Bryan Delgado added 11 strikeouts in his first win of the season for the Tigers. GSU Athletics/Courtesy photo
The heavily anticipated start of the Grambling Baseball team’s return to action did not disappoint.
Participating in the Andre Dawson Classic, the Tigers faced off against three opponents and returned victorious.
Through all the games, the group tallied 22 runs while only allowing six from the opposition all weekend.
The first game played saw the Tigers face off against the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Setting the pace early, the Tigers put up six runs in only the second inning of work, including a grand slam by infielder Rafael Ramirez right after a two RBI single by Jahmoi Percival.
Later in the fifth inning, Michael Sookdeo added insurance runs with a base clearing double to increase the Grambling lead, later followed by a bases loaded walk in which he returned home to set the score at 10-0.
Through just the seven innings played, the Tigers allowed just three hits for the duration of the game with Pitcher Marc Luna earning the victory.
The second game was a match between Grambling and the University of New Orleans.
With Pitcher Bryan Delgado dealing on the mound, the UNO team tacked on just two hits and one earned run late in the eighth inning after the Tigers had already tacked on five runs behind the base-running and batting of Percival.
He finished the game with three hits and three RBI in just four at-bats to help his team secure the 5-1 victory.
Delgado ended the game with 11 strikeouts to go with no walks as he secured the win.
The final matchup of the weekend brought in Southern University, the predicted winners of the SWAC Western Division for this year by the SWAC.
Pitcher Jason Alvarez started the game for the Tigers and held the Jaguars to just two runs while he pitched to go with nine strikeouts in just over four innings pitched.
Grambling’s first score wouldn’t come until Jordyn Smith hit a base clearing triple to give the Tigers the 3-2 lead for a short period.
In the seventh inning, the Jaguars tied the game back at three on a throwing error.
However, the very next inning saw the group add three runs aided by a two run home run from Ry Clark and in the ninth, another run added from a Jeremy Almaguer RBI single.
Southern would add two runs in the ninth, but it would not be enough as they fell to the Tigers 7-5 as the group picked up its third win.
Grant Landry picked up the pitchers win as the pitcher Grambling used that night to secure the victory.
Wednesday’s game saw the Tigers play against the Little Rock Trojans. In a tight game early, the Tigers found themselves down 1-0 until they climbed back in the game in the third inning by loading the bases with walks and a double to take a 4-1 lead.
Nursing the lead proved too much as the Trojans climbed back in the game by scoring five more over the next few innings to steal the 6-4 comeback.
The team, now 3-1, will prepare for a three game stint over the weekend against the ULM Warhawks.