2023 SWAC Baseball Tournament Opens With A Bang In Atlanta

All four baseball games provided excitement as the SWAC tournament kicked off in Atlanta.

ATLANTA — The 2023 SWAC Baseball Tournament started on a great note as the conference's top hitters and pitchers showcased their skills as eight teams competed at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta. There was no shortage of home runs, great pitching performances, and competitive fire on Wednesday. Here's how it all played out.

FAMU's Bastardo Bangs 2 Homers, Downs Texas Southern 

Janmikell Bastardo celebrates with his Florida A&M teammates as the Rattlers beat the Texas Southern Tigers 9-1 / Jai Smith - FAMU Athletics

Both offenses struggled to get going in the tournament opener - the Rattlers and Tigers combined for only five hits in the first four innings. Give credit to the pitchers, though, as Texas Southern's Abraham Deleon went six innings and only gave up one run with eight strikeouts. However, Hunter Viets was the better pitcher, as the FAMU ace pitched seven innings of shutout ball with five strikeouts and no walks.

"Probably the best performance of the year for him, and at the right time," head coach Jamey Shouppe said about Viets' performance. "The team that's going to win this is going to be the team that's hot. We're capable of winning this tournament."

Janmikell Bastardo took the lid off for the Florida A&M offense as he hit a solo home run in the top of the 5th inning. 

That was all the Rattlers needed as the team scored eight runs over the final four innings, including four runs in the fourth, highlighted by a three-run home run from Bastardo, his second of the game.

The win moves Florida A&M to the winner's bracket, where the Rattlers will play Alabama State.

Southern Rallies In The 8th To Defeat Bethune-Cookman

Southern’s Jah’li Hendricks steps into a pitch against Bethune-Cookman / Willie Scott - Southern University Athletics

The second game of the day was a true pitchers' duel between Bethune-Cookman's All-SWAC starter Nolan Santos and Southern's Nicholas Wilson. Both guys went seven innings while only giving up a combined seven hits. 

Southern and Bethune-Cookman started slow offensively, but the Wildcats struck first in the fourth inning as Robert Moya and Irvin Escobar hit RBI singles to take a 2-0 lead.

The Jaguars immediately responded with an RBI ground-rule double from Jaylen Armstrong to cut the lead in half. But Santos was still dealing, and his performance looked strong enough to give the Wildcats a close win.

Santos was at the end of his rope, and it finally showed in the 8th inning, where a double from Gustavo Nava Sanchez and a fielding error allowed the first run of the frame to score. That was immediately followed by Khyle Radcliffe, who hit an RBI double of his own.

The second run was the nail in the coffin for Santos as he was pulled for reliever Joan Gonzalez. But the Jaguars had one more in them as Hunter Tabb hit another RBI double to give Southern a 4-2 lead, which ended up being the final score.

"Mental toughness," head coach Chris Crenshaw said after the game. "We talked about that from day one until now. We have to be tough and resilient.

Third baseman Hunter Tabb echoed Crenshaw's comments, referring to the experience of the club.

"We have a lot of veteran guys who have been in situations similar to this," Tabb said. "It was about staying with it and doing what we do."

Wilson earned the win, Enrique Ozoa earned his fifth save of the year, while Santos was the losing pitcher. Southern will take on Grambling State/Jackson State tomorrow at 6 p.m., while Bethune-Cookman will take on Jackson State/Grambling State at noon.

Alabama State Blasts Prairie View A&M

Alabama State's Jack Hay steps into a pitch against Prairie View A&M / Alabama State Athletics

The reigning tournament champions were the only team to score in the first inning to open the tournament, and the Hornets scored four runs against the Panthers. 

Alabama State scored in four of six innings as the offense was on fire from the beginning. Jose Vasquez's squad benefited from some poor fielding, but all 11 runs were earned as the game was called after the 7th inning. 

SWAC Pitcher of the Year Omar Melendez pitched six innings, giving up one earned run on 10 hits and four strikeouts. The offense had two four-run innings, with the second coming in the 5th after Jack Hay and Ali Lapread hit back-to-back home runs.

"Ali and I have been seeing the ball well the last couple of weeks," Hay said after the game. "It's really about the hard work we've put in leading up to this tournament. We've got some good pitches and put a good spin on it."

It was an impressive performance, but a key to the Hornets' success is the combination of new blood and experienced players from last year's championship team.

"Absolutely," Vasquez said about the roster's experience.  "I believe that you need that experience. We have a great combination of younger and older guys. It shows how well this team gelled together."

Alabama State will take on Florida A&M tomorrow at 3 p.m., and Prairie View will take on Texas Southern at 9 a.m.

Grambling State Edges Jackson State In See-Saw Battle

Grambling State's Keylon Mack sends one over the fence against Jackson State / Courtesy of Grambling State Athletics

Many would agree that this was the best game of the day as the two Tiger programs battled down to the wire.

Top-seeded Grambling kicked off the scoring with two runs in the 3rd inning with a two-run home run from Tiger Borom. 

But Jackson State immediately responded with three runs of its own. The first two came on a fielder's choice and a throwing error. The third run came with the bases loaded, and Jatavis Melton was hit by a pitch to force a run across to give Jackson State a 3-2 lead.

The two Tiger programs scored two more runs in the 5th and went scoreless in the 6th, but Grambling was able to retake the lead with Keylon Mack's two-run shot into the trees in right-center field.

However, the 6-5 score was short-lived as Jackson State's Omar Gomez tied the game with a solo home run.

With the score 6-6 in the bottom of the 8th, Grambling had one more rally up its sleeve, scoring two runs to take the lead 8-6 going into the 9th.

Jackson State gave its best shot, loading the bases and getting one run across, but it wasn't enough as Ethan Bates closed it out for Grambling.

"We have a saying: 'When something good happens, keep playing. When something bad happens, keep playing," head coach Davin Pierre said about the team's fight. "They punched us; we punched them back. And eventually, we got the lead and got the ball to our closer, Ethan Bates, and he closed the game for us."

Grambling will play Southern in a battle of Louisiana schools, while Jackson State will play Bethune-Cookman.