Down 2 to SFA, Grambling’s Cooper still hopes to salvage weekend

Grambling baseball dropped its second straight to Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, as the team tries to gel after a long offseason that saw a surprise coaching change.

First-year skipper James Cooper, a top assistant under the departed Barret Rey, was working on postgame adjustments to correct mistakes in base running and in situational hitting: “As soon as these guys get more games under their belts, they’ll round into shape.”

Sophomore Eric Zagone took the loss, giving up 7 hits over 6 innings, including two earned. Senior Jeremy Shelby went 2-for-3 at the plate in the eventual 4-0 stumble at Nacogdoches, Texas.

Grambling will send junior Odingo Davila to the mound for Sunday’s finale. “His last game was complete game against Southern, an elimination game in the SWAC tournament. (Grambling won 5-4, with Davila pitching 9 innings.) Hopefully, he’ll bring the same intensity tomorrow.”

Grambling also fell 9-4 on Friday night to SFA, in a game that saw Shelby go 3-of-4 with 4 RBI — including a three-run homer. Milton Barney was 2-of-4 with a double.

“We can’t win the series,” Cooper said, “but we can salvage the weekend by coming away with a win.”
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