It's a matchup of two of the state's best Division I baseball teams as Alabama State will host South Alabama Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
Only the Jaguars (14-3) have more wins in-state than the Hornets (12-5), who are tied with next Tuesday's opponent Auburn for the second-most wins in Alabama. While it's only a month into the season, second-year head coach
Mervyl Melendez likes where his program is at this point.
“It's refreshing that we got off to a good start,” Melendez said. “We work so hard in the summer recruiting and identifying the needs that your program has, and then getting the guys here. Once they get here, you go through a lot of strategy, sweat, and frustrating times when the players aren't getting the system, which they didn't get in our first fall here. Now, to see the fruits of the labor, is very positive, even though it's early. We see a different mentality, and see a team that enjoys the game, knowing what it takes to win, and the things we have to do. If you play the game the right way, if you respect the game, and work hard, the game is going to reward you.”
The Hornets (12-5) are coming off of a three-game sweep of arch-rival Alabama A&M. Sunday's 9-6 win highlighted one of the big differences in the 2013 Hornets from last year's team.
Quality pitching depth was on display in yesterday's win, as four relievers combined for 5 1/3 innings of one-hit relief, with eight strikeouts down the stretch.
Only once in 24 conference games last season did Alabama State used more than three pitchers in a game.
Hunter McIntosh,
Jorge Pantoja,
Armando Ruiz and
Michael Estevez all came out of the bullpen in place of starter
Joel Alvira to slam the door on the Bulldogs. To further underscore that depth, it was the only weekend appearance for all five pitchers.
“What excites me is knowing on any given day, we have the arms to go out and compete against one on weekends,” head coach
Mervyl Melendez said. “That's refreshing knowing there are some arms there that will keep up in a lot of ball games. We lacked the depth last year. This year, we've addressed those issues through recruiting and player development. What I've seen thus far from the bullpen is positive. Their mental approach has to be different, as they can't afford to make many mistakes.”
The Hornets and South Alabama meet for the second time this season. The teams met in Mobile on Feb. 20 in which Alabama State made a season-high five errors helping contribute to a 15-4 loss.
“We made a lot of mistakes in that game, which opened up big innings for them,” Melendez said. “They took advantage of every mistake we made. After our errors, they got consecutive bases hits. In one inning, we didn't throw a lot of strikes, and they took advantage of that as well. We need to play good baseball; that's the bottom line. Against the good teams we've played in mid-week (Mercer, Troy, Kennesaw State, South Alabama, Jacksonville State), we need to play well to be able at the end of game to win. Everyone's pitching staff is a little depleted mid-week, and you don't want to use a lot guys because you have upcoming weekend series, but all of the guys will be available to pitch if needed.”
