AL wins HBCU Swingman Classic behind Radcliffe's MVP effort

PHILADELPHIA -- The final score on the board read 6-1, with the HBCU American League squad topping the National League on six runs and seven hits. While the scoreboard settled the game, the showcase was ultimately designed to amplify the sport's deep pipeline -- a collection of talent that featured Southern University center fielder Jacoby Radcliffe, who took home the game's MVP award.

Radcliffe put on a show for the American League team, embodying the exact advice his manager, Rickie Weeks, gave him the day prior about mental approach and finding separation to hit the outside pitch.

"He talks about the mental side of the game a lot," Radcliffe said. “This game is a game of failure. You're not supposed to succeed. Yesterday we was just talking about me hitting the outside pitch and he just told me, he said, you just need a little bit of separation. And when I did that, I saw success immediately."

The connection between the two runs deep. Both Radcliffe and Weeks share a lineage at Southern University, a bond that made the postgame celebration even more significant for the American League skipper.

"It's awesome, man," Weeks said, smiling as he reflected on the Southern reunion. “It’s good to be from a school like that ... seeing Radcliffe -- I’ve been knowing him for a couple of years now -- and seeing him kind of come into his own. It’s really cool to see him get that award tonight.”

For Radcliffe, the MVP performance was validation after a difficult sophomore season where he lost his starting spot. On the eve of the MLB Draft, the national showcase gave him the ultimate platform to prove his upside and send a clear message to the baseball world.

"What the Swingman Classic means to me, people my color, it’s talent," Radcliffe said. "Don’t overlook us. We’re here to play. Regardless of the outcome or if people didn’t get the production they wanted, we’re still here for each other. One band, one sound."

That sense of unity and pride was exactly what the legendary managers on the benches wanted to see out of the showcase. National League manager Jimmy Rollins relished watching the style and raw capability on display, noting how it mirrored his own youth.

"The joy of seeing the guys out there, the hope ... but most of all, the camaraderie," Rollins said. "To see the movements, the actions, the style on the field, it reminded me when I was a kid running out there and trying to put on a show."

But to measure Friday night’s fourth annual HBCU Swingman Classic strictly by the box score would be missing the entire point. The atmosphere proved that the impact of the weekend stretched far beyond the diamond.

Here is how the rest of the celebration unfolded in South Philadelphia:

1. A Tribute to Coach Cador

The stadium paused to look back at the figures who built the foundation for HBCU baseball. Another Southern University Jaguar was recognized as the scoreboard played a video tribute to longtime head coach Roger Cador, who passed away on June 30. Cador, who won 913 games and led Southern to the first NCAA tournament win by an HBCU program in 1987, was the master of player development who recruited and coached Weeks. Following Radcliffe’s MVP performance, the tribute highlighted a direct three-generation lineage of Southern baseball on a Major League stage.

2. Big Steppers

The energy inside the ballpark peaked every time the game went to an inning break. Members of the Divine Nine took over the dugouts, turning the frames into an actual yard show. In the world of Black Greek Letter Organizations, membership never dies -- and it showed. Instead of traditional baseball gear, the stands were a sea of alumni of all ages wearing their letters. Crimson and cream, pink and green, purple and gold, royal blue and white -- you name it, the colors were there. Throughout the entire game, the stadium echoed with different generations on their feet, cutting through the usual baseball sounds with an occasional skee-wee, oo-oop, or the distinct barking of the Omegas matching the energy on the field.

3. "Where Them Fans At?"

Traditional baseball games feature a seventh-inning stretch, but South Philadelphia got "Boots on the Ground." Fans came ready, pulling out their handheld clack-clack fans specifically for the track. When the song by South Carolina artist 803Fresh blasted through the stadium speakers, the whole ballpark went to work -- snapping those fans right on beat and sliding in unison. The energy was so infectious that even some of the coaches couldn't keep a straight face on the bench, catching the stride right along with the crowd because, let's be honest, nobody is staying stoic when that beat drops.

4. For the Culture, For the Future

Long before the first pitch, the event was already moving beyond the diamond. Inside the stadium's Pass and Stow restaurant, high school students packed out a specialized HBCU Mixer. Designed as a space for local youth to explore higher education opportunities and chop it up directly with university representatives, the mixer proved the Classic is built just as much for future generations of scholars as it is for the players.