Lions out to prove West title no fluke

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Coach Carlos James finally has the type of team he wants in his fourth year at the Southwestern Athletic Conference school.

UAPB (22-26, 16-7) won its first SWAC Western Division championship earlier this month and is one of two No. 1 seeds going into the conference tournament, which begins today at the MLB Urban Youth Academy at Wesley Barrow Stadium in New Orleans. The Golden Lions open tournament play against Jackson State at 3 p.m. in the double-elimination tournament.

It has been a building process for James, who was hired by UAPB in September 2010 as a replacement for Michael Bumpers after James had spent a year and a half at NCAA Division II Arkansas-Monticello.

UAPB went 11-34 in James' first season in 2011 and 8-38-1 in 2012, missing the SWAC Tournament both seasons. But the Golden Lions finished 21-30 and 13-11 in the SWAC last season, finishing second in the Western Division behind Southern University of Baton Rouge en route to an appearance in the conference tournament. UAPB lost two games in the tournament, falling to Alcorn State and Texas Southern.

James said he felt like the team had a lot to prove in the tournament last season, but it backfired.

"We put a lot of pressure on ourselves," he said. "It trickled down to the kids. It wasn't time."

This season UAPB has compiled its best overall and conference records, which included defeating American Athletic Conference member Pittsburgh and Sun Belt Conference member UALR. The Golden Lions clinched their first division title with a 12-7 victory against Texas Southern on May 3 in Houston.

"It was a four-year plan, but we got it done in three years," James said.

UAPB is led by senior shortstop Isias Alcantar, who is batting .331 with 6 home runs, 42 RBI and has scored 22 runs.

Five to seven major-league teams are looking at Alcantar, James said, and the Alameda, Calif., native could play catcher or third base in the majors. Alcantar played catcher until he attended Laney (Calif.) College, where he was moved to shortstop.

"He's going to be one of the best players to wear a UAPB uniform," James said.

Senior right-hander Mikey Ramirez (6-4, 2.98 ERA) will start today for the Golden Lions. James said that the matchups in UAPB's second game Thursday will dictate who his starter will be, either senior left-hander Jim Ploeger (4-3, 3.46 ERA) or senior right-hander Kyle Schwartz (3-6, 4.93 ERA).

"Everything starts with pitching," James said. "Mikey and Jim have done a terrific job. Kyle is our bulldog."

UAPB has never won a SWAC championship in baseball, but James said confidence has been one of the main reasons the team is in a position to earn the program's first NCAA Tournament bid.

"They know they belong," James said.

SWAC Tournament

MLB Urban Youth Academy at Wesley Barrow Stadium, New Orleans All times Central

TODAY’S GAMES GAME 1 Alabama A&M (No. 2 East) vs. Prairie View A&M (No. 3 West), 9 a.m. GAME 2 Texas Southern (No. 2 West) vs. Alcorn State (No. 3 East), noon GAME 3 Arkansas-Pine Bluff (No. 1 West) vs. Jackson State (No. 4 East), 3 p.m. GAME 4 Alabama State (No. 1 East) vs. Grambling State (No. 4 West), 6 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES GAME 5 Game 1 loser vs. Game 3 loser, 9 a.m. GAME 6 Game 2 loser vs. Game 4 loser, noon GAME 7 Game 1 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 3 p.m. GAME 8 Game 2 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m.

Sports on 05/14/2014

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