College roundup: NSU baseball gets revenge in Houston
HOUSTON – Two walk-off losses in two days did not deter the Northwestern State baseball team.
Neither did a controversial call in the 10th inning Sunday before Tyler Smith sent the Demons on a happy bus ride back to Natchitoches.
Smith’s solo home run in the 11th inning provided the difference as Northwestern State outlasted Houston, 2-1, in the series finale at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park.
“We’ve done this many times,” said Smith, whose home run came off left-hander Clay Augilar (0-1). “We just calmed it down. People always say left-on-left is hard, but I don’t look at it like that. I just get up there and swing.”
Smith’s home run came after a bizarre end to the 10th inning that saw the Demons (1-2) have the potential go-ahead run wiped out.
After the first two Demons went in order, Lenni Kunert and Caleb Ricca reached on back-to-back Cougars errors before Luke Watson drew a walk to load the bases. J.P. Lagreco worked the count full from Houston reliever Tristen Bayless before Bayless’ full-count pitch hit Lagreco.
Before Lagreco could head to first base and drive in the go-ahead run, home plate umpire Ken Langford called Lagreco out, setting off several heated arguments.
Once the chaos settled, Jose Vasquez (1-0) retired the Cougars in order in the 10th, setting up Smith’s game-winning solo shot to right field.
The Demons return to action Wednesday when they host preseason No. 1 LSU at Brown-Stroud Field.
Louisiana Tech: At Hammond, Parker Bates went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and the Bulldogs (3-0) swept Southeastern Louisiana with a 12-8 victory Sunday on Pete Kenney Diamond at Alumni Field.
Saturday, the Bulldogs took a page out of Friday’s script and rallied again, coming from an 8-1 deficit to take a 15-11 win over Southeastern.
Grambling: At New Orleans, Coby Taylor's one-out solo homer in the ninth inning capped a four-run rally and the Tigers suffered a 6-5 setback to Southern at the Andre Dawson Classic on Saturday at Wesley Barrow Stadium.
Grambling State (1-1) was looking to start 2-0 since the 2017 and took a 5-2 advantage into the seventh, but could not hold on.
Men's basketball
Grambling: At Grambling, the Tigers rallied from a 12-point deficit to lead by eight with 3:12 remaining, but could not hold on as Texas Southern picked up an 86-85 win on Saturday night at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
Grambling State (13-12 overall, 7-5), which saw its four-game win streak snapped, fell behind 54-42 with 16:31 remaining. GSU used a furious rally and grabbed its largest lead of the night, 81-73, with just over three minutes left. Texas Southern closed out the game on a 13-4 run to narrowly escape with the one-point win.
Dallas Polk-Hilliard paced Grambling State with 22 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists. Prince Moss came off the bench and provided 17 points, five rebounds. Axel Mpoyo posted a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards, along with three assists and one block, while Ivy Smith, Jr. registered 11 points, six assists, two boards and one steal.
Women's basketball
Grambling: At Grambling, three Lady Tigers posted double figures in scoring in rolling past Texas Southern, 72-55, on Saturday at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
Grambling State (11-13 overall, 8-4 SWAC) held a narrow, 19-18 lead after one quarter and took a 33-26 advantage into the break. GSU outscored Texas Southern, 21-9, in the third to cruise to the win.
Justice Coleman finished with 15 points, on 7-of-10 shooting, four rebounds and one assist, while Shakyla Hill registered 15 points, five assists, five boards and three steals. Jazmin Boyd added 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Niya Mitchell posted a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 21 rebounds, along with three steals and one block. Olivia Cunningham tallied 10 points, two boards and one steal.