Baseball | 5/16/2017 4:26:00 PM

Braves Open 2017 SWAC Championships against Grambling State

SWAC Tournament Central | Alcorn Game Notes | Live Radio | Live Stats

NEW ORLEANS – The postseason begins Wednesday for the Alcorn State University baseball program when it takes on Grambling State at 6 p.m. in the first round of the 2017 SWAC Championships at Wesley Barrow Stadium.
 
Alcorn (11-31, 7-17 SWAC) is the No. 4 seed from the East Division, while Grambling  (22-28, 15-9 SWAC)  is the No. 1 seed from the West Division. The Tigers had to wait until this past Sunday to claim their division crown after Southern defeated Texas Southern in a make-up game which effected the top spot.
 
It's a rematch for the Braves and the Tigers after they met in the season-opener in New Orleans on Feb. 17. Grambling came out on top 4-1, but the game was called after 5.5 innings due to rain. Alcorn scored on a two-out triple by senior Patrick McMahon.
 
Junior Wallace Rios Jimenez was named to the All-Conference First-Team. He's on a league-leading 37-game on-base streak this season, and 38 games dating back to last year. He notched 13 multi-hit games including a trio of three-hit outings and one four-hit performance. The second baseman is hitting for a .326 average. He ranks top-five in the conference in both on-base percentage (.455) and walks (30).
 
Senior Jason Sanez earned All-Conference Second-Team honors. He batted for a .292 average, .423 slugging and .309 on-base percentage. the catcher started in 37 games behind the plate and caught 11 stealing.
 
Sophomore Brandon Barna hit for a team-high .328 batting average (top-10 in the conference) including a .386 mark in conference. He led the team with 14 multi-hit games on the year.
 
On the mound, sophomore Carlos Lopez leads the team with a 3.68 ERA (top-10 in the conference) and a 37:13 strike-to-walk ratio. Out of the bullpen, sophomore Carlos Lopez notched five saves which ranked second in the SWAC. The Braves are 9-1 this year when leading after eight innings.
 
Alcorn's biggest inning has been the eighth where it has outscored opponents 30-23.
 
The Tigers are led by Player of the Year Marshawn Taylor who was also named the Hitter of the Year and the Newcomer of the Year. The shortstop hit for a .397 average and .472 on-base percentage to go along with 39 runs batted in.
 
Grambling ended conference play with a three-game sweep over Prairie View A&M on the road. The Tigers scored at least 10 runs in every game.
 
All of Alcorn's games during the SWAC Championships can be heard on WPRL 91.7 FM with Charles Edmond on the call. Sunday's 11 a.m. championship game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
 
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