Tigers Drop Second Straight To Grambling State

For the second straight afternoon, Grambling State jumped out to an early lead and rode it to its second straight win over Texas Southern on Sunday at MacGregor Park.

Grambing State hit a two-run homer in the first for the early 2-0 lead but TSU’s Nic Garza answered in the bottom frame with a two-run homer to right for the 2-2 tie. The tie was brief as Grambling State answered with a grand slam in the second to force a pitching change followed by another two-run homer to right for an 8-2 lead. With two outs in the third, Grambling State added to its lead with three runs.

The Tiger offense began to show life in the fifth as Justin Cooper led off with a walk followed by a Tyrese Clayborne double. Michael Goudeau hit a sac fly for the team’s third run while a passed ball led to another run. The bases would eventually load as Grambling State opted to play for a force after intentionally walking Oscar Ponce. The move would backfire as Roderick Coffee hit a three-RBI double to left as TSU trailed 11-7 after five.

Reliever Brian Williams settled in and held GSU scoreless for the next four innings but ran into trouble in the eighth as GSU scored three times which led to a pitching change. The Tigers added two more runs off reliever Jaiden Beck for their final runs of the game as TSU added a run in the ninth for the 16-8 final margin.

Adolf Castillo dropped to 1-2 on the season while Ponce and Clayborne both had two hits apiece. Coffee and Garza both combined for five RBI.

The series concludes Monday at MacGregor with a 1 p.m first pitch.