SWAC, MEAC crown baseball champs . . .
Texas Southern prevails in SWAC baseballThe Tigers of Texas Southern came from behind to defeat Prairie View A&M 12-11 in the 2008 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament championship game in Lee-Hines Stadium on the campus of Southern University Sunday.
The Tigers (16-32) cruised through the tournament in the winner's bracket with a 4-0 record. This is TSU's second title since 2004 when they beat Mississippi Valley State for the championship.
The Panthers (25-26) led early 2-0 were still on top 11-7 in the bottom of the eighth inning. TSU's Jordan Bush's double in the final frame and scored Justin Holloway for the win. Designated hitter Adam Sellers also had a two-run single in the game-winning rally. David Arredondo shut down the Panthers in the bottom of the ninth.
TSU's Earnest Rhone went 2-for-4 with one RBI while Sellers was 1-for-4, but knocked in four crucial runss for the Tigers.
2008 SWAC BASEBALL
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
P Rashad Ford, TSU; P Josh Lara, PV; C Justin Holloway, TSU; 1B Myrio Richard, PV; 2B
Enrique Quintero, JSU; 3B Michael Gavion, SU; SS
Jordan Bush, TSU; DH Greg Ford, PV; LF Brandon
Kendricks, PV; CF Oscar Goldman, PV; RF Willie Mays, MVSU
MVP: Adam Sellers, TSU
Coach of the Year: Candy Robinson, TSU
Bethune-Cookman makes it three straight MEAC baseball titles
Bethune-Cookman took advantage of a tired
Norfolk State pitching staff Sunday
pounding out a 13-2 championship game win to secure
its third consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference (MEAC) baseball title in a 13-2 victory.
It was the Wildcats' 11th title in the last 13 years.
NSU (25-24), playing its sixth game in four days, turned to ace Joey Seal who had worked seven innings three days earlier. B-CU scored five runs off Seal and added another eight to go up 13-0 as NSU brought starters Leon Schabacker and Quinn Bright out of the bullpen. Schabacker had pitched a complete game win on Friday while Bright had worked seven innings on Saturday.
"The key was the fact that we knew Norfolk State had very few pitchers left that were fresh, and we needed to get to the bullpen," stated B-CU shortstop José Lozada, the tournament's most outstanding player. Lozada hit .414 during the regular season with 7 home runs, 57 RBI and 134 total bases to win the MEAC player of the year award.
NSU got their lone runs in the ninth inning on a two-run homer by Jerrod Farley. The win went to Eric Thomas, who improved to 9-0 on the season with a 2.04 ERA. He allowed six hits in seven innings with 10 strikeouts. At the plate, B-CU was led by six players with multiple hits. Lozada had two hits and three runs scored.
B-CU head coach Mervyl Melendez feels his team is ready to move to the next level.
"We are going to Regionals again, and this time we know we have a better chance with our pitching," said Melendez. "Winning the MEAC is always a blessing against good teams in this league but our prize is trying to win a Regional and move to the next level."
Bethune-Cookman now waits until Monday afternoon May 26 to see where they will travel for the upcoming NCAA Baseball Tournament which begins on May 30.
2008 All-Tournament Team
Brad Stephenson, NSU; Jeremy Jones, NC A&T;
Jose Lozada, B-CU; Nick Rogers, NC A&T; Marquis
Frink, NC A&T; Osvaldo Torres, B-CU; Ken Richardson,
UMES; Chris Joyce, NSU; Ryan Mailen, DSU: Joe
McIntyre, NC A&T; Darryl Evans, FAMU; Jerrod Farley,
NSU; Mariba George, NSU
Outstanding Performer:
Jose Lozada, Bethune-Cookman
Outstanding Coach:
Mervyl Melendez, Bethune-Cookman
|
2008 SWAC Baseball
All-Conference Team FIRST TEAM P - Mario Jefferson, GSU (6-1, 170, Sr., Lancaster, Tx.) P - Charles Williams, JSU (6-2, 185, Jr., East St. Louis, Ill..) P - Jarrett Maloy, SU (6-1, 180, R-So., Tallahassee, Fla.) C - Michael Thomas, SU (6-4, 220, So., Houston, Texas) 1B - Myrio Richard, PV A&M (6-2, 190, So., Lake Charles, La..) 2B - Enrique Quintero, JSU (5-7, 155, Sr., 2B, Miami Beach, Fl.) SS - LaDerek Camper, JSU (5-10, 175, Jr., Jackson, Miss.) 3B - Romey Bracey, SU (5-10, 180, Jr., 3B, Chicago, Ill.) DH - Mychal Roby, GSU (6-4, 215, R-So., Colorado Springs, Co.) OF - Jabari Graham, Alcorn St. (6-0, 210, Jr., Tacoma Park, Ma.) OF - Jerome McCollum, UAPB (5-9, 185, Jr., Pine Bluff, Ark.) OF - Brent Smith, GSU (5-11, 180, Jr., Shreveport, La.) FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Matt Pace, UAPB (6-0, 190, 3B, Warren, Ark. ) NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR Joel Del Grande, Alcorn St. (5-10, 185, Jr., Scarborough, Canada) OUTSTANDING HITTER OF THE YEAR Joel Del Grande, Alcorn St.(5-10, 185, Jr., Scarborough, Canada) PITCHER OF THE YEAR Charles Williams, JSU (6-2, 185, Jr., East St. Louis, Ill.) PLAYER OF THE YEAR Myrio Richard, PV A&M (6-2, 190, So., Lake Charles, La.) | 2008 MEAC Baseball
All-Conference Team FIRST TEAM P Hiram Burgos B-CU P Tim Johnson NC A&T RP Marquis Frink NC A&T C Brad Stephenson NSU INF Justin Bittner DSU INF Osvaldo Torres B-CU INF Jose Lozada B-CU INF Tim Jones FAMU OF Jarrett Bibb DSU OF CJ Beatty NC A&T OF Joe McIntyre NC A&T DH Jeremy Jones NC A&T PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jose Lozada, B-CU PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Hiram Burgos, B-CU ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Tim Jones, FAMU COACH OF THE YEAR: Mervyl Melendez, B-CU |
© 2008 Azeez Communications, Inc.