JACKSON, Miss. - The Jackson State baseball team opens up the 2020-21 spring baseball season tomorrow on the road at Mercer. Both team will open up with a double-header on the campus of Mercer in Macon, (Geo.) with first pitch slated for 1 p.m.

Game two will immediately follow after the conclusion of game one. The rubber match will be featured on Sunday afternoon .

LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND | MARCH 11, 2020 (JSU 9 | SC-Upstate 4)
SPARTENBURG, S.C. – South Carolina-Upstate defeated Jackson State 9-4 in the series finale Wednesday afternoon.
 
CJ Newsome batted 1-for-5 with an RBI and Marshal Luiz finished 1-for-2 with an RBI.
 
Chandler Dillard, Devontae Rhodes, and Marcus Atterberry each collected a hit.
 
As a team JSU added five hits and drew five walks.
 
Harry Colon absorbed the loss and allowed three runs and walked two batters.

FOUR SELECTED TO PRESEASON ALL SWAC TEAM 
The Southwestern Athletic Conference has announced its 2021 Preseason All-SWAC Baseball team highlighted by Preseason Pitcher of the Year Nikelle Galatas (JSU). The preseason team, individual awards and predicted order of finish were voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

Galatas (Los Angeles, Calif.) has been a key figure in the Tigers' pitching rotation during the past two seasons. During his 2019 campaign he tallied seven wins during the season, starting 15 games and making 22 total appearances. He pitched 105.2 total innings while striking out 81 batters and limiting opposing hitters to a .238 batting average. Galatas contributed three complete game performances and also notched two saves.

Joining Galatas on the SWAC first team out of Jackson State were Eqoun Smith, Wesley Reyes, and Mario Lopez. The Tigers had the most members on the first team of any SWAC institution with a total of four members on the team.

Smith, played in 14 games in 2020 going 18-for-42 at the plate for a batting average of .429. He also scored 16 runs for the season with two doubles, one home run, two triples, and nine runs batted in. 

Reyes, played in 16 games last season, tallying 16 hits in 57 at bats for an average of .333 at the dish. He also scored 10 runs on the season with six doubles, two home runs, and 14 runs batted in.

Lopez, made eight appearances a year ago, making one start and seven appearances in relief. He threw for a total of 16.0 innings on the mound, tallying an earned run average of 3.94 after surrendering eight runs, just four base on balls, and 15 strike outs in 75 batters faced. Lopez also compiled a 2-0 overall record and one save.

As a team, the Tigers were picked prerseason No. 2 in the SWAC East behind Alabama State. Jackson State received a total of three first place votes. Jackson State enters to 2021 season coming off of a 9-7 overall and 3-0 SWAC record in 2020. 
 
A complete listing of the 2021 Preseason All-SWAC Team, Predicted Order of Finish and individual award selections can be found below.
 
SWAC East

1. Alabama State 93 (14)
2. Jackson State 76 (3)
3. Alcorn State 52  
4. Alabama A&M 51 (2)
5. Mississippi Valley State 28 (1)

 SWAC West

1. Grambling State 80 (9)
2. Texas Southern 77 (8)
3. Southern 64 (1)
4. Prairie View A&M 39 (1)
5. Arkansas-Pine Bluff 35 (1)

*First place votes listed in (parenthesis)
 
Preseason Player of the Year- Santiago Garcia, Alabama State
 
Preseason Pitcher of the Year- Nikelle Galatas, Jackson State
 
2021 Preseason All-SWAC First Team
 

Position	Name	Classification	School	Hometown
C	Santiago Garcia	Junior	Alabama State	Enterprise, Ala.
1B	Nick Kreutzer	Senior	Arkansas-Pine Bluff	Westminster, Colo.
2B	Alex Martinez	Junior	Prairie View A&M	Houston, Texas
3B	Nic Garza	Senior	Texas Southern	Round Rock, Texas
SS	Wesley Reyes	Senior	Jackson State	Bayamon, Puerto Rico
DH	Angel Jimenez	Sophomore	Alabama State	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
OF	Equon Smith	Senior	Jackson State	Dundee, Fla.
OF	Brandon Rembert	Senior	Alcorn State	Pensacola, Fla.
OF	Tyson Thompson	Senior	Texas Southern	Houston, Texas
SP	Nikelle Galatas	Junior	Jackson State	Los Angeles, Calif.
SP	Jeremy Rivera	Sophomore	Alabama State	Toa Alta, Puerto Rico
RP	Mario Lopez	Senior	Jackson State	Miami, Fla.

2021 Preseason All-SWAC Second Team
 

Position	Name	Classification	School	Hometown
C	Tyler Gordon	Senior	Prairie View A&M	Chicago, Ill.
1B	Oscar Ponce	R-Junior	Texas Southern	Brownsville, Texas
2B	Tristin Garcia	Sophomore	Alcorn State	Louisville, Ky.
3B	Hunter May	Sophomore	Alabama State	Slidell, La.
SS	Christopher DeGuzman	Junior	Alabama State	Fajardo, Puerto Rico
DH	Chris Lewis	Junior	Alabama State	Alabaster, Ala.
OF	Jahmoi Percival	Graduate	Grambling State	St. Thomas, Va.
OF	Xavier Jefferson	Senior	Prairie View A&M	Southfield, Mich.
OF	Cameron Hearn	Graduate	Alabama State	Atlanta, Ga.
SP	Alex Olguin	Sophomore	Texas Southern	Brownsville, Texas
SP	Ricardo Rivera	Sophomore	Alabama State	San Juan, Puerto Rico
RP	Lorenzo Hardit	Senior	Prairie View A&M	Houston, Texas