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MACON, Ga. – The Alcorn State University program is on the road this weekend as the Braves (12-34) conclude the regular season with a three-game series against Mercer this Thursday through Saturday at Claude Smith Field at OrthoGeorgia Park. All three games are scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.
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The Southwestern Athletic Conference office released the bracket for the 2018 Championship Tournament earlier today and Alcorn, the number four seed from the East, will meet top-seeded Texas Southern out of the West next Wednesday in a 3 p.m. opening-round game at Wesley Barrow Stadium. The Braves dropped a series to Alabama A&M 2-1 last weekend to wrap up conference play.
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Justin Barna is hitting .321, A.J. Makarewicz follows at .295, and Nicholas Hayes-Saltare owns a .292 batting average. Barna and Der'Vincent Hamilton both have a team-high 44 hits, Kyle Jenkins owns 15 extra-base hits, and Hunter Wilson has batted in 29 runs. Wallace Rios Jimenez ranks seventh in the nation in both total walks (46) and walks per game (1.00) through games played on May 8. Devin Walden is the threat on the bases with 12 steals on 21 attempts.
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In the field, Jenkins has 272 putouts with 29 assists and four errors for a .987 fielding percentage. Barna adds 177 putouts with 11 assists and six errors (.969). Rios Jimenez has turned a team-best 27 double plays.
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Alcorn's bullpen is led by junior Carlos Lopez (4-2), who owns a 3.90 ERA. The native of Barranquitas, Puerto Rico leads the SWAC with 81 strikeouts. Jahborus Smith (2-10) ranks second in the league with 72 punch outs and is at a 5.97 ERA. Bukhari Brown (1-8) rounds out the weekend rotation with a 9.69 ERA.
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The Bears (31-18) won a Southern Conference series at VMI 2-1 to finish the month of April but were swept by UNCG in Greensboro this past weekend. The Black and Orange are led at the plate by Trey Truitt's .358 average. RJ Yeager follows at .346, Jackson Ware is hitting .330, and Alex Hanson is batting .305. Truitt and teammate Le Bassett are both threats to hit the long ball with 11 homers apiece. Mercer has seven players with 30-plus RBIs. Hanson has swiped 21 bases out of 24 attempts.
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On the mound, Robert Broom (8-2) has a 1.35 ERA in 24 relief appearances with a pair of saves. Christian Vann (4-3) owns a 3.58 ERA, Austin Cox (6-3) follows at 4.87, and Chase Burks (5-4) has an ERA of 5.55.
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The non-conference series marks the first meeting between the two programs.
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