SWAC Baseball Championship: Alabama State vs. Jackson State

Baseball Championship Notes (.pdf)
COURTESY SWAC.ORG

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball championship match-up is set with the No. 1 East seed Alabama State and No. 4 East seed Jackson State meeting for the first time in the final round to earn the 2014 SWAC baseball title.

The game is scheduled for Sunday, May 18, at MLB Urban Youth Academy in New Orleans, La. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. and will air live on ESPN3 with tape delay scheduled for Monday, May 19, on ESPNU.

ASU (37-19) won both series over JSU (30-23) during the regular season capturing five of the six games played.

ASU, winner of the SWAC East Division, enters the championship round after defeating Grambling State, 15-6, on Friday. The Hornets are led by SWAC Player and the Pitcher of the Year, Emmanuel Marrero and Joseph Camacho.

Marrero is hitting .326 and joins Waldyvan Estrada (.345), Einar Muniz (.343), and Richard Amion (.335) as the only Hornets currently batting over .300. Camacho (10-1) holds the most by a pitcher in the SWAC with a 2.32 ERA to complement 62 strikeouts. For the tournament, he carries 2.00 ERA with four strikeouts.

With a win on Sunday, defending tournament champions, JSU, can record a back-to-back championship for the fourth time. The Tigers won consecutive titles from 1977-78, 1989-90, and 1993-95.

SWAC Newcomer of the Year, Tilur Smith and pitcher Desmond Russell power JSU. Smith leads the Tigers with a .342 batting average and is hitting .357 for the tournament. Russell (8-4) holds a 3.12 ERA and leads the SWAC with 80 strikeouts throwing the most in one game this year 14. He has thrown eight strikeouts and has not given up an earned run in the tournament. During the regular season, Russell handed JSU its only win over ASU with a 5-4 victory on April 26.
 

Live Stats

Live Video (ESPN3)

Tournament Bracket

Tournament Central

Live Audio

 

COURTESY SWAC MEDIA RELATIONS