Southern carried momentum from Tuesday’s doubleheader sweep and went right over a cliff with it in Friday’s series opener against Texas Southern.
Southern allowed four home runs and 11 walks while it mustered only six hits of its own in an 11-1 loss to the Tigers in a Southwestern Athletic Conference game at Lee-Hines Field.
To top off the misery, Southern coach Chris Crenshaw was ejected in the seventh inning, obviously unhappy with the work of home plate umpire Mike Paden. On a visit to the mound, Crenshaw confronted Paden verbally and was ejected as he walked back to the dugout.
Assistant coach Daniel Dulin took over coaching duties. Crenshaw was steaming about the plate umpiring and his team’s play after the game.
“Be consistent, I don’t ask for nothing else, not for them to be perfect, nothing, just be consistent,” Crenshaw said in the dugout afterward. “They’re backup job messes with my main job. They do this for fun. This is my everyday life. You can’t come out here and give me a half(way) effort on your backup job. Not when it affects me and my coaches.
“I’m beyond livid. I’m disappointed in how my team is playing. They act like they ain’t got nothing to prove. This is a new year. What we did last year is what’s got everybody wanting to get after us. We fail to realize that. Teams are showing up to beat us. We’ve got to play with something to prove. There’s always something on the line at Southern University. These guys are not picking that up.”
Southern (11-19, 7-5 in SWAC) led 1-0 in the first inning on a fielder’s choice grounder by Gustavo Nava Sanchez, but never got a runner to third base afterward.
Southern starting pitcher Jalon Long (2-2) appeared to overcome a two-run homer by TSU’s Alex Olivo in the third inning by striking out five of the next six hitters. But Gabriel Vasquez hit a three-run homer in the fifth and Roderick Coffee followed with a solo shot to center field to widen the lead.
Olivo and Vasquez also added back-to-back solo homers in the ninth inning for TSU (22-14, 8-5).
Trailing 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Southern had a chance to respond against Texas Southern starter Abraham Deleon (4-1) when JJ Rollon and Quincy Smith led off with walks. But Caleb Tart grounded into a fielder’s choice and the Jaguars’ two top hitters, Jaylen Armstrong and O’Neill Burgos, struck out to end the inning.
In addition to the ejection, Southern shortstop and leadoff hitter Justin Wiley left the game with an injury related to being hit by a pitch in the ribs Tuesday against Prairie View.
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