May 17, 2016
Jackson State University gets to play in the opening game of the 2016 SWAC Baseball Tournament. It is going to be an early start for the Tigers, who face off against Texas Southern University at 9 a.m., Wednesday, May 18.
JSU earned the No. 2 seed in the East with a 14-10 SWAC record and 32-24 overall record. TSU is the No. 3 seed out of the West and finished with a 13-10 SWAC record and 21-25 overall.
Both teams didn’t meet in the regular season, so this matchup brings a little mystery to the tournament. This game is the first of four that will be played during the day at the MLB Urban Youth Academy's Wesley Barrow Stadium in New Orleans.
The Tigers enter the tournament as the best hitting team in the conference with a .322 average and second-best ERA at 5.31. Texas Southern is the fifth-best hitting team with a .275 average and fourth-best pitching staff with a 6.65 ERA.
JSU had six players earn All-SWAC honors at the end of the season. Shortstop Cornelius Copeland and outfielder CJ Newsome earned First-Team All-SWAC, and catcher Carlos Diaz, first baseman Jesus Santana, outfielder Bryce Brown and pitcher Miguel Yrigoyen earned Second-Team All-SWAC honors.
Texas Southern had one player on the postseason All-SWAC teams: pitcher Robert Pearson, who earned First-Team All-SWAC honors.
The winner of the opening game will play whichever team comes out on top between Arkansas-Pine Bluff University and Alabama A&M University at 3 p.m. on Thursday. The losers of both games will face each other at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
After JSU and TSU open up the tournament, the next game on May 18 will be between Alcorn State University and Grambling State University at noon.
The Braves are the No. 3 seed out of the East, having finished with a 10-14 SWAC record and 15-34 overall record. GSU is the No. 2 seed from the West after a 15-8 SWAC season and a 22-25 overall record.
Both teams played a pair of games this season. The Tigers won the first meeting 12-3 at Alcorn State, and the Braves won the second meeting 11-8 at Grambling State.
Grambling State is the third-best hitting team in the SWAC with a .290 average and the fifth-best pitching staff with a 7.12 ERA. Alcorn State is hitting .274 as a team for sixth in the SWAC and eighth in pitching with an 8.26 ERA.
ASU had one player on the postseason teams, with designated hitter Cedric Bell earning Second-Team All-SWAC honors. Meanwhile, the Tigers had six players on the Second-Team All-SWAC after the regular season.
The winner of the Alcorn State and Grambling State game plays the winner of the Alabama State University and Southern University game Thursday, May 19, at 6 p.m. The losers of the two games play at noon on Thursday.
The tournament features the top four teams from the East and the West. Alabama State will be the heavy favorite to win this tournament.
The Hornets finished the regular season with a perfect 24-0 record in SWAC play and a 34-15 overall record. ASU nearly swept the postseason awards, winning Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Hitter of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year.
Alabama State had nine players make the First-Team All-SWAC, as well. ASU is the No. 1 seed in the East, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff is the No. 1 seed from the West.
The tournament ends on Sunday, May 22, with the championship game at 10:30 a.m., which will air on ESPNU.
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