Southern wins #SWACBSB19 Tournament

Southern broke a decade-long title drought with a 15-0 victory over Alabama State to win the 2019 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament Sunday evening at Wesley Barrow Stadium.

Southern landed the first blow thanks to a RBI double by Ashanti Wheatley that scored Tyler LaPorte, who drew a leadoff walk. However, the Hornets ended the damage there as Hunter David flied out and Wheatley was tagged out at third following the ensuing throw-in.

After a 1-2-3 inning, the Jaguars added to the lead with a two-run blast by Bobby Johnson. The sides traded scoreless innings until the top of the fifth, where the Jaguars added to their lead. There, Coby Taylor was hit by a pitch and Javeyan Williams laid down a bunt, beating the tag at first before LaPorte dropped a flare to right for a two-run triple.
Johnny Johnson scored LaPorte on a double down the left field line and stole third, scoring on a RBI sac fly by David. LaPorte later put the contest out of reach with a three-run shot over the left field wall and with the Hornets unable to figure out Southern starter Eli Finney, the Jaguars added five runs for insurance down the stretch, cruising to their first SWAC tournament championship since 2009.

The All-Tournament Team is listed below.

Key Stats
– LaPorte, the Tournament MVP was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and five RBIs.
– All-Tournament team member Eli Finney earned his second win of the tournament, allowing three hits in 8.1 innings of work while striking out six.
– Southern’s Bobby Johnson and Johnny Johnson combined to go 7-for-11 with four runs and five RBIs.

#SWACBSB19 All-Tournament Team
Jahmoi Percival, Grambling State
Drexler Macaay, Grambling State
Daniel Lingua, Prairie View A&M
Tyler Gordon, Prairie View A&M
O.J. Oloruntimilehin, Texas Southern
Nic Garza, Texas Southern
Terrell McCall, Alabama State
Jeremy Rivera, Alabama State
Santiago Garcia, Alabama State
Eli Finney, Southern
Javeyan Williams, Southern
Tyler LaPorte, Southern (#SWACBSB19 Tournament MVP)