Baseball Plays Host To Alabama A&M For SWAC Opening Series
ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University baseball program has battled Mother Nature consistently for the past week-and-a-half in order to get some games in and it will finally get its chance as AAMU invades Magnolia Field for a three-game set.
What You Need to Know
Time and Dates: Saturday, March 19 (6 p.m.) | Sunday, March 20 (12 p.m. & 3 p.m.)
Records: Mississippi Valley State (4-5-1, 0-0 SWAC) | Alabama A&M (2-11, 0-0 SWAC)
Location: Itta Bena, Mississippi – Magnolia Field
Series History: N/A
Last Meetings: April 16-18, 2021 | Alabama A&M Won Series 4-0 (Combined 42-23) | Huntsville, Alabama (Bulldog Field)
Winning Streak: Alabama A&M (W16) | Mississippi Valley State’s Last Win: March 25, 2018 (12-7)
Mississippi Valley State Overview
The Green and White will look to end a 16-game losing streak to the Bulldogs and hopes to come out of the gates strong in Coach Stanley Stubbs’ SWAC debut.
The Devils have been an elite offensive squad through the first ten games of the year, boasting the seventh-best steals average (2.80), a top-30 on-base percentage (.418) plus a top-35 batting average (.308) in the nation.
Sophomore East Central Community College transfer Calvin McClendon has been an unexpected ace on the hill, compiling the second-lowest hits allowed per nine innings in the SWAC (5.19) while leading the Delta Devils in ERA (4.15), innings pitched (17.1) and batting average against (.179).
Maury Weaver has raced onto the scene after coming over from Rust College in the offseason to place as the runner-up in the NCAA for steals a night at 1.20 for a total of 12 swipes (13th in NCAA) in ten games.
Another Rust transfer, Dreylin Holmes, has brought the big bat to The Delta with the second-highest slugging percentage (.724) in the league to go along with a team leading .345 batting average, three doubles, and two round-trippers.
Scouting The Opponent: Alabama A&M Bulldogs
The Dogs from Huntsville have gotten off to a slow start on the year but can tote an impressive road victory over UAB on its resume to go along with a win over Stillman its last time out.
Speed is also a key component for the Maroon and White, sporting a top-25 stolen base per game average as well of 2.15 while slotting second in the conference with five triples.
Avery Seaton has been the best pitcher with at least ten innings under his belt, tossing 10.2 innings over six appearances for a team-high 15 strikeouts and a club-low 3.37 ERA.
On the hitting side of the spectrum, veteran clubhouse leader Janmikell Bastardo fronts the squad regarding batting average (.304) and runs scored (7) while being one of three Bulldog batters with multiple home runs (2).
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