Tigers drop series-opener to Grambling

GRAMBLING, La. – The Tigers of Texas Southern University fell behind early and were unable to catch up Friday as they fell 10-5 to Grambling State.
 
In a matchup between the Southwestern Athletic Conference's top two teams in the West Division, Grambling jumped out to leads of 6-1 and 10-2 as the home team snapped TSU's two-game conference winning streak.
 
TSU (9-17) fell to 6-3 in divisional play with the loss. Grambling (14-13) improved to 7-3 in the SWAC's West Division, overtaking first place by a half-game; Texas Southern has played one fewer conference game after one of its games at Southern rained out earlier this month.
 
The visiting Tigers did get 10 hits in the game, with nine of them coming from four players. Kamren Dukes went 3-for-4 with a double, while Gaudencio Lucca, Olajide Oloruntimilehin, and Ricky Urbano all collected two base hits apiece.
 
TSU's Christian Sanchez hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning; it was Sanchez' team-leading ninth home run of the season.
 
Texas Southern and Grambling resume their series Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.