The Stillman College Baseball team began the 2022 season on the road with a two-game series against Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. Despite winning game one of the series, the Tigers lost the second game to Xavier who bounced back to get its second win of the season.
Game One – Stillman 6, Xavier University of Louisiana 3
Last year, Xavier swept Stillman in its three-game series. This was both teams first meeting to start the 2022 HBCU baseball season. Elijah Hammonds got the start for Stillman and pitched four innings while giving up just one runs on five hits. Hammonds struck out three batters.
Both Stillman and the Xavier Gold Rush had seven hits each. Xavier scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the first inning for a 1-0 early lead, but they allowed three Tigers to come across the plate in the fifth inning to fall behind 3-1. Down two runs, Xavier answered with one run in the bottom of the six-inning making it 3-2, but Stillman was able to shut the door adding three insurance runs in the top of the seventh and take the doubleheader-opening win.
In the win for Stillman, Kelvin Reese collecting two hits in game one while driving home two runs. Lazaro Rodruguez one hit produced two runs. Both Mason Collins and Bilal Whittle had a hit and a run batted in each. Hammonds (1-0) got the win on the hill, Steve Oates recorded three strikeouts in relief and recorded the save.
Game Two – Xavier University of Louisiana 6, Stillman 3
In the first inning, Xavier plated three runs for an early 3-0 lead. Xavier’s Courtland Posey had the big hit in the inning when he doubled to right field scoring a run. The Gold Rush would add three more runs in the bottom of the second inning to go up 6-0. Leading off the inning, Damian Lantigua along with the next batter Co Co Simoneaux reached on back-to-back walks. On a 2-0 count D’Aires Davis blasted his second home run of the season, a three-run shot to left.
Stillman tried to get back in the game scoring its only runs with two outs in the sixth inning. Justin Cummings’ two-run single and a Daniel Powell run scoring single made it 6-3 and that was the final score in game two.
At the plate, Davis was 1 for 3, with one home run and three runs driven in. Courtland Posey’s double produced one run.
In four innings of work, Xavier starter Andre Beaudoin (1-0) allowed only three hits no runs striking out seven.