Sports

Golden Lions open up three-game set with lopsided setback

By Jay Lupo/Of The Commercial Staff
Friday, March 28, 2008 11:14 PM CDT

The highlight of Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s day was the infield warmups.

Texas Southern scored six runs in the top of the first inning Friday and cruised to a 15-2 victory over the Golden Lions in the opening game of a three-game Southwestern Athletic Conference series at Regional Park.

UAPB (4-17, 1-9 SWAC) committed three errors, only scratched seven hits on Tigers’ starter Charles Derkoski and gave up four runs with two outs in the top half of the first on Friday.

“The game of baseball is funny,” Golden Lions coach Michael Bumpers said. “When you look at that first inning, a lot of which happened with two outs, it made it a totally different ballgame. You could see after the first three or four runs crossed our heads just dropped.

“It was a done deal from that point.”

Golden Lions starter Justin Clark struck out Brandon Mikell to start the game, but then gave up consecutive singles to Michael Norris and Adam Sellers. Clark then walked Earnest Rhone to load the bases with one away. Johnny Toups then plated Norris with an RBI single to center, Justin Holloway walked to drive in Sellers and David James hit into and RBI fielder’s choice to make it 3-0 in favor of Texas Southern (8-13, 4-6 SWAC) with two away.

That’s when Jordan Bush hit a two-run single to left that essentially broke UAPB’s back.

“That was tough right there,” Bumpers said. “That’s when I really saw a shift in terms of our kids’ body language.”

Clark lasted just 3 and 1/3 innings Friday. He gave up eight earned runs on nine hits to go along with three strikeouts and four walks.

Earnest Horton led UAPB’s offense with a 2-for-3, one RBI performance. Jerome McCollum plated the Golden Lions’ other run when he singled in the bottom of the sixth to make it 11-2 in favor of the Tigers.

“We’ve just got to go out there and play fundamental baseball,” Bumpers said. “That’s what we’re having the most trouble with right now.

“If we can come out and throw strikes, put the ball in play and then make the routine plays in the field, we’d be fine. But we’re just not doing that at this juncture and it’s hurting us.”

Sellers led Texas Southern’s offense going 3-for-6 with two RBI. Bush, Holloway, and Norris each added two hits and at least two RBI apiece, while James finished the day 2-for-3 with three RBI.

This weekend’s series resumes today with a doubleheader at Regional Park. UAPB will face the Tigers in a seven-inning affair at 11 a.m., followed by a nine-inning contest in the nightcap.

Sophomore right-hander Terrance Morse (0-2, 14.54 ERA) will start today’s first game while junior right-hander Daniel Gathright (2-1, 8.89 ERA) will take the bump in the final game.

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