MONROE, La. – The Sycamore baseball team earned a 15-5 victory in eight innings over the Tigers of Grambling State on Saturday afternoon at Warhawk Field. ISU improves to 2-0 on the season, while Grambling State drops to 0-2. It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the diamond and was part of the Warhawk Classic, hosted by UL-Monroe.
Grambling State struck first in the top of the second inning. Diamyn Hall singled and came around to score on a Roger Diaz single.
ISU took the lead in the bottom of the inning. After back-to-back walks, Kaden Moore drove in Tyler Friis with a single. Jeff Zahn followed hitting a double down the first base line, scoring Moore and Rosselli, and advanced to third on an error by the right fielder. Zahn later scored on a Landon Curry single.
The Sycamores tacked on two more in the third. With the bases full, Curry hit a double to left field to score Rosselli and Moore. ISU added a solo run in the fourth on a Rosselli sacrifice fly to score Andy Young.
The Tigers added a run in the top of the fifth inning when Jaiden France scored on a wild pitch. ISU matched Grambling State in the bottom of the inning when Curry scored from second on a Young single to left.
Grambling State battled back scoring three runs in the top of the sixth inning. Dylan Spearman and Diaz recorded RBI singles, and the Tigers were aided by an ISU throwing error.
ISU added a run in the seventh inning, and exploded for six in the eighth to secure the victory.
Curry led the Sycamores offensively; finishing two-for-four with three RBI, two runs scored and added a sacrifice bunt. Young finished three-for-six with two RBI and two runs scored. Hayes went one-for-three with three RBI and a run scored. Moore had two hits, knocked in two and scored three times. Zahn finished two-for-three with two RBI and two runs scored. Six Sycamores had multiple hits in the game.
Jeff Degano picked up the victory for the Sycamores, throwing 5.2 innings, giving up eight hits, five runs, four earned, walking one and struck out seven. It was Degano's first start since 2013. Eberle worked 2.1 innings, giving up no runs on one hit and striking out two while earning the save in his first appearance out of the bullpen.
The Sycamores return to action tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. as they face off against Central Arkansas in the final game of the Warhawk Classic.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Men's Baseball team, make sure to visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.
