Top-ranked Selma University crushes Clark Atlanta, 14-5
Published 7:09 pm Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Selma University’s Jamion Barlow makes contact on his first-inning grand slam during Wednesday’s home game against Clark Atlanta University. Selma University went on to win Wednesday’s game 14-5. — Robert Hudson
A six-run first inning set the tone for the afternoon, as the No. 1 Selma University Bulldogs defeated the Clark Atlanta University Panthers 14-5 at home on Wednesday.
Selma University baseball coach Eric Nelson said the Bulldogs (21-3, ranked No. 1 in United States Collegiate Athletic Association) started strong and picked up another win in what’s been a great start to the season.
“We started good in the first inning, took good ABs, getting walks early, good pitching. That’s what started us off fast early,” Nelson said. “First time in school history, 21-3. We’re on like a 12-game winning streak. We’ve had back-to-back no hitters in games — Robert Brown and Ricardo Cortez each pitched no hitters. Anthony Durant, our ace, right now he’s 5-1 with a 0.69 ERA. We’re hitting .390 as a team. Micthell Webb, Sabien Duplesis, Lynn Lewis and Andrew Pitts are our big four.”
The Bulldogs got their first run of the game in the bottom of the first when Pitts was hit by a pitch with bases loaded, bringing in Webb to make the score 1-0.
Selma kept producing in the first when Jamion Barlow crushed a grand slam to deep center field that brought in Pitts, Lewis, and Duplesis to make the score 5-0 in the bottom half of the first.
The Bulldogs added one more run in the opening inning, as Gabriel Valazquez scored from third on a fielder’s choice play after tripling on the previous at-bat, making it 6-0 heading into the second.
The Panthers got on the board in the top of the fifth, as a hit in the infield by Vincent Hembrick brought in two runs to make it a 6-2 game.
But Selma answered back in the bottom of the third when Brown hit a ground ball to left center that drove in another run, and Brown later scored on an inside-the-park home run by Webb that made it a 9-2 game.
Hembrick scored a run in the top of the fourth for Clark, but Selma responded in the bottom half of the inning when Pitts scored from third on a hit by Valazquez to make it 10-3.
The Bulldogs finished off their scoring in the bottom of the fifth, as Webb and Lewis scored on a hit to deep right field by Duplesis, and Duplesis scored on a hit by Barlow followed by a hit by Valazquez that brought in Pitts to make it 14-3.
