SHREVEPORT---The Grambling State Tigers Baseball team won its first SWAC title since 1985 with a dominating 15-2 performance over the Braves of Alcorn State in the finals of the 2010 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament.
First year Interim Head Coach James Cooper, 2010 SWAC coach of the year, guided the Tigers as they breezed through the tournament with wins over Mississippi Valley (8-4), Alabama State (17-2) and Texas Southern (7-2) before exploding for 15 hits and taking advantage of six errors by the Braves in a game that was not too much in doubt after a four-run fourth inning that gave the Tigers a 5-0 lead.
Grambling's Adrian Turner, who was named the tournament's most valuable player, held Alcorn State batters without a hit into the fourth inning and kept the Braves off-balance throughout the day. Turner finished with a complete-game, seven-hitter and struck out seven with just one walk.
Four of Grambling's first five runs were unearned as the Braves committed six errors in the game's first five innings. After that, the Tiger bats took over scoring 10 runs over the final four innings to ice the game. Grambling pounded out five doubles and a triple in the contest.
Nick Carson lasted 3.1 innings as the Braves' starter, and gave up five runs, but only one was earned. He took the loss, but gave up just one base hit.
TOURNAMENT AWARDS: James Cooper, Grambling (Coach of the Year)
All-Tournament: Adrian Turner, Grambling (MVP); Anthony Clifton, Grambling; Steve Kletke, Grambling; Chris Wolfe, Grambling; Odingo Davila, Grambling; Rodney Warren, Alcorn State; Brandon Hollins, Alcorn State; Kilby Perdomo, Alcorn State; David Nolting, Southern; Bryan Smith, Texas Southern; Matthew Pace, Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Ron James, Alabama State.
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