The Alabama State baseball team opens Southwestern Athletic Conference play Saturday with a four-game home series against Mississippi Valley State.
The Hornets (8-3) and Delta Devils will play doubleheaders both Saturday and Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex. Live stats will be provided at bamastatesports.com.
Alabama State is coming off a successful opening month of the season, winning home series against Eastern Kentucky and Youngstown State, sandwiched around a six-game weeklong road trip which saw the Hornets win at South Alabama and Auburn, along with winning two of four games at Pacific.
The Hornets have won games in a variety of ways, from high scoring games to clutch performances in close games, both offensively and with pitching and defense.
"I believe we have played very well, minus the opening series games we lost against Eastern Kentucky and Pacific," head coach
Mervyl Melendez said. "We've come out with a lot intensity, overcome adversity in certain games, and our players are playing with a lot of confidence. We're making the routine plays, the pitching has been phenomenal, and we've hit in key situations to either preserve the win or take the lead. I've seen a lot of positives in every aspect of the game in the beginning of the season and I believe that's helped us get off to a good start."
Alabama State will now look to transition that fast start into conference play against the Delta Devils (0-8). Due to field conditions in Mississippi, the teams will play four games here this weekend, with the Hornets playing two at Valley in early April. With the first two series of SWAC play at home as part of an 11-game homestand, Melendez is looking for his team to be in the moment and in position set the pace for each contest.
"It's very important for us to be focused and concentrated on the job at hand," Melendez said of the first of eight conference series, playing six games each against the four SWAC Eastern Division teams. "We can't overlook any opponent or take any opponent lightly. We need to continue to play our game, play good defense, pitch in the strike zone and challenge hitters. If we continue to do those things, I believe we'll see the same results we've seen for the most part. It is extremely important for us to continue to set the pace and tone of the game, not sit back and let our opponent dictate what that pace will be."
