By T. SCOTT BOATRIGHT, Lincoln Parish Journal
GRAMBLING — For the first time since 2010, Grambling State University is in the College Baseball Championship’s field of 64 teams.
The Tigers are headed to the Texas A&M Regional, where they will begin play at noon Friday against the host Aggies.
Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette round out the Texas A&M Regional teams.
“The main thing is that we’re just thrilled to be back in the tournament for the first time in so long,” said GSU coach Davin Pierre, who watched the NCAA Selection Show online late Monday morning with his team while traveling via bus on the way home from Atlanta, where GSU defeated Jackson State on Sunday to earn the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament championship.
“What all of this means to this program is unbelievable,” Pierre said. “It’s a great opportunity to show our brand on a national stage. It’s a great opportunity for HBCU baseball. We didn’t care where we were going and who we were going to play, but we’re thrilled with the way it all turned out.”
Pierre enjoyed a thrilling finish to the Tigers’ remarkable run through the SWAC bracket. Grambling opened with a 6-3 win over Alabama State but was run-ruled by regular-season conference champ Florida A&M 17-7. GSU eliminated Alabama State in a do-or-die game, then faced two more against FAMU, and swept the Rattlers, 9-3 and 14-11 to reach the Sunday final against Jackson State.
Grambling entered the bottom of the ninth down 5-4, but loaded the bases with no outs. A dribbler down the third base line led to a bang-bang play at the plate, with Grambling getting the tying run in, but a bad throw from the third baseman eluded the Jackson State catcher and allowed tournament MVP Cameron Bufford to race in from second base with the winning run.
Pierre said the Tigers’ NCAA destination is ideal, even if they have to open against the Aggies (44-13), the No. 3 national seed.
“It’s a wonderful place to play baseball,” Pierre said. “They have wonderful facilities and I have no doubt it is going to be a great experience.
“But maybe the best thing about Texas A&M is the fact that it’s a very drivable distance from Grambling,” Pierre said. “We’re trying to build this program and grow our fan base to the level that our football program has.
“This gives our loyal fan base a regional they can easily get to. Grambling has a strong fan base in Texas, so hopefully those fans will come out and show us some support. Texas and Grambling have a great history playing each other in regionals. We know all about Louisiana-Lafayette, who we played earlier this season (ULL won 12-4). So, this is an exciting field of teams for us.”
Grambling heads into the College Station Regional with a record of 26-26 and will be looking for its first-ever regional win in only the fourth time the Tigers have earned a Division I NCAA Tournament berth.
The College Station Regional is paired with the Santa Barbara Regional, which features UCSB, San Diego, Oregon and Fresno State. The winners of those regionals will meet the second weekend in June for a best-of-three Super Regional to battle for a berth in the 2024 Men’s College World Series in Omaha.
There are 64 teams with that dream. Recently, giant killers like Stony Brook, Coastal Carolina and Oral Roberts have caught lightning in a bottle it all the way to Omaha.
But for Grambling, simply getting back on that team bus for a few hours for a visit to College Station sounds great.
Contact Scott at tscottboatright@gmail.com