MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State returns to the diamond Friday night, opening a three-game home stand against Purdue-Fort Wayne at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.

First pitch for the opener is set for 6 pm, and admission to contest is $5 with a Clear Bag Policy in place at the stadium for all home games.

Alabama State (2-1) enters the weekend after having a pair of midweek games postponed this week due to the weather, the Tuesday game suspended by fog at South Alabama and a rain out in Tuscaloosa. The Hornets will send Darrius Wright (0-0, 30.37 ERA) to the mound Friday, before Darren Kelly (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his second start of the season after Tommy John surgery. Breon Pooler (0-0, 0.00 ERA) gets the ball in Sunday's finale.

Inside the Alabama State Hornets

• Santiago Garcia was named the SWAC Player of the Week after hitting .400 for the week with a pair of extra base hits, including a double and his first career grand slam against UAPB.
• Darren Kelly and Eriq White each made their return after missing significant time over the last year. Kelly made his return to the mound after arm surgery last season, going two innings and not allowing a hit or a run. The redshirt senior struck out three in his time on the mound, throwing 29 pitches. Meanwhile, Eriq White, playing in his first game in over a year, doubled in his first at-bat of the season; before hitting a three-run home run in the same inning to give Alabama State a 10-2 lead. In between the pair of extra base hits from White, Alabama State also got RBIs in the inning from Noel Cheneau (RBI double), Chris Lewis and Derrick Dennis (two-run single).
• Alabama State finished with seven extra base hits on Opening Day – three doubles and four home runs, including a pair of grand slams. The Hornets scored 20-plus runs for the first time since the 2017 SWAC Tournament against Prairie View A&M. Cristopher DeGuzman connected on his first career home run, while Garcia and Noel Cheneau each connected on their first career grand slam for Alabama State.
• Yamil Pagan finished the week hitting .375 (3-for-8) with seven runs scored and a triple; while walking seven times and striking out just three. He finished the week with a .688 on-base percentage.
• On the mound, Breon Pooler finished with 5.0 innings pitched (first career start) and did not allow a run off of two hits. He also walked two and struck out seven, leaving the game with a 1-0 lead. Pooler held Grambling State to a .143 batting average. Darren Kelly made his return after Tommy John surgery, going two innings in a start against Prairie View A&M, striking out three in a scoreless appearance. Terrell McCall threw four innings of relief this week in one appearance, striking out three in scoreless relief. Nate Gerard made the switch from a position player to a pitcher with two appearances on opening weekend, going 4.1 innings and allowed one run off of one hit with seven strikeouts and just three walks.

Inside the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastadons

• Purdue Fort Wayne (4-0) opened the season with a series sweep over Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) foe Alabama A&M last weekend.
• The Mastadons entered the season with an experienced weekend rotation. Between the three announced starters there are a combined 79 appearances on the mound.
• Robert Young III was as tied for fourth in the league in home runs last season with seven. Jason Dickson tied for the team lead in hits with 43. 
• In the opening series, Alec Brunson led the Mastadons by hitting .455 with five hits in 11 official at-bats, including a double. Meanwhile, Garrett Mohler also hit .400 with six hits in 15 official at-bats with a home run over the weekend against Alabama A&M.

Inside the Series

• The meeting will be the first between Alabama State and Purdue Fort Wayne since Jose' Vazquez took over the program.

Follow the Hornets
For complete coverage of Alabama State University baseball, follow the Hornets on social media @BamaStateBB (Twitter), /BamaStateSports (Facebook) and @BamaStateSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Alabama State athletics at BamaStateSports.com.