HOUSTON – The Tigers of Texas Southern University scored seven unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth innings Friday to claim an 11-8 win over Grambling State.
Freshman first baseman Parker DeLeon hit his first collegiate home run – a grand slam – in the bottom of the seventh inning, while Olajide Oloruntimilehin hit two home runs to spark the comeback win.
Oloruntimilehin's second home run was a three-run blast down the left field line in the bottom of the eighth inning that capped the game's scoring. The hometown Tigers had to wait to celebrate as the home run was initially ruled a foul ball, but after a conference between the umpires, Oloruntimilehin was awarded his second home run of the day and his ninth of the season.
Chris Suarez pitched two and one-thirds innings of relief to earn his first win of the season. He struck out four batters while allowing only one earned run. Starting pitcher Aron Solis struck out nine batters over six and one-third innings.
Victor Cruz went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the hometown Tigers. Jordan Hollins hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning; it was his first home run of the season.
Six of Grambling's seven RBIs in the game came from the last third of its lineup.
With the win, TSU (11-19, 7-6 SWAC) pulled into a second-place tie with Grambling in the Southwestern Athletic Conference's West Division.
TSU and Grambling will conclude the series Saturday with a doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m. The game originally scheduled for Sunday was pushed ahead to Saturday due to the threat of inclement weather.
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Courtesy: TSU Athletics