Baseball:Braves Face Rival Jackson State This Weekend

Head Coach Barrett Rey and his ball club head to the state capitol this weekend for a three-game series against heated rival Jackson State beginning with a Friday night matchup at 6:00 p.m. at the Jackson State University Baseball Stadium.

Braves Season on the Diamond
The Braves enter this weekend's series against Jackson State with an 8-22 overall and 3-8 SWAC record.  Coach Rey and his staff have battled injuries the entire season but are looking forward to this weekend.

In the Batter's Box
Junior transfer Collin Carroll leads the Braves in four hitting categories.  He is averaging .305 on the season with a total of 29 hits, seven doubles, four homeruns and 23 RBIs.  In last weekends series against Mississippi Valley State he hit two homeruns and collected six RBIs.

Earl Burl III is second on the team in the batting average category hitting .296 so far this season with 24 hits, six doubles and three triples.  Pre-season All-SWAC select Scotty Peavey leads the team in doubles and is batting .278 this season.  Peavey also has 27 hits and ranks first on the team in runs scored with 22.

On the Mound
Cedric Walker has a record of 3-2 in five appearances for the Braves in 2015.  He has an ERA of 7.00 and has struck out 22 batters.  Colton Laird is 1-5 on the season but has an ERA of 3.52 in nine appearances this season.

Jackson State Notes
The Tigers have a record of 16-11 in 2015 and are 5-5 in SWAC play.  They are coming of a loss on Wednesday to South Alabama, 2-0 with hopes of bouncing back this weekend.

Melvin Rodriguez leads the Tigers this season in hitting with a battin average of .411.  He's scored 24 runs and leads the SWAC with 44 hits and 41 RBIs.  Bryce Taylor and Sam Campbell are hitting .321 and .318, respectively.

Rene Colon is undefeated on the mound for the Tigers season with a 3-0 record while Garth Cahill is 2-0 this season with a 5.48 ERA.

Weekend Scenarios
The Braves are tied with Mississippi Valley State for the fourth spot in the SWAC East with the Delta Devils having a slight edge after taking last weekend's series from the Braves 2-1.  Jackson State is ranked third in the SWAC East and if the Braves can pull off a sweep this weekend they can hold sole possession of third place.  This can only happen if Mississippi Valley drops all three in their weekend series to Alabama A&M.

Weekend Schedule vs. Jackson State
Friday, April 3:  6 p.m.
Saturday, April 4:  DH at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.