MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama State University baseball team will look to get back into the win column this week with a pair of mid-week non-conference games as the Hornets play host to Jacksonville State on Tuesday, before traveling to UAB on Wednesday.
 
Alabama State (23-22) took two-of-three over the weekend at home against Mississippi Valley State. The Hornets opened the series with a 12-3 win over the Delta Devils as Tyler Howe threw 141 pitches and matched a career-high with 13 strikeouts. The senior right-handed pitcher currently sits third in the Alabama State record books in strikeouts with 262, and with six strikeouts in his next outing, Howe will become the career leader in that category.
 
Also in Friday's series opening win, Gustavo Rios belted back-to-back home runs and accounted for five RBIs. On Saturday, ASU won the second game of the series, 10-5. However, the weekend ended on a down note as Mississippi Valley State played spoiler during Senior Day with a 7-2 win, which snapped a 16-game losing streak to Alabama State.
 
The Hornets have seven regular season games remaining before the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament in New Orleans (May 17-21).
 
Alabama State sits in second place in the SWAC East Division and has already locked up at least the two-seed for the tournament. Jackson State leads the division, followed by Alabama State, Alabama A&M, Alcorn State and Mississippi State. Despite winning the series finale against ASU, the Delta Devils were eliminated from the tournament.
 
Jacksonville State (22-19) is 4-3 since the loss to Alabama State on April 18. The Gamecocks took two-of-three from Eastern Kentucky over the weekend. Much like ASU, Jacksonville State took the first two games of the series, 3-1 and 5-4, before losing in the series finale, 10-7.
 
UAB (19-24) has dropped four out of its last five games, including a weekend series at home against Charlotte. The Blazers took the series opener, 3-2, but dropped the next two games, 17-5 and 3-0. UAB will face off with Samford on Tuesday, before meeting the Hornets.
 
Alabama State will wrap up the home-and-home series with UAB on Wednesday night at Young Memorial Field. The Hornets won the previous matchup, 7-2, on Feb. 22.
 
ASU, which will play five games in six days, will meet Jacksonville State at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
 
 
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