Golden Tigers split DH with LeMoyne-Owen
MEMPHIS, TN (goldentigersports.com) — Tuskegee University and LeMoyne-Owen entered the weekend in a fight for the fourth spot in the SIAC Baseball Championships, and will have to wait another day to decide who will have the advantage entering the last weekend of conference play, as the two teams split a doubleheader on Tuesday.
Tuskegee (10-25, 6-11 SIAC) won the first game 7-1, before LeMoyne-Owen (8-30, 6-11 SIAC) won the second game on a walk-off sacrifice fly 2-1.
The Golden Tigers scored five runs in the opening inning of the first game, highlighted by a two-run homerun by Jalen Luter – his fourth of the season – that drove in Evan Kearse for the early lead. After back-to-back singles by Gemini Jackson and Alexander Henderson, Matthew Reed drove both in for a 4-0 lead on a double. The final run came across courtesy of an Elgin Woodside RBI single.
Tuskegee added two more runs in the sixth inning to seal the opening game victory.
Christoper Emerson (1-4) earned the complete game victory, allowing just one run off of six hits while striking out four.
Ricky Green led Tuskegee in game one at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a RBI, while Reed finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Luter finished the game 1-for-4 with three runs batted in during the win.
Tuskegee starter, Joseph Mauldin (2-6) kept LeMoyne-Owen off balance for the first six innings until Lawrence Baker reached first on a dribbler between the mound and third. After stealing second, Baker scored on a Chris Conard single to left that was mishandled, allowing Baker to score to tie the game at 1-all.
Conrad reached third on a fielder’s choice with no out recorded stole second and the Magicians loaded the bases on an intentional walk. The Magicians were able to secure the 2-1 victory when Scotty Myracle hit a ball to deep left that allowed Conrad to tag and score.
Mauldin was the hard-luck loser, pitching a complete game and allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits. He also recorded 12 strikeouts in the loss.
The Golden Tigers were held to three hits in the nightcap, a pair from Henderson who finished 2-for-3 with an RBI double.
The two teams will meet in the rubber match Wednesday morning at 10 am. Stay tuned to the official athletics Twitter account for updates on the game, as there is a 50 percent chance of rain tomorrow.
If the two teams do not play tomorrow, the spot will come down to the final series of the season in which Tuskegee hosts Paine while LeMoyne-Owen travels to Clark Atlanta.
