The Southern baseball team was off to a poor start but busted out of the doldrums during a weekend trip to Houston.
Sporting a team batting average of .237 entering the weekend — last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference — the Jaguars took two of three from Texas Southern to build some confidence going into this week. Southern had 24 hits, including six home runs, in the three games. They beat the Tigers 13-2 on Sunday.
Southern plays at McNeese State on Tuesday at 6 p.m., then plays host to Alcorn State this weekend in its first SWAC series at home this year.
The Jaguars (7-15, 3-3 SWAC) are in third place in the SWAC West Division behind Prairie View (6-0) and Grambling (5-1). PVU has beaten up on the weaker teams, sweeping Alcorn State (0-6) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-5). Grambling swept Alcorn State after taking two of three from Southern.
“We swung it pretty good Sunday, and Nick Wilson gave us a good start,” Southern coach Chris Crenshaw said. “That’s all I’ve been asking for and we got it Sunday. I’m hoping it will carry over to the next game and a few after that. I knew we were going to click at some point.”
The Jaguars got off to a quick start Sunday. First baseman O’Neill Burgos, who drove in four runs on the day, hit a two-run homer in the first inning. When TSU cut the lead in half, Jonathan Evans came up with run-scoring doubles in the second and fourth innings to extend the lead to 4-1.
Then in the fifth, the blowout started. Burgos singled for a run and Hunter Tabb followed with a three-run homer to make it 8-1. Jah’li Hendricks capped the inning with a solo shot. Southern tacked on four more in the sixth.
“(Burgos) is seeing the ball better, more comfortable in the box,” Crenshaw said. “He made some adjustments going into the season and they are starting to be comfortable to him.”
Wilson gave Southern a solid effort, allowing two runs and six hits in 5⅔ innings. He walked five but struck out four and pitched out of trouble.
Southern opened the series with an 11-9 victory that featured a seven-run rally in the top of the ninth to take a one-run lead. Reliever Enrique Ozoa allowed the tying run but shut TSU out the rest of the way for the victory. He allowed two hits and struck out eight without walking a batter. Jerry Burkett also had a strong outing, allowing one earned run and four hits in four innings.
Southern trailed 8-2 going into the ninth. Tabb hit a two-run homer, and after a bases-loaded walk to Nathaniel Lai, Gustavo Nava Sanchez hit a grand slam to put the Jaguars up by one. Jalon Mack homered earlier and Justin Wiley tripled and scored. The winning runs in the 12th scored on an error.
The Jaguars take on McNeese at Joe Miller Field in Lake Charles in a rematch of a March 1 game at Lee Hines Field.
McNeese (16-8) pounded five Southern pitchers for 14 hits and two home runs in a 10-3 victory, Southern’s only home game this season. The Jaguars play host to SWAC foe Alcorn State in a three-game series this weekend.
Roger Cador Day
Baton Rouge Community College will honor former Southern baseball coach Roger Cador with a day during its 3 p.m. game Saturday against Delgado at Pete Goldsby Field.
Cador, a member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame, coached at Southern for 33 years (1985-2017) and went 913-597-1 with 14 SWAC championships. He guided Southern to 11 NCAA tournament appearances.
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