Baseball | 2/16/2017 9:48:00 AM

Alcorn Kicks-Off 2017 Season at MLB Youth Academy Invitational

Alcorn Game Notes | Live Radio

NEW ORLEANS – The 2017 schedule begins this weekend for the Alcorn State University baseball program when it plays three SWAC opponents in non-conference, neutral site contests at the MLB Youth Academy Wesley Barrow Stadium.
 
Alcorn will begin with a 5 p.m. game Friday against Grambling State, followed by a 2 p.m. start versus Prairie View A&M on Saturday and a 3 p.m. first-pitch Sunday against Southern. Charles Edmond will have Friday and Sunday's games live on radio on wprl.org.
 
None of the games will go on the team's conference records.
 
The Braves finished in third-place in the SWAC East Division last year with a 16-36 overall record and 10-14 in league play. They brought back four of their eight starting field players and seven of their 12 pitchers.
 
Leading the team at the plate is senior infielder Walter Vives. He hit for a .331 batting average and .394 on-base percentage last season. Junior infielder Wallace Rios Jimenez is another big bat returning after hitting .307 with a .393 OBP last year.
 
The pitching rotation will include junior Jahborus Smith and seniors Regynold Johnson and Austin-Willie Greene. Smith and Johnson recorded three wins apiece last year, while Willis-Greene is a transfer from St. Catharine College where he earned All-Conference accolades.
 
Head coach Bretton Richardson enters his second season at the helm. He brought in a new assistant coach David Duncan who pitched at Florida A&M before playing two years professionally. Richardson also kept Cedric Bell as a graduate assistant after he earned All-Conference Second-Team honors in 2016.
 
Alcorn's home opener will be Monday at noon when it welcomes Murray State to Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium.
 
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