Diamond Devils Welcome First-Place Bethune-Cookman To The Delta
ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University baseball program will see its level of competition see a significant boost this weekend as the SWAC East division leaders from Daytona Beach pay Magnolia Field a visit.
What You Need to Know
Time and Dates: Friday, April 1 (6 p.m.) | Saturday, April 2 (1 p.m.) | Sunday, April 2 (12 p.m.)
Records: Mississippi Valley State (8-9-1, 2-4 SWAC) | Bethune-Cookman (11-14, 5-1 SWAC)
Location: Itta Bena, Mississippi – Magnolia Field
Series History: N/A
Last Meetings: N/A
Winning Streak: N/A
Mississippi Valley State Overview
Coach Stubbs’ bunch got its offense back on track in an offensive display on Tuesday evening versus Tougaloo as they have shot back up to elite status regarding hitting statistics such as batting average (.305, top-30), on-base percentage (.406, top-35), scoring (7.6, top-55) and steals a contest (2.44, 8th in NCAA).
The former Rust College quartet of Stanley Stubbs, Maury Weaver, Dreylin Holmes, and Darrien Chapman have been vital to the turnaround of the program. Stubbs has the team off to its best start in over a decade, Weaver is tenth in the nation for steals a ballgame (0.76), Holmes hit a pair of home runs in game two versus Tougaloo plus has a top-five slugging percentage in the SWAC (.632), and Chapman is hitting at a scorching .556 clip over 18 at-bats to go along with a multi-homer game Tuesday as well as 11 RBI in just eight games played.
Lest we not forget about some of the incumbent players making huge contributions to this year’s squad like Jan Tolentino, Angel Perez, and Isaiah Valenzuela. Tolentino currently slots as the fourth-toughest batter to strikeout leaguewide (9.8), Perez is hitting .389 while falling just under the minimum threshold for counting stats, and Valenzuela has the most pitching victories so far at three.
Finally, the newcomers of Narvin Booker, Davon Mims, and Calvin McClendon have all meshed together to form a cohesive unit. Booker has used his speed to swipe six bags, Mims leads the Devils with a .314 batting average and is second only to Holmes for hits (16), and McClendon has come over from East Central CC to become the lynchpin of the starting rotation with a club-best 4.18 ERA, 32.1 innings pitched and .232 batting average against.
Scouting The Opponent: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
The former MEAC powerhouse has made the transition to the SWAC look seamless through the first two conference series’, sweeping Jackson State and taking two-of-three from the preseason favorite. The Maroon and Gold have also picked up quality non-conference victories over Youngstown State, Jacksonville, Sacred Heart (2x) and a pair of wins over a very good Stetson program.
B-CU has relied primarily on pitching and defense as its foundation with league-best totals for walks allowed per nine innings (4.48) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.95) while turning the second-most double plays in the league with 16.
Hector Vazquez tops the SWAC in both pitching categories mentioned above at rates of 1.59 (W/9) and 5.60 (BB-To-K), respectively, to go along with the conference’s most efficient closer ready to slam the door as Brenton Fisher fronts his peers with a trio of saves.
Irvin Escobar, Matthew Garcia, and Christopher Patterson form a lethal lineup as Escobar is the fifth-toughest player to strikeout in the country (26.0), Garcia is fourth nationwide in triples (4), and Patterson slots just outside the top-ten for steals per game (0.74) to go along with a top-45 on-base percentage (.512).
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