MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State heads south for its first Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) road series, facing Bethune-Cookman in a three-game series beginning Friday night. The series begins with a 7 pm (ET) first pitch on Friday, followed by a 6 pm (ET) first pitch on Saturday, and a 1 pm (ET) first pitch on Sunday.

The games will take place at the Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach (Fla.).

Alabama State (11-10, 3-0 SWAC) enters the weekend following a midweek loss to Troy on the road, while Bethune-Cookman (8-12, 3-0 SWAC) comes in after a 3-2 loss to No. 8 Florida. Both teams swept their opening weekend in conference play with Alabama State sweeping Florida A&M, while Bethune-Cookman swept defending East division champion Jackson State.

The meeting will be the first between the two schools.

Follow The Hornets
Fans can follow this weekend's games via the below outlets
Twitter: @BamaStateBB
Live Stats: BCUAthletics.com

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups
FRIDAY: ALST – Breon Pooler (RHP, Gr.) vs. B-CU – Louis Lipthratt (RHP, R-So.)
SATURDAY: ALST – Kyler McIntosh (RHP, Fr.) vs. B-CU – Nolan Santos (RHP, R-So.)
SUNDAY: ALST – Austin King (RHP, Sr.) vs. B-CU – Hector Vazquez (RHP, R-Jr.)

Leading Off

• This weekend marks a homecoming for members of the Alabama State coaching staff as Jose' Vazquez spent nine years as an assistant coach at Bethune-Cookman before coming to the Hornets after a 100-4 record in the MEAC in his last six seasons at the school. Associate head coach Drew Clark spent four years at catcher for Bethune-Cookman winning more than 150 games, while assistant coach Matt Crane spent two years as a pitcher for the Wildcats before joining the coaching ranks as a student-assistant.
• Both teams swept their opening conference series last weekend with Alabama State sweeping SWAC newcomer Florida A&M, and Bethune-Cookman sweeping defending East Division champion Jackson State – who finished last season undefeated in conference play before losing in the conference tournament.

About the Hornets

• Hunter May (Slidell, La.) and Osvaldo Mendez (Carolina, PR) earned weekly honors from the SWAC for their performances in the opening weekend of conference play. May finished the week hitting .636 with 10 RBI including three doubles and a pair of home runs. Meanwhile, Mendez came out of the bullpen on Saturday to throw 5.2 innings of scoreless relief, not allowing a baserunner in picking up the win.
• The Hornets are second in the conference in hitting at .289 with 49 extra base hits including 34 doubles as a team, while they are third in the conference in pitching at a 5.17 ERA.
• Angel Jimenez (Santo Domingo, DR) leads the team in hitting and is third in the conference at a .407 average with six doubles and three home runs. He has scored 18 runs and driven in another 21.
• Corey King (Lithonia, Ga.) is second on the team in hitting at .365 in the leadoff position with 20 runs and 22 RBI, while connecting on a team-high five home runs and three doubles. May is third on the team in hitting after last week, hitting .352 with nine doubles and four home runs while driving in 19 runs.
• Christian Lopez (San Diego, Calif.) is hitting .313, while Chris Lewis (Alabaster, Ala.), Ian Matos (Toa Alta, PR), Dilan Espinal (Canovanas, PR) are at .310 on the season. Cristopher DeGuzman (Fajardo, PR) is the last of eight hitters at .300 or better this season.
• Breon Pooler (Huntsville, Ala.) leads the team on the mound with a 0.90 earned run average and a 0.93 WHIP through five games. Pooler (4-0) has logged 30.0 innings with 35 strikeouts. He has allowed five runs (three earned) on 17 hits.
• Payton Harris (Hattiesburg, Miss.) has a 2.60 earned run average out of the bullpen with one save in 17.1 innings pitched, while Mendez (2-0) is at 2.76 with 21 strikeouts in 16.0 innings. Meanwhile, Austin King (Fulton, Miss.) has recorded a 3.48 earned run average in five games. King (3-1) has 17 strikeouts in 20.2 innings.

About the Wildcats

• Bethune-Cookman swept their opening conference series against Jackson State and lost a 3-2 contest to No. 8 Florida after giving up the go-ahead run in the seventh inning.
• The Wildcats are 11th overall in the conference in hitting at .208, while they are sixth in the conference in pitching with a 6.47 earned run average.
• Matthew Garcia leads the team in hitting at .329 this season with six doubles and four triples, while scoring 12 runs and driving in 14. Christopher Patterson is hitting .306 with seven runs scored and eight RBI.
• Boris Pena leads the team with three home runs, while the team has six combined.
• Knickolas Billings leads the team on the mound with a 1.84 earned run average in seven appearances. Gabriel Perez has logged a 3.00 earned run average, while Louis Lipthratt (3-1) has a 3.81 earned run average with 25 strikeouts in 28.1 innings pitched.

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