JOURNAL SPORTS
Trevor Hatton’s three-run triple in the fifth inning helped push Grambling past Alabama State in a 6-3 in the first-round SWAC Tournament win at Russ-Chandler Stadium in Atlanta.
Grambling, the second seed in the west, will play the top seed in the east, Florida A&M, at 6 p.m. today.
Hatton’s hit gave the Tigers a 5-1 lead after Julian Murphy’s bases-loaded walk put GSU ahead 2-1. Hatton finished the game going 2-for-3 with a double, triple and three RBI. Tiger Borom was also 2-for-3 and Cameron Bufford had a triple for GSU. The Tigers recorded nine hits but left eight runners on base.
Mason Martinez (11-2) got the win going 6 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on nine hits with five strikeouts. Javier Martinez got his second save on the season by allowing one hits and no runs in the final 2 1/3 innings.
ASU’s Randy Flores hit a two-run home run in the seventh to pull the Hornets within 5-3. GSU’s Javier Martinez came on to cap off the win for the Tigers.
Louisiana Tech-Middle Tennessee: At Ruston, the top-seeded Bulldogs led 8-2 going to the top of the ninth when lightning suspended play on the first day of the Conference USA Tournament held at Tech’s J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park. With no sign of a break in the weather the game was suspended and will resume at 9 a.m. today with MTSU down to its last three outs, coming to bat in the ninth. The change in the schedule has both teams not playing again until Friday morning.
McNeese 10, Northwestern State 5: At Hammond, a trio of Demon errors led to six Cowboy unearned runs in the Southland Conference first-round game at Southeastern’s Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field Wednesday.
Fourth-seeded NSU (22-32) will face top-seed Lamar in a 9 a.m. elimination game today. Lamar was upset by UIW Wednesday.
McNeese used a seven-run second inning to take an early lead NSU was not able to overcome. The Demons cut that lead in the bottom of the second when senior catcher Bo Willis hit a two-run home run, the 23rd of his career at NSU, moving into a three-way tie for 10th in school history.
Cowboy right-hander Zach Voss (2-5) proceeded to retire nine straight and 13 of the next 14 hitters after Willis’ home run.
Demon relievers Alejandro Marques (1 2/3 innings, Bryce Leonard (2 innings) and Dylan Marionneaux (4 innings) came on and did not allow an earned run in the last 7 2/3 innings of the game.
Daniel Burroway’s two-run home run in the seventh pulled the Demons within 8-4 before the Cowboys added two more unearned runs to extend their lead to six in the ninth.