Urban Invitational Tournament starts in cloudy weather at MLB Urban Youth Academy
The fourth annual Urban Invitational three-day Tournament to provide national exposure to Black Colleges and Universities started under the banner of the US Army at the MLB Urban Youth Academy on February 25.
The both opening games started at 1 pm PT, five hours before the scheduled time to avoid evening rainfall. The decision proved successful as both games reached verdicts, with Grambling State overpowering Bethune-Cookman 5-3 at showcase ground of UYA. In
the second game at Cicerone Field, Anteater Ball Park of UC Irvine campus, Southern was crushed by the host team with a big margin of 7-1.
Adrian Turner of Grambling State assisted his team for considerable victory as he allowed the Bethune-Cookman to score just three runs in the eight-innings workout. His three hits and one RBI made him the US Army Player of the Game and helped the team start
positively in the tournament. Turner was happy with his performance as his family had travelled more than 1,500 miles to see his game and he had succeeded in entertaining them.
“I was able to keep guys off-balance and it worked out for me,” Turner said. “I could tell what they were looking for. They were trying to go outside, so I tried to bust it inside to keep them off-balance. I was just a little more focused,” Turner said.
“I had family in the stands so I wanted to play for them.”
UC Irvine outclassed Southern to a perfect 5-0 as pitcher Matt Summer made his career-high nine strikeouts. He left six of the first nine batters in totally helpless condition.
The MLB network will provide full coverage to all games. The next games are: UC Irvine vs Bethune-Cookman at 1 pm PT and Southern vs Grambling at 5 pm PT. Greg Amsinger will be the commentator for the matches along with analyst Harold Reynolds.
The tournament will provide a chance for college and university players to earn some limelight. UYA director Darrell Miller was excited to host the competition. “We're glad we got the games in,” he said. Miller said the stress of the weather made it difficult
to get games in, but he and the other organisers had done the best they could. He said they were taking great care not to let the efforts of the players who flew in play be wasted.
Entertainment activities have also been scheduled for fans. The university’s band ‘Human Jukebox’ and the 82nd All American Chorus will perform at the event live.
Spectators will have their heroes in the field on Saturday as the administration have also planned All-Stars Tommy Davis, Ken Landreaux, Vince Coleman, Reggie Smith and Dave Smith to take part in a pre-game ceremony.
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