NEW ORLEANS – The Tigers of Texas Southern University opened defense of last season's Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament championship Wednesday with a 10-3 victory over Alcorn State.
At Wesley Barrow Stadium in New Orleans, the Tigers (24-26) scored nine unanswered runs en route to the victory to reach the next round of the double-elimination tournament. The win was the fifth consecutive triumph for TSU in SWAC Tournament play.
The Tigers, who won the SWAC's West Division for the first time since 2010, will face Jackson State, the No. 2-seeded team from the East Division. First pitched between Texas Southern and Jackson State is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday.
Jose Camacho picked up the game-winning RBI with a double that scored Christian Sanchez from first base in the bottom of the fifth inning. TSU had tied the game in the previous inning with a pair of runs after Alcorn took a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth.
TSU took firm control of the game in the bottom of the sixth when Sanchez came to the plate with the bases loaded to knock a two-RBI double. The Tigers got a third run on Sanchez' hit due to an outfield error, which allowed Sanchez to move to third base. He then came home when Camacho knocked a sacrifice fly.
Aron Solis (pictured) picked up his ninth victory for the Tigers, tossing six and one-third innings while striking out three batters and scattering eight hits. Jacob Gilbreath and Mason Furlong combined to throw two and two-thirds scoreless innings of relief.
Camacho and Sanchez each had two RBIs for TSU, as did Trey LeBlanc. LeBlanc, Gaudencio Lucca, and Olajide Oloruntimilehin knocked two base hits each for the Tigers.
TSU's Kamren Dukes was held hitless for the first time since the team's March 13 loss at Oklahoma, snapping the longest active hitting streak in the nation at 34 games. He was one game shy of equaling the longest hitting streak of 2018.
In Dukes' last at-bat of the day, a drag bunt down the third base line appeared to be destined for a hit after it bounced hard off Alcorn State's third baseman playing shallow, but it was ruled that the Braves' Niko Hayes-Saltare was standing in foul territory when he touched the ball, resulting in a foul ball.
While his hitting streak ended, Dukes did reach base after getting hit by a pitch in his second at-bat of the day, which pushed his streak of reaching base safely to 42 consecutive contests.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics
At Wesley Barrow Stadium in New Orleans, the Tigers (24-26) scored nine unanswered runs en route to the victory to reach the next round of the double-elimination tournament. The win was the fifth consecutive triumph for TSU in SWAC Tournament play.
The Tigers, who won the SWAC's West Division for the first time since 2010, will face Jackson State, the No. 2-seeded team from the East Division. First pitched between Texas Southern and Jackson State is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday.
Jose Camacho picked up the game-winning RBI with a double that scored Christian Sanchez from first base in the bottom of the fifth inning. TSU had tied the game in the previous inning with a pair of runs after Alcorn took a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth.
TSU took firm control of the game in the bottom of the sixth when Sanchez came to the plate with the bases loaded to knock a two-RBI double. The Tigers got a third run on Sanchez' hit due to an outfield error, which allowed Sanchez to move to third base. He then came home when Camacho knocked a sacrifice fly.
Aron Solis (pictured) picked up his ninth victory for the Tigers, tossing six and one-third innings while striking out three batters and scattering eight hits. Jacob Gilbreath and Mason Furlong combined to throw two and two-thirds scoreless innings of relief.
Camacho and Sanchez each had two RBIs for TSU, as did Trey LeBlanc. LeBlanc, Gaudencio Lucca, and Olajide Oloruntimilehin knocked two base hits each for the Tigers.
TSU's Kamren Dukes was held hitless for the first time since the team's March 13 loss at Oklahoma, snapping the longest active hitting streak in the nation at 34 games. He was one game shy of equaling the longest hitting streak of 2018.
In Dukes' last at-bat of the day, a drag bunt down the third base line appeared to be destined for a hit after it bounced hard off Alcorn State's third baseman playing shallow, but it was ruled that the Braves' Niko Hayes-Saltare was standing in foul territory when he touched the ball, resulting in a foul ball.
While his hitting streak ended, Dukes did reach base after getting hit by a pitch in his second at-bat of the day, which pushed his streak of reaching base safely to 42 consecutive contests.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics