Southern sweeps to SWAC West title

• By ADVOCATE STAFF REPORT
• Published: May 4, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas — Southern University baseball coach Roger Cador could tell his team was ready when the Jaguars took infield practice Saturday.

SU took that intensity into the games, with two big first-inning outbursts that carried the Jaguars to a doubleheader sweep and the Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division title 7-5 and 9-3 at Prairie View.

Ignited by James Armstrong’s solo home run, Southern took a 5-0 lead to start the first game. And the Jaguars took a 4-0 lead in the first inning of the second game.

“The kids wanted it today,” Cador said. “For the first time all year, I saw something. They took the field to take infield like I’d never seen them do. It was their body language, their approach. I knew we had a chance.”

Southern (25-15, 17-6 Western Division) clinched the division title and the division’s top seed in the SWAC tournament, which will start May 14 at Southern’s Lee-Hines Field.

SU last won the SWAC tournament in 2005, when the Jaguars had to win two games to beat PV and win the school’s eighth title in 10 years.

“For me, (the division title) doesn’t mean as much. The biggest thing is to win the conference tournament,” said Cador, who has won more SWAC titles than any other coach (14 in his previous 23 seasons).

“This means more to the players. They had to fight through a lot of injuries. A lot of different players had to step up and make a contribution. We want the kids to enjoy it, because they deserve it.”

Prairie View (21-23, 14-9) has won the last two SWAC tournaments, including beating Southern in last year’s final in Jackson, Miss.
SU and PV conclude the three-game set with a nine-inning game at 1 p.m. today.

“The kids had a business-like approach, and they went out and took care of business,” Cador said. “They went out and sent a message right away.

“We had to really go out and prove we’re a legitimate ballclub and win on the road, where it’s tough, and I thought we did that. (Saturday), we proved we could go to people, especially in the bullpen, and get results.”

First game

SOUTHERN 7, PRAIRIE VIEW 5: Armstrong was 2-for-3, with two runs and an RBI, and Frazier Hall 2-for-4, with a run, to lead SU.
Armstrong began SU’s opening burst with a one-out, solo homer to left field.