LORMAN, MS – Alcorn State University baseball will open its season this weekend at the Third Annual MLB Urban Invitational in New Orleans.

First-year head coach Brett Richardson will lead his Braves into action against the University of New Orleans at 6 p.m. on Friday. Alcorn will then play an 11a .m. contest Saturday morning against Prairie View A&M, before concluding the weekend with a 3 p.m. game Sunday against Southern University at the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy.

The Braves will try to improve on last season's 16-41 record, 7-18 against SWAC competition.

"The players have been preparing for this since September," Richardson said. "They have worked extremely hard to learn the process of how we want the game played. The one thing I can promise is that we are going to compete and strive to play solid, fundamental baseball. If we do that, the results should take care of themselves."

The Braves return a quartet of seniors including first baseman COLLIN CARROLL (Jackson, MS), a Louisville Slugger, Pre-Season Third-Team All American, senior shortstop MOSES CHARLES(Atlanta, GA), senior infielder/right-handed pitcher CEDRIC WALKER(Tampa, FL), and senior outfielder LADERIK WILLIAMS (Jackson, MS). They are joined by junior catcher WALTER VIVES (Dorado, PR) and sophomore second baseman WALLACE RIOS (Bayamon, PR).

The pitching staff will try to bounce back from a rough 2015 campaign, which saw it rank statistically at the bottom of all 295 Division I programs. Alcorn ranked No. 293 in staff ERA (8.44), No. 292 in hits allowed per 9 innings (12.46) and No. 290 in walks allowed per 9 innings (5.92)

Alcorn will send freshman GEORGE HELBIG (Davie, FL) to the mound for Friday night's season-opener at UNO. Sophomore JAHBORUS SMITH(Columbia, MS) will start Saturday against PVAM, while red-shirt junior DANIEL BELMONT (San Juan, PR) is Sunday's scheduled starter against Southern. 

Junior college transfer and red-shirt sophomore REGGIE JOHNSON (South Holland, IL) and freshman CONRADO SKEPPLE (Brandon, FL), should also figure prominently in the Braves pitching staff, along with red-shirt juniors PAYDEN LYNCH (Bush, LA) and DANIEL CORONA (Corona, NY) – both of whom are returning from season-ending injuries in 2015.