Grambling State Defeats Jackson State To Win The SWAC Baseball Tournament Title In Walk-Off Thriller, Heads To NCAA

The old rivals gave the SWAC Baseball Tournament fans plenty to rave about after the G-Men's walk-off victory!

Grambling State University Wins SWAC Baseball Title / GSU Athletics

The Grambling State Tigers (26-26) are the 2024 SWAC Baseball Tournament Champions with a 6-5 victory over Jackson State (36-20) in the title game at Russ Chandler Stadium. The G-Men flirted with dramatic endings for the entire tournament and gave the 1,012 fans attending a thrilling win.   It's the first time since 2010 that Grambling will hoist the SWAC Tournament Trophy.

The showdown between Grambling State and Jackson State in Atlanta was not just an ordinary game. It was a battle of two old SWAC East and West rivals. The high-stakes intrigue of the final inning added an extra layer of excitement to this already intense rivalry.

At the top of the ninth inning, Jackson State's Joseph Eichelberger doubled down the infield line with one out. After GSU intentionally walked a distraught Arjun Huerta, who was slugging .732, both JSU Tigers advanced to second and third base off a wild pitch. 

Here comes the drama. The Grambling catcher appeared to tag Robert Tate Jr.'s foot after swinging on a strike, but the umpire allowed the play to continue. The catcher chose to toss Tate Jr. out at first base, but as he did so, Eichelberger stole home to capture a 5-4 lead. The top of the inning ended as Sebastian Cabeza grounded out.

Jackson State pitcher Christian Womble took the mound to fend off the rally hopes of the G-Men. Instead, Kyle Walker calmly approached home plate to hit a single to the third baseman. An errant throw allowed Walker to advance to become the game-tying runner on second base. Cameron Bufford, who destroyed FAMU in the semifinal game, was walked by Womble.  

Big slugger Julian Murphy had a sacrifice hit to move Bufford and Walker to second and third base for the tying and winning runs ready to score. Coach Omar Johnson chose to load the bases by intentionally walking first baseman Ashton Inman.

Next, even Hollywood could have written a better script. Trevor Hatton batted a ground ball toward third base, Womble had an offline throw to the catcher while Bufford crossed home plate to tie, and Walker amazingly scored the championship-winning run, 6-5.   

2024 SWAC baseball ⚾️ Champs‼️ HELL BABY, WE GRAMBLING‼️ #gramfam pic.twitter.com/pYztgvc8Q8

— Jo Nixon (@teamnix3k) May 26, 2024

Sportswriters gave Grambling State pitcher Javier Martinez the win, and Jackson State's Christian Womble recorded the loss. Trevor Hatton led the GSU Tigers with 3 RBIs and a .600 slugging percentage in the contest. Hatton and Walker each had a pair of hits in the title game.

The JSU Tigers were led by Myles White's 2 RBIs, a .500 slugging percentage, and Josesph Eichelberger's three hits during the loss.

Grambling State University secured the title and will represent the SWAC with an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament.

TEAM	RUNS	HITS	RBI	STRIKEOUTS
GRAMBLING	6	8	5	7
JSU	5	9	4	6