Walk-Off Wins Highlight Day-2 Of The SWAC Baseball Tournament

Two games ended in dramatic fashion, while two games included in-state rivals during Thursday's contests.

ATLANTA -  Walk-off victories became the theme of Day 2 at the 2023 SWAC Baseball Tournament. On Thursday, the Texas programs opened the day's games while Louisiana schools closed. The outcome was determined in the bottom of the 9th inning in the other two games, with the final at-bats. Let's see who came out on top.

Prairie View A&M Defeats Texas Southern To Stave Off Elimination

Prairie View pitcher Tyrone Tubbs walks off the mound against Texas Southern / Taliyah Galindo - Prairie View A&M Athletics

The first of two elimination games was a high-scoring affair as the Panthers and Tigers combined for 15 runs, but Prairie View won the Texas battle and will play another day.

"We had to compete better," head coach Auntwan Riggins said about the message to his team before the game. "Yesterday, we had 10 hits but only one run. You can't win games like that. We needed better at-bats, and I think we did that today."

Prairie View got on the board first, scoring two runs in the 3rd inning off of an RBI single from Zachary Trevino and a sacrifice from Michael Burroughs. But Texas Southern responded in the bottom half, using two sacrifice flies to tie the game 2-2.

The Panther offense then grabbed control of the game in the 4th inning after  Jayden Williams hit a single up the middle. One run scored, but an error by the center fielder allowed another run to come across. After Garrison Weiss hit a sacrifice bunt, Prairie View took a 5-2 lead.

Ahmar Donatto continued the offensive success for Prairie View, hitting a two-run single in the 5th inning to give the Panthers seven total runs and three straight scoring innings.

Now down five runs, Texas Southern responded in a big way in the bottom of the 5th. With two runners on base and no outs, Alexander Olivo hit an RBI single to cut into the lead. Then, with runners on the corners,  Gabriel Vasquez hit a three-run home run over the right field fence to make the score 7-6 after five innings.

Both teams were scoreless in the 6th inning, but Marshal Jonas gave Prairie View a much-needed insurance run with a solo homer to left field in the 7th. The Panthers added another run in the 9th after Alex Martinez scored on a passed ball, winning the game 9-6.

Victor Mendoza earned the win for Prairie View; Cade Fontenot was the losing pitcher, and Tyrone Stubbs, who pitched four shutout innings in relief, earned the save.

"Tubbs was a dog today," Jonas said. "He wants to help this team win more than anybody. He's a guy that's probably not coming back since he's a senior. He just wants to win."

Prairie View will play Florida A&M AT 9 a.m. on Friday. 

Bethune-Cookman Wins In Walk-off Fashion Against Jackson State

Bethune-Cookman Celebrates the walk-off win against Jackson State / Courtesy of Bethune-Cookman Athletics

The second elimination game saw both teams score 23 runs again, the most in a game this tournament. The teams had five errors between them, so the defense could have been better. Still, both teams produced quality offense. 

Bethune-Cookman scored five runs in the second inning, but let's provide some clarity on how that happened:

• The score was 3-3, two runners were in scoring position, and Hylan Hall was at the plate with one out
• Hall hit what was thought to be a sacrifice fly, but Jackson State's Colby Guy was called for a balk
• As a result of the balk, the pitch didn't count, but both runners advanced, resulting in an unearned run for the Wildcats
• Hall returned to the plate and continued his at-bat, where he did hit a sacrifice fly for the second run of the inning

It was an odd sequence of events, but regardless it was the start of a big inning for Bethune-Cookman as the Wildcats added three more runs to take an 8-3 lead after two innings.

However, Jackson State's offense came alive to score four runs over the next three frames to close the gap to one run.

With the score 8-7 Bethune-Cookman, poor fielding from the Wildcats allowed two runs to score and gave Jackson State the 9-8 lead.

Bethune-Cookman managed to tie the score in the bottom of the 8th, but two more runs in the top of the 9th by Jackson State meant the Wildcats went into its last plate appearance down 11-9...

...and Bethune-Cookman delivered.

Irvin Escobar was called on to pinch-hit with the bases loaded, and he delivered a single through the right side that scored the tying runs. Then when Luis Tuero put the ball in play, Colton Olasin broke for home plate. Myles White made the throw to home, but it was offline, and Olasin scored the game-winning run.

"Any other team would've possibly folded in that situation, giving up a five-run lead after scoring eight runs in the first two innings," Bethune-Cookman head coach Jonathan Hernandez said. "They stuck with it. We knew we weren't out of the fight, and at the end of the day, we're thankful and blessed to have another opportunity tomorrow."

Bethune-Cookman will play Southern at noon on Friday.

Alabama State's Jayden Sloan Hits A Walk-Off Versus Florida A&M

Alabama State's Jayden Sloan celebrates after his game-winning hit against Florida A&M / Reily Rogers - SWAC

Two walk-off wins in a day? Yes, but Alabama State had a much steeper hill to climb as the Hornets trailed the Rattlers 8-4, heading into the bottom of the 9th inning.

The rally began with runners on the corners and one out as Randy Flores scored on a wild pitch to make the score 8-5.

Soon the Hornets loaded the bases after Florida A&M made a pitching change. Corey King drove in another run with a sacrifice fly to make the score 8-6 with two outs and runners on the corners.

Christian Lopez then delivered the big hit - a two-run double to tie the game at eight runs apiece. 

The Rattlers made another pitching change before Jayden Sloan, a pinch-hitter, stepped into the batter's box. Sloan then delivered by hitting the ball over the outstretched left fielder's arm to drive in the game-winning run.

"My teammates were coming up to me and telling me, 'Hey, it's going to be your time," Sloan said. "I was able to get in the box, get a good pitch to hit, and now we're moving on."

Alabama State moves on to the semifinals, where it will face the winner of Florida A&M and Prairie View A&M at 3 p.m. on Friday.

Grambling State Goes Wire-to-Wire Over Southern

After sealing the victory for Grambling State over Southern, Ethan Bates shares his emotion / Reily Rogers - SWAC

The tournament's second day ended as it began: an in-state matchup. Prairie View defeated Texas Southern in the opener, and the final game was the diamond version of the Bayou Classic.

Grambling State got an early lead after Cameron Bufford hit a two-run double in the 1st inning. Bufford then advanced to third base after a hit batter and later scored on a wild pitch to make the score 3-0.

The Tigers added two runs in the 3rd and 6th innings to extend the lead. Southern managed to get on the board, however; Gustavo Nava Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly in the 4th inning, and Khyle Radcliffe in a two-run homer in the 6th that actually made the score 5-3 in favor of Grambling.

But the gap was extended in the bottom half when Kyle Walker's triple drove home two runs and made the score 7-3.

Grambling's win doesn't carry the same excitement as a comeback or a walk-off, but it was impressive because of the team's ability to get a lead and maintain it, something two other teams could not do.

"Our offense is really good, but we talk about how pitching and defense win championships," head coach Davin Pierre said. "That's the name of the game - pitching and playing defense. We did that tonight, and we're one game away from being in the championship."

Second baseman Kyle Walker had positive remarks about Grambling's pitching: "Connor Rudy did a hell of a job today. Javier (Martinez) came in, and Ethan (Bates) shut the door. We also kept attacking as an offense and got the job done."

Grambling will face the winner of Southern and Bethune-Cookman in Friday's nightcap.