HOUSTON – The Tigers of Texas Southern University claimed its third Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division championship in program history Friday with an 8-1 win over visiting Grambling.
Led by seven strong innings from pitcher Aron Solis and a 4-for-5 day at the plate by Kamren Dukes, the Tigers (22-25) improved their record in conference play to 16-5, three and one-half games ahead of Grambling with two games remaining in the regular season.
Dukes stretched his hitting streak to 32 games with a double in the second inning, one of two doubles he hit Friday. The 32-game hitting streak is the longest currently active streak in the nation, and tied for the second longest streak by a Division I player in 2018.
The senior from Pearland, Texas, claimed another spot in TSU's athletics history, as Dukes' four hits pushed his single-season total to 81 hits. Dukes broke the previous mark of 77 hits by Ray Hernandez during the 2010 season.
Meanwhile, Solis shut down the Grambling (22-21, 13-9 SWAC) bats as he scattered six hits and only one run while not walking any batters. With the win, Solis improved to a team-leading record of 8-3 for the season.
Seth Oliver pitched the final two innings and struck out one batter and allowed two hits while not allowing a run.
Jose Cabreja picked up what turned out to be the game-winning RBI with a two-out bunt single that scored Olajide Oloruntimilehin in the bottom of the third inning. The bunt single provided the first of three TSU runs in the inning.
TSU's Gaudencio Lucca and Blake Hicks knocked two hits in the game, while Christian Sanchez picked up two RBIs for Texas Southern.
Starting pitcher Raul Baduel (4-3) absorbed the loss for Grambling, tossing five innings and allowing four runs, three of them earned. Drexler Macaay provided the visitors' lone run with a solo home run down the left field line in the top of the seventh inning.
The two teams continue their series Saturday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics
Led by seven strong innings from pitcher Aron Solis and a 4-for-5 day at the plate by Kamren Dukes, the Tigers (22-25) improved their record in conference play to 16-5, three and one-half games ahead of Grambling with two games remaining in the regular season.
Dukes stretched his hitting streak to 32 games with a double in the second inning, one of two doubles he hit Friday. The 32-game hitting streak is the longest currently active streak in the nation, and tied for the second longest streak by a Division I player in 2018.
The senior from Pearland, Texas, claimed another spot in TSU's athletics history, as Dukes' four hits pushed his single-season total to 81 hits. Dukes broke the previous mark of 77 hits by Ray Hernandez during the 2010 season.
Meanwhile, Solis shut down the Grambling (22-21, 13-9 SWAC) bats as he scattered six hits and only one run while not walking any batters. With the win, Solis improved to a team-leading record of 8-3 for the season.
Seth Oliver pitched the final two innings and struck out one batter and allowed two hits while not allowing a run.
Jose Cabreja picked up what turned out to be the game-winning RBI with a two-out bunt single that scored Olajide Oloruntimilehin in the bottom of the third inning. The bunt single provided the first of three TSU runs in the inning.
TSU's Gaudencio Lucca and Blake Hicks knocked two hits in the game, while Christian Sanchez picked up two RBIs for Texas Southern.
Starting pitcher Raul Baduel (4-3) absorbed the loss for Grambling, tossing five innings and allowing four runs, three of them earned. Drexler Macaay provided the visitors' lone run with a solo home run down the left field line in the top of the seventh inning.
The two teams continue their series Saturday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics