LORMAN, Miss. – Alcorn Baseball welcomes defending Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Champion Bethune-Cookman to Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium this weekend for a three-game league series beginning Friday, March 20, at 6 p.m. Saturday's action will be a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
 
THE SCHEDULE
Friday, March 20
6 p.m. – vs. Bethune-Cookman | Lorman, Miss. | Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium | Live Stats
 
Saturday, March 21
1 p.m. – vs. Bethune-Cookman | Lorman, Miss. | Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium | Live Stats
 
4 p.m. – vs. Bethune-Cookman | Lorman, Miss. | Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium | Live Stats
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Alcorn is not ranked in any of this week's five major polls
▪ Bethune-Cookman is not ranked in any of this week's five major polls
 
STATS & NOTES
▪ Alcorn enters the weekend series with a 5-16 overall record, and sporting a 1-2 mark in the SWAC.
▪ The Braves are coming in off the strength of back-to-back wins for the first time this season, having taken a doubleheader from Champion Christian in midweek.
▪ In fact, the Purple and Gold have won three of their last four.
▪ Jaylyn Bennett tops the Braves with a .328 batting average that includes hits in four of his last five games, respectively.
▪ First baseman Cooper Harris owns a team-leading two home runs, and bats at a .317 clip with four doubles and a triple.
▪ Sophomore right fielder Keaten Hawk has hit safely in his last six games.
▪ Kanious Davis, better known as "Spanky", picked up a win in his last outing against Champion Christian, moving him to 2-1 on the bump for the season.
▪ Kayden Sutton leads the pitching staff with a 6.66 ERA in 24.1 innings of work.
▪ Entering from the bullpen, senior Hayden Konkler from Orlando, Florida, earned his first win of the season in midweek in the second leg of a doubleheader against Champion Christian.
▪ The Braves have swiped 29 of 38 bases on the year, including a team-high six from Hawk.
 
ALCORN VS. BCU SERIES
▪ Bethune-Cookman leads the all-time series against Alcorn, 4-1.
▪ The Braves lone victory was a 4-3 decision in the second game of a doubleheader in Daytona Beach back on May 28, 2011.
▪ This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs in Lorman.
▪ Last season, the Braves dropped a three-game league series – the first meeting between the two teams in the SWAC, which included the Braves scoring 15 runs across the three contests, respectfully.
 
QUOTES FROM COACH HARDY
"Bethune-Cookman is one of the best teams in this conference, and we know that. They're not creeping up on anyone anymore, so to speak. But we're at home in Lorman, and there's no place we'd rather be when a challenge like this comes knocking."
 
"Our guys have been locked in all week in practice, and the doubleheader against Champion Christian. They understand what's at stake, and honestly, I couldn't be more proud of the focus and energy they've brought to the field. Obviously, I have a history with [BCU] having been at Savannah State. So, I know that storied program, and the history they have is well-documented."
 
"Lorman is our house. Our fans, our field, our atmosphere. That means something to this program, and our players feed off that energy. Bethune-Cookman is going to get everything we've got this weekend."
 
"We're excited to get back into conference action. SWAC Baseball is competitive from top to bottom, and jumping back in against one of the top teams in the league tells you a lot about where we are and where we want to go."
 
SCOUTING BETHUNE-COOKMAN (14-7, 3-0 SWAC)
Rankings: D1Baseball.com – NR | USA Today Coaches – NR
Head Coach: Jonathan Hernandez (8th season)
2026 Batting Average: .283; Runs Per Game: 7.5; Hits Per Game: 9.0; Slugging Percentage: .408
2026 ERA: 4.97; K/BB Ratio: 1.74; Opp. Batting Avg: .267
 
NOTING THE WILDCATS
▪ Bethune-Cookman enters having swept a home SWAC series last weekend from Prairie View A&M in Daytona Beach.
▪ The Wildcats are led offensively by two players with multiple home runs – Jose Fernandez (3) and Darryl Lee (2).
▪ BCU has a .408 slugging percentage to go along with a .283 batting average on the year as a team.
▪ Sergio Rivera is 14 for 14 in stolen bags on the campaign.
▪ Maikol Lucena tops the team with a .352 batting average and 10 walks, using a perfect fielding average as well with 95 putouts and 33 assists.
▪ Edwin Sanchez is 4-1 on the mound for the Wildcats in five starts, owning a 2.45 ERA with 35 strikeouts against 12 walks.
 
RECAPPING ALCORN'S LAST GAME (vs. Champion Christian)
Alcorn erased a six-run deficit and scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning to complete a stunning comeback, defeating Champion Christian 11-10 Tuesday evening at McGowan Stadium and sweeping the doubleheader.
 
Alcorn (5-16) trailed 6-0 after two innings and 10-8 heading into the final frame before rallying for three runs – the last coming on a fielding error by Champion Christian shortstop Michael Sullivan with the bases loaded – to walk off with the victory.
 
First baseman Cooper Harris was Alcorn's most productive bat, going 1-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs, a sacrifice fly and two runs scored. Chase Moore went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and scored twice from his shortstop position on the field, while substitute and game one pitching starter Kanious Davis entered as a pinch runner in the fifth and eventually scored the winning run in the seventh.
 
Catcher Nico Garcia added a 2-for-5 effort with a double and an RBI for the Purple and Gold.
 
For Champion Christian (10-12), shortstop Michael Sullivan drove in two runs on a pair of singles, and first baseman Riley Burge went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs as well. Josiah Clark and Kayne Brantley each scored twice for the Tigers, who left five runners on base and were hurt by three errors, including two by Sullivan.
 
The visiting Tigers erupted for five runs in the second inning, aided heavily by two Alcorn errors and a wild pitch.
 
Centerfielder Kayne Brantley capped the outburst by stealing home on a throwing error, and pitcher-turned-designated hitter Caden Shryock added a two-run double to make it 6-0. The Tigers had scored an unearned run in the first on a dropped fly ball in left field.
 
Alcorn began chipping away in the second, scoring twice on an RBI single by Chase Moore and a run-scoring groundout by left fielder Chance Thurston. The Braves continued their comeback in the third, scoring three more times – capped by a Moore RBI single – before tying the game at 6 in the fourth on a Harris triple and a Garcia double, respectfully.
 
Centerfielder Rayfield Adams III put Alcorn ahead 8-6 with an RBI double in the fifth, but the Tigers reclaimed the lead in the sixth with a four-run outburst.
 
Riley Burge's two-run double and a Sullivan RBI single highlighted the rally, pushing Champion Christian back in front 10-8.
 
Alcorn starting pitcher Myles Dews worked through 5.1 innings, allowing nine runs (though just two earned) while striking out seven without factoring into the decision. Hayden Konkler earned the win in relief, tossing a scoreless seventh to improve to 1-0.
 
Jaxun Moore took the loss for Champion Christian, falling to 1-2 after allowing four runs on two hits in two innings.
 
The Tigers cycled through four pitchers and hit six batters on the night.
 
UP NEXT
Alcorn has just one midweek game next week as the Braves travel to Tougaloo (Miss.) for a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 24, at 1 p.m., in Tougaloo, Mississippi.
 
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