Tigers Shutout Mississippi Valley in First Victory in Championship Tournament Rodney Bush 05/21/09 Baton Rouge, LA -The Texas Southern Tigers stay on their winning track by defeating Mississippi Valley in their first game of the 2009 SWAC Championship tournament. The Tigers are now 5-0 in SWAC Championship play, dating back to their 2008 4-0 run for the title. TSU scored two runs to start the game which seemed to put the team at ease. “Valley is a good ball club and pitching is their strength, “said head coach Michael Roberts. “We were able to get two quick runs in the first inning which helped our kids relax…and David [Arrendondo] did the rest.” TSU’s David Arrendondo (SR, Houston, TX) showed his strength on the mound. The 2009 SWAC Player of the Year pitched a complete game with nine strike outs. The Tigers also held Valley to nine scoreless innings…a feat not seen in SWAC tournament play since 2007. “David was sharp today. All three of his pitches were over the plate and his change up was exceptional,” Robertson said. TSU scored two more runs in the 5th inning and they held on to win 4-0. “We lost 11 games by one run in the regular season, often in the later innings. We talked about breaks in the game and how we didn’t get many during the season. Now it’s our time and our kids seemed to get motivated on the big stage,” said Robertson. DeShaun Dilworth (SR, Vallejo, CA) led the Tigers at the plate. He had four hits in five at bats with two runs scored. Earnest Rhone, Jr. (SR, Texarkana, TX) had two RBIs. Texas Southern will face Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Thursday, May 21 at 3:00 pm, TSU was 3-3 against UAPB during the regular season.