Jackson State baseball loses SWAC title to Grambling in ninth inning

Jackson State baseball lost 6-5 in the championship game of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament on Sunday at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta.

Grambling (26-26) will receive the automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

Grambling trailed 5-4 entering the bottom of the ninth inning and loaded the bases. Trevor Hatton hit a ball that went five feet from home plate. A Jackson State player could not field the ball cleanly and threw the ball away from the catcher at home plate. The throw went toward the Jackson State dugout allowed two runs to score.

With runners on second and third base with two out in the top of the ninth inning.

Jackson State (36-20) took the lead in the ninth when Robert Tate Jr. struck out but the catcher didn't cleanly make the out and Tate avoided the tag while running to first base and was safe. At the same time, Joseph Eichelberger scored from third base for the 5-4 lead. Eichelberger was credited with stealing home.

Jackson State was looking to advance to its first NCAA Baseball Regional Tournament since 2014.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson State baseball loses to Grambling in the ninth inning