NEW ORLEANS, La. | For the third consecutive year, Alabama State and Prairie View A&M will meet in the opener of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Baseball Tournament Wednesday afternoon at Wesley Barrow Stadium.
Alabama State (25-24) enters the tournament as the top seed from the East Division on their side of the bracket, and will face Prairie View A&M (17-33) as the fourth seed from the West Division in the tournament's third game on opening day with first pitch scheduled for 3 pm. The two teams have met the two prior tournaments in the opening game, with Alabama State winning both.
The two teams met earlier this season in New Orleans, with Alabama State coming away with a hard-fought 10-9 victory back on February 16. The Hornets used a walk-off double off the bat of
Hunter May to win the contest in the bottom of the 12th inning, with four different Hornets picking up multiple hits including
Santiago Garcia with three.
Yamil Pagan leads the Hornets this season in hitting at .368 with 71 hits and 13 home runs. He has also scored 63 runs and drove in another 50, while slugging .632. Meanwhile,
Noel Cheneau enters the tournament hitting .335 with 71 hits and 23 extra base hits – including four triples and nine home runs – and leads the team with 58 runs batted in.
Garcia leads a pair of other Hornets above the .300 line, as he is hitting .318 on the season with 67 hits – including a team-high 15 doubles and nine home runs – and is second on the team with 57 runs batted in. The sophomore has also been behind the plate for every pitch this season in 419 innings. Meanwhile,
Angel Jimenez (.316) and
Eriq White (.307) are also hitting above .300, with White adding 13 doubles on the season for the Hornets.
On the mound,
Darren Kelly (5-2, 3.14 ERA) leads the team in earned run average; while collecting 55 strikeouts to just 16 walks in 57.1 innings pitched. He has also held opponents to a .182 batting average this season. Meanwhile,
Terrell McCall (1-1, 3.29 ERA) has come out of the bullpen to log three saves in 27.1 innings and has recorded 24 strikeouts to just seven walks this season. As a team, the Hornets have logged a 6.38 earned run average and have recorded 367 strikeouts.
The game will be carried on the Hornet Sports Network, beginning with the pregame show from Wesley Barrow Stadium.
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