The Alabama State baseball team will open its 2013 season with a weekend series against Chicago State at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
The Hornets and Cougars play Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at Noon. Bamastatesports.com will have
live stats of all Hornets' baseball games this season.
Second-year head coach
Mervyl Melendez is more than ready to get the season started.
“All the preparation has ended, and we're ready to get on the field and put in place everything we have worked for,” Melendez said. “This is exciting for me, exciting for the players, and exciting for ASU. I look forward to our fans coming to support us this weekend and throughout the season. I can't wait to see that first pitch thrown and see the guys perform on the field.”
Despite just two seniors on the roster, the Hornets return a wealth of experience this season. Alabama State returns 19 players from last season's team, and the knowledge gained of playing Division I baseball under the Melendez system altered the approach in preparing for 2013.
“The preparation has been a little bit different, and the approach has been different as well,” Melendez said. “Last year, we had to implement a new system for every player; we didn't have to do that this year. Most of the players were here last year. We have (16 newcomers) that needed to learn the system, but we were aided by the returning players executing the plan, but also piggybacking on what we were saying as coaches.”
Those returning players have raised the expectation level of this season's Hornets, both externally and internally. The Hornets were voted to tie for the SWAC Eastern Division title by the league's head coaches and SIDs, predicted to win the division by College Baseball Today, and picked to win the conference title by Baseball America and Perfect Game.
“The expectations of what the team is asked to do this year are different than last year,” Melendez said. “Last year, we wanted to play well and compete against everyone. Now, we expect do well, and excel within the system. If we do that, we believe the outcome will take care of itself.”
In some ways, Chicago State is a reflection of the 2012 Hornets. The Cougars are now being led by first-year head coach Steve Joslyn, and have eight newcomers among its 18-player roster, 11 of them underclassmen.
“As we told our players, every team is excited to start the season,” Melendez said. “Chicago State has been indoors for their preparation, and they will be excited to be here, play outdoors and ready to go like we are. With the coaching staff being brand new, we can identify with that, as there are a lot of unknowns, but nevertheless a lot of excitement. Coach Joslyn has done well at the Division I level, and we know Chicago State will come in and play hard. For us, we just need to match the intensity, go about our game plan, and execute our system.”
