LORMAN, Miss. – Alcorn Baseball returns home to Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium this weekend for a big three-game Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) series against Southern University beginning Friday, April 17, at 6 p.m.
 
THE SCHEDULE
Friday, April 17
6 p.m. – vs. Southern (La.) | McGowan Stadium | Lorman, Miss. | Live Stats | Listen
 
Saturday, April 18
2 p.m. – vs. Southern (La.) | McGowan Stadium | Lorman, Miss. | Live Stats | Listen
 
Sunday, April 19
1 p.m. – vs. Southern (La.) | McGowan Stadium | Lorman, Miss. | Live Stats | Listen
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Alcorn is not ranked in any of this week's five major polls
▪ Southern (La.) is not ranked in any of this week's five major polls
 
STATS & NOTES
▪ Alcorn arrives to the weekend last in the SWAC standings, but just five games back of a spot in the SWAC Tournament, respectfully.
▪ Alcorn is seeking its first series win of the year in SWAC play.
▪ The Braves use Jaylyn Bennett to lead the squad in hitting with a .362 batting average, adding 38 hits and 16 RBIs.
▪ Kanious Davis owns a 3-2 record on the bump for the Braves, as well as sporting a 10.00 ERA with 25 strikeouts.
▪ Davis, Keaten Hawk and Rayfield Adams III have combined for 40 of the Braves' 68 stolen bases on the season.
▪ Asher Friedman joins Davis and Adams with six (6) multi-hit games for the Purple and Gold.
▪ Davis also owns a seven-game hitting streak entering the weekend series against the Jaguars.
▪ Meanwhile, Bennett has reached base safely in his last 26 contests, respectfully.
 
ALCORN VS. SOUTHERN SERIES
▪ Just back to 2012, Southern leads the series since that time by a 25-7 advantage.
▪ The last six games have been played in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with Southern taking four of those six games, respectfully.
▪ The weekend's games will be the first played in Lorman since May 2023.
▪ Alcorn won back-to-back games against Southern to conclude the 2024 season and spreading into a series in 2025.
▪ The Jaguars have taken eight of the last 10 meetings between the two sides.
 
QUOTES FROM COACH HARDY
"Anytime you're talking about us and Southern, you're talking about a big-time SWAC series. This one just happens to carry a little more weight because of where we both are in the standings. Our guys understand what's at stake."
 
"We know Southern is going to come in ready – they always do. For us, it's about playing clean baseball, executing in key moments, and defending our home field."
 
"Our message to the team has been simple: stay locked in on the little things. In a series like this, one pitch, one at-bat, one defensive play can swing everything."
 
"At the end of the day, we control what we can control. If we take care of our business, play our brand of baseball, we like our chances."
 
SCOUTING SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY (15-20, 8-6 SWAC)
Rankings: D1Baseball.com – NR | USA Today Coaches – NR
Head Coach: Chris Crenshaw (5th season)
2026 Batting Average: .278; Runs Per Game: 7.0; Hits Per Game: 9.0; Slugging Percentage: .381
2026 ERA: 7.56; K/BB Ratio: 1.20; Opp. Batting Avg: .274
 
NOTING THE JAGUARS
▪ Southern (La.) comes into the weekend in a three-way tie for fifth in the SWAC, matched alongside Alabama State and Grambling State at 8-7 in the league.
▪ The Jaguars have won their last four games, including a series sweep of in-state rival Grambling last weekend in Grambling, Louisiana.
▪ The Jaguars are led at the plate by KJ White Jr., as he bats a team-high .381 on the season. He is followed by Jaylon Lucky (.313) and Ryan Hunter (.312) also hitting above .300 on the roster.
▪ Southern has hit just 11 home runs as a team, but has given up 34 in reverse of that statistic.
▪ As a unit, the Jaguars have stolen 93 bases.
▪ Bobby Spencer owns a team-high five wins on the mound, while Myles Dismute has three, respectively. Spencer also has a 6.32 ERA, while Dismute carries a 5.88 ERA for the campaign.
 
RECAPPING ALCORN'S LAST GAME (at Stephen F. Austin)
Evan Aslaksen homered and drove in three runs, Julian Swift added a home run and four RBIs, and Stephen F. Austin pulled away early to defeat Alcorn 16-8 Wednesday afternoon in nonconference baseball action taking place at Pilgrim's Park in Nacogdoches, Texas.
 
Stephen F. Austin erupted for five runs in the first inning and never looked back.
 
Evan Aslaksen, the Lumberjacks first baseman, got the big blow, a 411-foot three-run shot to deep left field that capped the opening frame. Not to be outdone, second baseman Julian Swift added a solo homer in the second, a 377-foot drive to left, before delivering the knockout punch in the fourth – a two-out, three-RBI double that extended the Lumberjacks' lead to 13-3.
 
Ethan Adkisson went 4-for-5 with an RBI for SFA, while Cermodrick Bland scored twice and delivered a pair of hits from the top of the lineup.
 
The Lumberjacks finished with 14 hits and drew 11 walks, keeping persistent pressure on an Alcorn pitching staff that struggled with command throughout.
 
Alcorn starter Myles Dews lasted only three innings, allowing seven runs on six hits while walking six. The Braves cycled through four relievers, with Nicholas Johnson surrendering six more runs in the fourth to effectively end any hope of a comeback.
 
The Braves showed fight in the fifth, erupting for five runs on a pair of Ethan Peña errors, a Rayfield Adams III walk, a wild pitch, and an Asher Friedman single.
 
Nico Garcia added a two-run double in the frame to draw Alcorn within 13-8.
 
But SFA answered with three more runs over the fifth and sixth innings to put the game out of reach.
 
Garcia finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Alcorn offensively. Jamir Holloway went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
 
Hayden Tronson failed to factor into the decision for SFA after allowing three earned runs over four innings in his start on the mound. Jonathan Valdez (1-0) picked up the win with two scoreless innings of relief. Dews took the loss for the visiting Braves, falling to 2-1 on the campaign.
 
UP NEXT
Alcorn travels to Southeastern Louisiana for a midweek contest set for Wednesday, April 22, at 6 p.m., in Hammond, Louisiana.
 
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