NEW ORLEANS – Texas Southern punched its ticket into the 2016 SWAC Baseball Tournament final with a 15-4 win over Jackson State at Wesley Barrow Stadium.
TSU struck first when Kamren Dukes (4-for-4, 4 R) was able to scamper home after a failed pickoff attempt of Javier Valdez.
That first lead didn't last long, as Sam Campbell knotted the game in the top of the third with a solo shot, and JSU took a 2-1 lead on a Cornelius Copeland RBI triple that plated Jaylan Bledsoe.
In the bottom half of the frame, errors again cost Jackson State as a Ryan Lazo sacrifice fly was mishandled during the throw back into the infield.
The gaffe allowed two runs to score for another lead change in favor of Texas Southern, and an O.J. Oloruntimilehin two-run double ended up chasing JSU starting pitcher Vincent Anthonia (2.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, K) from the mound.
Richard Alamo plated Oloruntimilehin with a double to continue to scoring run for TSU, and later during the stanza Lazo smacked a two-run single down the right field line. Texas Southern ultimately ended the inning with an 11-2 advantage.
In the fourth inning, Lazo (2-for-2, 5 RBI) struck again, knocking a two-run double to make the lead 14-2. Copeland picked up his second RBI of the game in the fifth with a single. Jackson State went on to load the bases with no outs during the inning, but ultimately squandered its best scoring chance of the game as no other runs crossed home plate.
Ryan Rios picked up the win, striking out eight and scattering six hits over 5.0 innings.
Texas Southern will face Alabama State in the SWAC Championship Game on Sunday, May 22 at Wesley Barrow Stadium in New Orleans with the contest slated to start at 10:30 am live on ESPNU.Â
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