HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Alcorn kicks off Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Baseball play this weekend traveling to Huntsville, Alabama, facing off against Alabama A&M at Bulldog Baseball Field for a three-game series. The series begins Friday, March 13, at 1 p.m.
 
THE SCHEDULE
Friday, March 13
1 p.m. – at Alabama A&M | Huntsville, Ala. | Bulldog Baseball Field | Live Stats
 
Saturday, March 14
1 p.m. – at Alabama A&M | Huntsville, Ala. | Bulldog Baseball Field | Live Stats
 
Sunday, March 15
1 p.m. – at Alabama A&M | Huntsville, Ala. | Bulldog Baseball Field | Live Stats
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Alcorn is not ranked in any of this week's five major polls
▪ Alabama A&M is not ranked in any of this week's five major polls
 
STATS & NOTES
▪ Alcorn is 2-14 on the campaign, but the Braves have dropped four consecutive on the bounce.
▪ Jaylyn Bennett owns a team-leading .314 batting average with 16 starts in 16 appearances.
▪ As a team, Alcorn is batting just .215 on the season, with the team ERA sitting at 11.79, respectfully.
▪ Nicholas Johnson has 12 strikeouts out of the bullpen to lead the pitching staff.
▪ Myles Dews and Kanious Davis have the pair of wins on the campaign.
▪ Cooper Harris has registered a .295 batting average with four doubles and nine RBIs.
▪ Harris also owns the Braves lone home run of the season.
▪ Davis is 5-of-8 from in stolen bases for the Purple and Gold.
 
ALCORN VS. AAMU SERIES
▪ Alcorn holds a 52-37 lead all-time in the series against Alabama A&M dating back to 2006.
▪ In last season's series, the Braves took two out of three from the Bulldogs in Huntsville, including a 15-12 win in 11 innings to even the series in game two.
▪ Prior to that, AAMU had won seven consecutive from the Purple and Gold dating back to 2021.
▪ The Braves last series win over the Bulldogs in Lorman came back in 2020, as Alcorn swept the three-game tilt just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
QUOTES FROM COACH HARDY
"We're excited to get conference play started. Alabama A&M is a good ball club over there, and playing on the road to open league play is always a challenge. However, that's the kind of test that'll show us what we're made of. Our guys have been preparing hard, and we're looking forward to the competition."
 
"Anytime you open SWAC play, there's an urgency to it. Every game in this league matters, and we understand that. Going into Huntsville against a quality Alabama A&M program, our guys are going to have to be locked in from the first pitch."
 
"We scheduled those non-conference games with a purpose. We wanted to put ourselves in uncomfortable situations early so that when SWAC play comes around, nothing feels too big for us. I think that experience is going to pay dividends as we go through the league schedule."
 
"The non-conference slate was tough by design. We faced some really good pitching, played in different environments, and had to battle through some adversity. I believe that's made us a more mature and resilient ball club heading into league play."
 
SCOUTING ALABAMA A&M (5-13, 0-0 SWAC)
Rankings: D1Baseball.com – NR | USA Today Coaches – NR
Head Coach: Louis Whitlow (2nd season)
2026 Batting Average: .280; Runs Per Game: 5.6; Hits Per Game: 8.3; Slugging Percentage: .380
2026 ERA: 9.31; K/BB Ratio: 1.03; Opp. Batting Avg: .327
 
NOTING THE BULLDOGS
▪ Miles Jackson is AAMU's top hitter with a .422 average, logging a team-high 19 hits and 15 RBIs.
▪ In terms of power, Tervell Johnson supplies the Bulldogs with three home runs and 14 RBIs across the campaign.
▪ On the base path, Brycen Hammonds leads all Bulldogs with seven stolen bases in eight attempts.
▪ The AAMU pitching staff owns a 9.31 ERA altogether.
▪ Anthony Mateo owns a 1-2 record on the bump in four starts, using a 4.44 ERA and five strikeouts.
 
RECAPPING ALCORN'S LAST GAME (at Northwestern State)
Bryce Johnson homered and drove in three runs as homestanding Northwestern State defeated visiting Alcorn 13-2 in a seven-inning run-rule contest housed at Brown-Stroud Field in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
 
Northwestern State erupted for four runs in the second inning and five more in the fourth, effectively putting the game out of reach before the Braves could mount any sustained threat. The Demons pitching staff then kept the Alcorn offense in check the rest of the way.
 
Alcorn took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Rayfield Adams III knocked in Chase Moore who walked to begin the frame, giving the Braves an early 1-0 advantage. The Demons immediately responded in the bottom of the frame against Alcorn starter José Cherena, plating four and never looking back.
 
Michael McAloose delivered the key blow with a two-run double to left field that scored Johnson and Wray. A throwing error by Cherena off the mound allowed a third run to score, and second baseman Zach White capped the frame with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 4-1. NSU scratched across two more runs in the third on a Mason Wray groundout RBI and an error by Alcorn shortstop Moore that allowed another run to score.
 
The Demons widened the lead in the home-half of the fourth against Braves reliever Myles Dews, who allowed five runs on five hits in his one inning of work out of the bullpen. Joe Siervo singled home JT Simonelli to start the scoring, and Bryce Johnson followed with a three-run home run to deep left field – his second of the season – to make it 11-1. A wild pitch scored Wray later in the frame to cap the five-run inning.
 
The Braves clawed back a run in the top of the fifth when Asher Friedman connected on a fastball down the middle to drive in Kanious Davis from second courtesy a single to deep centerfield. The hosts tacked on two runs in the sixth to produce the 13-2 final line.
 
Chase Prestwich (1-0) earned the win in relief, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings after entering in the second. Logan Trotter closed out the game by retiring all seven batters he faced over the final two frames. Meanwhile for the Purple and Gold, Cherena (0-1) took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits in two innings on the bump.
 
NSU centerfielder went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a walk to pace the Northwestern State lineup, while Johnson finished 1-for-2 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Additionally, Mason Wray added two hits and an RBI out of the six-hole. Alcorn managed six hits and stranded nine across the game. Adams was a highlight offensively going 2-for-4 with an RBI, and designated hitter/shortstop Friedman added a run-scoring single of his own with that base knock in the fifth.
 
Henry Allred provided a bright spot out of the Braves bullpen, retiring all three batters he faced in the fifth with three strikeouts.
 
UP NEXT
Alcorn welcomes Champion Christian College for a midweek doubleheader on Tuesday, March 17, at Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium beginning at 2 p.m.
 
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