Alcorn Game Notes |
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LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State University baseball program will face the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson this weekend.
Friday's game has been turned into a Saturday doubleheader with the first game beginning at 4 p.m. while Sunday's contest has first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Alcorn (2-7, 0-3 SWAC) bats have provided power to the offense by jacking six home runs (third in SWAC) for an average of 0.67 (second in SWAC) per game while placing among the top-half of the conference with 5.7 runs per ballgame. Long balls have accounted for 12 of the club's 51 runs scored on the season or 23.5 percent.
The purple and gold's defense has been stellar as well, turning an average of 0.78 double plays per game to lead the SWAC to go along with ranking third in fielding percentage at .958.
Sophomore
Tyler Daniels has manned the leadoff spot in each game he's played in and has proved to be one of the most patient hitters in the NCAA, ranking fifth nationally with 1.38 walks per game and just outside the top-50 for total walks (11).
Senior
Travaris Cole leads the league in RBI per game (1.33) and homers per game (0.33) while placing in the top-45 nationally for both statistics. Cole also ranks second in the SWAC for dingers (3), third in slugging percentage (.622), fifth in RBI (12), seventh in total bases (23) and tenth for batting average (.351).
Sophomore
Tristin Garcia has currently reached base safely in 13 straight contests dating back to last season. Garcia is slashing .357 / .455 / .500 while logging ten hits, eight RBI, four runs, three walks and a double over six games this season.
Redshirt sophomore
George Osborne III tops the SWAC with two saves which is good enough for a top-45 placement among all NCAA pitchers.
Redshirt senior
Kyle Jenkins is currently seventh on the program's all-time home runs list with 14 while the catcher is currently 13 hits shy of becoming the 49th member of the program's 100-hit club. He is seventh in the SWAC for walks per game (0.88) so far in 2020.
Redshirt senior
Jose Fernandez has seized the ace role atop the Braves' starting rotation, pitching to a team-best 3.94 ERA, 13 strikeouts and .271 batting average against over 16.0 innings while allowing seven runs.
Scouting the Alabama A&M Bulldogs
AAMU (3-10, 3-0 SWAC) may be ineligible for the postseason but that does not mean they are mailing it in, sweeping Mississippi Valley State to open conference play after dropping its first ten games of the campaign.
Braves catchers will have to be on their toes with Bulldog baserunners as Alabama A&M has stolen the 15th-most bases in the NCAA (26) while averaging two per game.
JanMikell Bastardo and Pierre Brewton front the speedy dogs with five steals a piece while Carter Duke falls right behind them with four.
Bastardo leads the maroon and white with a .333 batting average, 16 hits, eight runs scored and three doubles. Dillon Roop has been the run producer as he paces the club with ten RBI.
On the mound, Fernando Diaz Jr. has been spectacular while transitioning from starter to reliever, sporting a 2.25 ERA with 20 punch outs and two saves over 16.0 innings out of the bullpen after posting an ERA north of 8.50 in the starting rotation a season ago.
Alcorn has dominated the all-time series with Alabama A&M, going 95-42 in 137 meetings. The Braves are 10-13 against the Bulldogs under Coach Richardson and won the season series in 2019 (3-2).
#FearTheBrave
