HAMMOND, La. – Alcorn Baseball hits the road Wednesday, April 22, as the Braves travel to Hammond, Louisiana, for a visit to Southland Conference opponent Southeastern Louisiana at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field beginning at 6 p.m.
 
THE SCHEDULE
Wednesday, April 22
6 p.m. – at Southeastern Louisiana | Alumni Field | Hammond, La. | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Alcorn is not ranked in any of this week's five major polls
▪ Southeastern Louisiana is not ranked in any of this week's five major polls
 
STATS & NOTES
▪ Once returning from SLU, the Braves will enjoy the friendly confines of McGowan Stadium across the next four consecutive games.
▪ The Braves have scored four or more runs in each of their last seven games.
▪ Jaylyn Bennett tops the Braves in batting average (.361) and sits tied for second alongside Gavin Caston for home runs (2). Cooper Harris is the team leader with three in that category.
▪ As a team, the Purple and Gold own a .328 slugging percentage.
▪ The Braves have stolen 74-of-95 bases on the campaign, with Kanious Davis (18), Keaten Hawk (13) and Rayfield Adams III (13) leading the charge.
▪ Adams has collected at least one hit in eight of his last nine outings.
▪ Bennett owns a team-high 13 multi-hit games, as he's followed closely by Hawk (9).
▪ Equally as impressive, Bennett has reached base in his last 29 games – sitting in the top three of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in that department. He currently has a five-game hitting streak intact.
 
ALCORN VS. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA SERIES
▪ Southeastern Louisiana leads the all-time series over Alcorn by a count of 36-0-1, dating back to 1998.
▪ The one draw in the series was a 6-6 deadlock back on March 6, 1990, in Lorman, Mississippi.
▪ These two teams played a three-game series last year in Hammond, with the Lions sweeping the series by an aggregate score line of 38-2, respectively.
▪ The last 17 games between the Braves and Lions have taken place in Hammond.
▪ After 2019, the two sides did not face off against until 2024.
 
QUOTES FROM COACH HARDY
"Anytime you get on the bus and go play somebody outside the conference, you're looking at it as an opportunity to get better. Southeastern Louisiana is a quality program in a good league like the Southland Conference, and we know they're going to compete. But we're focused on us – our execution, our approach, our effort from the first pitch to the last. That's what we're taking to Hammond."
 
"I've said it all season long. These midweek games matter. They're not throwaway games because they give a chance to get guys reps, build confidence, and stay sharp. We need everybody contributing right now, and Wednesday gives us another opportunity to do that before Grambling [State] comes to Lorman this weekend."
 
"We know where we are in the standings, and we know what we need to do. That doesn't change our preparation or our mindset. We're going to compete the right way, play Alcorn baseball, and let the results take care of themselves. The next few days are a big opportunity for this program, and we intend to take advantage of it."
 
SCOUTING SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (24-17, 13-8 SLC)
Rankings: D1Baseball.com – NR | USA Today Coaches – NR
Head Coach: Bobby Barbier (3rd season)
2026 Batting Average: .279; Runs Per Game: 7.1; Hits Per Game: 9.5; Slugging Percentage: .484
2026 ERA: 5.33; K/BB Ratio: 1.76; Opp. Batting Avg: .262
 
NOTING THE LIONS
▪ SLU enters the week having lost three of its last five games, including a Southland weekend series away to UTRGV over the weekend – dropping two-of-three, respectfully.
▪ The Lions had their game against Xavier (La.) canceled on Tuesday evening.
▪ As a common opponent, SLU swept a weekend series from Grambling State (March 6-7) in Hammond, despite the Tigers scoring 21 runs altogether.
▪ Peyton Woods (.324) and Justin Williams (.315) lead the team in batting average, as the latter also tops the team with 47 hits.
▪ Of the Lions 65 home runs, Alex Perry owns 11, followed by Brody Capps (10) in double figures.
▪ As a team, the Lions have amassed a .484 slugging percentage across the season.
▪ Lakin Polk owns a 4-2 record on the bump with a 6.00 ERA. Nik Toups has three wins and a 4.83 ERA on the year.
▪ For the Lions, Dane Watts enters working on a 10-game hitting streak.
 
RECAPPING ALCORN'S LAST GAME (vs. Southern University)
Asher Friedman pounded out three hits for Alcorn on Sunday afternoon as the Braves fell to Southern University 14-5 in the series finale between the two Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opponents at Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium in Lorman, Mississippi.
 
Southern erupted for five runs in the fifth inning and six more in the ninth to complete the series sweep.
 
The Jaguars trailed 4-2 heading into the fifth before turning the game with an offensive barrage against Alcorn starter Kayden Sutton.
 
A walk to Kameron Byrd, a hit-by-pitch to Jacoby Radcliffe and a sacrifice fly by Kenyon Hughes tied the game at 4-4. That allowed left fielder Omari Johnson to put Southern ahead for good with a two-run double to center field that made it 7-4.
 
Johnson finished 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and two RBIs over the course of the afternoon.
 
Also, for the visiting Jaguars, Byrd went 2-for-4 with three RBI, including a two-run double in the ninth that capped the scoring. Hughes was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a triple of his own.
 
Radcliffe was a spark throughout, scoring four times while swiping two bases. Ryan Hunter reached base five times and scored twice from the leadoff spot.
 
Alcorn jumped in front with a four-run third inning.
 
Shortstop Asher Friedman delivered a dagger, a two-RBI single to right that put Alcorn ahead 4-2. Friedman finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs for the Purple and Gold on the day. Braves catcher Adrian Vallescorbo also drove in two runs for the Braves, who were hampered by five errors on the defensive side of the game.
 
Sutton absorbed the loss, falling to 1-7 after surrendering six runs (five earned) on three hits over 4⅓ innings. He walked five and struck out three.
 
Braves Relievers Hayden Konkler and Garrett Oswald combined to allow eight runs on seven hits the rest of the way.
 
Meanwhile, the Southern pitching staff held Alcorn to zero earned runs in the game, as the Jaguars committed three errors themselves in the contest.
 
Southern starter Quincy Thornton worked three innings without factoring into the decision, allowing four unearned runs before giving way to Caden Brown, who earned the win to improve to 2-0 on the campaign. Genesis Prosper closed it out with 3⅓ innings of one-run relief, striking out seven, to earn his first save.
 
The Jaguars piled on in the ninth against Oswald and a defense that committed two of its five errors in the final frame, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring six times to put the game out of reach.
 
UP NEXT
The Braves return home to Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Stadium to host the Brambling State Tigers for a big Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) weekend series in Lorman, Mississippi. The series is scheduled to begin Friday, April 24, at 6 p.m. However, inclement weather is expected through the "Magnolia State" for the next several days while some times/dates could be adjusted.
 
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