Shreveport, La. - TOURNAMENT BRACKET
There were no surprises on opening day at the 2011 SWAC Baseball Tournament, being held at Fair Grounds Field. Each of the top seeded teams advanced in all four opening round games on Wednesday setting up what should be a competitive day of baseball on Thursday.
Grambling 4, Mississippi Valley State 0 Box Score
In the opening game of the day, Grambling took advantage of two costly Delta Devil errors in a four-run seventh inning to advance in the winner's bracket. Richard Bautista threw a complete-game shutout for the Tigers.
GSU advances to play Alcorn State at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, while Valley will face Texas Southern at 9:00 a.m. in an elimination game.
Jackson State 6, Prairie View A&M 3 Box Score
Jackson State scored four times in the seventh inning to come back and defeat Prairie View in the opening round. Desmond Russell and Malcolm Tate each drove in two runs for the Tigers. Quintavious Drains went the distance on the mound for JSU.
JSU advances to play Southern at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, while PVAM will face Alabama State at 12:00 p.m. in an elimination game.
Alcorn State 6, Texas Southern 5 Box Score
Alcorn State overcame a sluggish start that saw TSU build an early 3-0 lead. The Braves scored four times in the fifth inning to take the lead, and then hung on in the ninth to advance in the winner's bracket. Alcorn's Steve Easter outbattled TSU's Dakota Laufenberger in a matchup of the league's two all-conference selections at pitcher.
Southern 10, Alabama State 3 Box Score
Southern capitalized on four Alabama State errors as the Jaguars cruised to a 10-3 victory on opening day. Taylor Roy was 2-4 with a pair of RBIs. Belfred Pryor earned the complete-game victory on the mound.
