grambling lead to 7-3. After Jose Cabreja and Ricky Urbano singled, pinch hitter Blake Hicks knocked a two-out single to score Cabreja for TSU's fourth run.
The rally appeared to be short-lived when the next batter, Kamren Dukes, hit an infield groundball, but an error by Grambling's third baseman kept the inning alive, and allowed Urbano to score TSU's fifth run.
Grambling's two-out error cost them dearly, as Lucca, TSU's next batter, knocked a game-tying double down the left field line to score Hicks and Dukes. The inning continued to snowball for Grambling as Christian Sanchez drew a walk for the second time in the inning, before Jose Camacho's two-RBI gave TSU its first lead of the game. Camacho later scored in front of Oloruntimilehin on Cabreja's two-RBI single that capped the 10-run inning and stretched TSU's lead to 11-7.
An RBI single from Lucca, followed by a three-run home run from Oloruntimilehin, gave TSU a 15-7 lead in the top of the fifth. Lucca then knocked a three-run homer of his own in the sixth inning.
Trey LeBlanc's RBI double in the second to score Oloruntimilehin accounted for TSU's first run of the game.
The Tigers conclude their series at Grambling on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics