On Campus: Hornets, Rattlers Making Noise

With a 9-4 victory Sunday against Alabama A&M, Alabama State finished a sweep of its in-state rivals and a 24-0 regular season Southwestern Athletic Conference slate.

The Hornets (34-15) became the first team in the nation to go undefeated in conference play since 2012, when Utah Valley went 28-0 in the Great West Conference. They are the first team to ever go undefeated in SWAC play.

While going undefeated in conference play is rare, coach Mervyl Melendez has now led his team to perfect league marks four times in the last 11 seasons. Before he came to Alabama State, he coached at Bethune-Cookman and his teams went undefeated in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2006, 2010 and 2011.

Melendez said Alabama State’s perfect conference season was a product of the players’ mindset and concentration throughout the spring.

“One thing we stressed to them is we have to play well on weekends,” Melendez said. “Regardless of what we do in midweeks—and we’ve been fortunate to play well sometimes in midweek—but we have to play well on weekends. They have embraced it and played well.”

Alabama State has gotten strong starting pitching all year. Its rotation of senior righthander Joseph Camacho (9-0, 1.38), redshirt junior righthander Tyler Howe (9-2, 1.14) and senior righty Hunter McIntosh (7-2, 2.85) has made the Hornets especially tough to beat on weekends.

Melendez said the key to their success has been their control.

“They work ahead of hitters, work at a good pace and don’t have the defense sitting out there too long,” he said. “Needless to say, the team responds behind them.”

Melendez is in his fifth season at Alabama State and has turned the Hornets into one of the elite teams in the SWAC. They have won three straight SWAC East Division championships and were named the Black College National Champions by BlackCollegeNines.com in 2014.

But Alabama State is still chasing its first appearance in regionals as a Division I school. Its only NCAA Tournament appearance came in 1974 when it was still a Division II program. With an RPI of 160, the Hornets will have to win the SWAC Tournament to reach regionals this season.

Melendez said making regionals would be a significant accomplishment for the Hornets.

“It would be validation of what the guys have done and the hard work they have put in since the last out was made last year,” Melendez said. “This group worked hard to accomplish what they’ve accomplished.”

As Alabama State has risen to the top of the SWAC, Florida A&M has done the same in the MEAC. FAMU is looking to clinch its third straight MEAC Southern Division title this weekend against North Carolina A&T. The Rattlers (27-19, 16-5 in the MEAC) have set a program record for conference wins and have won their most games since 2003.

Coach Jamey Shouppe is in his third season at FAMU after spending 21 years as the pitching coach at Florida State. He quickly resuscitated a program that hadn’t won a conference championship since 1994, the end of an eight-year run when the Rattlers won six MEAC titles.

FAMU ended that streak last year, winning the MEAC Tournament and advancing to the Gainesville Regional. The Rattlers will have a chance to repeat that success this season, but first Shouppe has his team focused on winning the division to get a first-round bye in the MEAC Tournament.

“To win the MEAC, getting that first day bye is crucial,” he said. “Our goal—and we talk about it every day—is to make sure we get that bye.”

FAMU has been a solid offensive team all season, and its .421 on-base percentage ranks third in the country. Senior lefthander Ricky Page (4-3, 2.89) has been the Rattlers’ most consistent pitcher and, last Saturday at North Carolina Central, delivered what Shouppe said was the best pitching performance in his three seasons at FAMU. In a seven-inning game, Page threw a five-hit shutout and struck out eight batters in a 4-0 victory.

But since starting 11-1 in conference play, the Rattlers are 5-4 in their past three MEAC series. Shouppe is hopeful FAMU can recapture its earlier form as the season comes to a close.

“The two years I’ve been here, we’ve played great down the stretch,” he said. “We haven’t done that as of yet, but we keep pushing toward that goal.”

Alabama State also hopes to be able to play its best baseball in next week’s SWAC Tournament. Though the Hornets are the top seed and undefeated in the league, Melendez said they won’t get caught up in any expectations that come with that status.

“We’re always going to have an underdog mentality regardless of what happens because history tells us that’s the way to approach it,” Melendez said. “Our guys are ready to go to battle. I see a team that is hungry. I’m eager to get the first game going. I wish it was today, I wish it was tomorrow.”

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News and Notes

Atlantic Coast Conference: For the first time in his 20 seasons at North Carolina State, Elliott Avent will miss a weekend series. Avent was bitten by a copperhead snake Wednesday while walking his dog, and was hospitalized overnight. He was released Thursday morning, but was not cleared to travel with the team to Louisville. Copperheads cause the majority of venomous snakebites in the Southeast, according to the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, but the bite is rarely fatal because their venom is not potent. In Avent’s place, associate head coach Chris Hart will lead the 13th-ranked Wolfpack against the ninth-ranked Cardinals in a series with significant implications in the ACC standings and national seed race.

Big 12 Conference: Oklahoma shuffled its rotation for this weekend’s Bedlam Rivalry series against No. 16 Oklahoma State. Freshman righthander Jake Irvin (4-1, 4.54) will get the ball Friday night for the first time in his career. Coming off his excellent start last week against Kansas State, righthander Alec Hansen (1-4, 5.06) will start Saturday, while Sunday remains TBA. Scouts will be closely watching Hansen on Saturday to see if he can repeat his performance from last Sunday, when he struck out nine batters and held the Wildcats to two hits and a walk in six scoreless innings.

Big Ten Conference: With a win last Friday at Minnesota, Indiana lefthander Kyle Hart improved to 10-2, 3.18 this season to keep pace with the national leaders in wins. It was also the 31st victory of his career, moving him into sole possession of second place on the Hoosiers’ all-time list, trailing only Joey DeNato, who won 37 games from 2011-14. Hart should move into second on Indiana’s career innings pitched list in his start Friday against Illinois.

Pac-12 Conference: The emergence of seniors Zach Gibbons (.390/.478/.459) and Cody Ramer (.360/.463/.487) has helped propel No. 21 Arizona into contention in the Pac-12. They are the Wildcats’ leading hitters this season, and have taken on much more significant roles on the team. Gibbons was a regular last year, but has made a big jump after hitting .287/.352/.378 as a junior. Ramer got just 45 at bats in 2015, hitting .178/.288/.178. The pair are the “heartbeat” of the Wildcats, according to coach Jay Johnson, who said Gibbons is playing as well as anyone in the conference. “He does all the things you want him to do well, well,” Johnson said. “He can crush a mistake, he’s good base runner and a good defensive outfielder. He’s a mature college player.”

Southeastern Conference: For the second year in a row, Florida is slated to send four players to USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. Florida announced Thursday righthander Alex Faedo, shortstop Dalton Guthrie and catchers Mike Rivera and J.J. Schwarz will play for Team USA this summer. Schwarz will be making his return to the CNT after appearing in 11 games last summer. The other Gators on last year’s team were lefthander A.J. Puk, righthander Logan Shore and outfielder Buddy Reed, all of whom were named first-team Preseason All-Americans this year.

Other conferences: Florida Atlantic coach John McCormack was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in his jaw last August and took a leave of absence during the fall to undergo treatments. But McCormack has made a strong comeback this spring, and said he hasn’t had chemotherapy in about six weeks. He said he is feeling better and enjoying being able to eat solid food again. “What it does to you is amazing,” he said. “I can eat some real food, which has made a world of difference.” McCormack has the 17th-ranked Owls (33-14) playing well this spring, and signed a four-year contract extension through the 2020 season earlier this month. … Cal Poly suspended pitchers Kyle Smith, Erich Uelmen and Jarred Zill—its entire rotation—for this weekend’s series at UC Irvine for a violation of team rules. The trio has started 32 of Cal Poly’s first 47 games this year, and is a combined 14-9, 3.19. The San Luis Obispo Tribune first reported the news Thursday.