Grambling State swept a 3-game baseball series against the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Saturday and Sunday in Grambling, La.
The Tigers won 6-3 and 7-5 on Saturday before crushing UAPB 17-2 in seven innings Sunday.
It took 6 innings for either team to score in the first game Saturday, but Grambling State (8-13, 5-0 SWAC) finally broke through with a 3-run bottom of the sixth, thanks in part to a 2-run homer by Cameron Bufford. UAPB (9-15, 0-6) got a run back in the top of the seventh, but the Tigers added another 3 in the bottom half.
UAPB second baseman Drew Cates hit a 2-run homer in the top of the eighth, but neither team scored again.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Bufford was joined by Grambling State left fielder Tiger Borom in driving in two runs for Grambling State. Randy Reyes (2-3) earned the win in a 6.1-inning start with 6 strikeouts and 3 walks. He allowed 1 run on 6 hits.
Jackson Charles picked up the save after entering with one out in the eighth. He did not allow a hit or a walk.
Lions starter Calvin McClendon (1-4) went 6 1/3 innings, allowing 6 runs on 9 hits. He struck out five batters and walked eight.
Both teams scored early in the second game. Grambling State led 4-1 after the second inning, but UAPB took its first lead of the series in the top of the third with five hits. Carlos Rodriguez-Velez gave UAPB the 5-4 advantage with a 2-RBI single after RBI hits by Malachi Jeffries and Edwin De La Cruz.
The lead held until the bottom of the seventh, when Grambling State plated 3 runs on 4 hits. Neither team scored in the final two innings as the Tigers clinched the series.
Rodriguez-Velez drove in 3 runs for UAPB off 2-for-4 hitting. Centerfielder Gavin Terry hit 3 for 5 with 2 runs. Starting pitcher Jacob Ehling (2-3) lasted 7 innings, allowing 7 runs on 13 hits. He struck out 5 without a walk.
Mason Martinez (4-1) went the distance for Grambling State, allowing 5 runs on 10 hits with 8 strikeouts and 1 walk.
UAPB scored first Sunday with a De La Cruz RBI single in the top of the first inning, but the Tigers scored 5 in the fifth, 6 in the second, 2 in the third and 4 in the fourth. UAPB substitute Maurice Edwards delivered an RBI single in the top of the seventh, but the Tigers easily clinched the game via the run-rule.
Grambling State designated hitter Julian Muphy hit 2 for 2 with 3 RBI and 2 runs. Catcher Chris Marcellus hit 1 for 2 with 3 RBIs and a run, and second baseman Kyle Walker hit 2 for 2 with 2 RBIs and 4 runs.
Bryant Phillip (1-2) earned his first win for Grambling State with a 6-inning start in which he struck out 7 and walked 3. UAPB used 4 pitchers, starting with Jaedon Willis (1-3). He allowed 8 earned runs on 6 hits in 1 2/3 innings.