Game Notes (PDF)
CLEVELAND - Delta State University Baseball will travel to Chattanooga, Tenn. and AT&T Field this week for the 2013 Gulf South Conference Baseball Tournament. The Statesmen will enter the tournament with the No. 1 seed after a 19-4-1 conference season.

Delta State is the defending GSC Tournament Champion after defeating Alabama-Huntsville 14-8 in the final last year in Rome, Ga.

The Statesmen will face No. 8 seed Christian Brothers Buccaneers in the first round, with the game scheduled for a 7 p.m. start on Thursday, May 2. The Statesmen earned a series sweep over the Bucs in Memphis this season, winning the three games by scores of 14-2, 19-2, and 9-4.

The Statesmen and Bucs met in the first round last season as the No.1 and No. 8 seeds and Delta State edged out an opening round victory 5-4.

A look back at the 2012 GSC Tournament
The Delta State University Statesmen Baseball team returned to the top of the Gulf South Conference last season with a conference tournament championship  in Rome, Ga.

The Statesmen entered the tournament as the top seed, but was tested in the first round against Christian Brothers, winning 5-4. On day two, Delta State avenged a regular season series loss to Valdosta by defeating the Blazers 11-2.

The Statesmen's only set back came in the third day, losing to Alabama-Huntsville 8-4 in what fueled a run of nine straight elimination game wins in the post season.

The Statesmen dispatched West Florida 7-4, with a complete game effort from Ricky Winters, to get to the final day of the Tournament. Delta State defeated North Alabama Monday morning with a 4-0 victory to set up a rematch with UAH.

In the Championship game, the Statesmen out hit the Chargers in an offensive showcase, winning 14-8 to claim the schools GSC-leading 12th conference championship.

Manley among the GSC's best
Michael Manley was named the Gulf South Conference Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday after throwing a one-hit gem Saturday in Valdosta, Ga. This week's honor marks the fourth time this season that Manley has been named the Pitcher of the Week. He earned it in back-to-back weeks from 2/18-2/25 and on 04/08. The Raymond, Miss. native is the only four-time winner of the award this season and no other pitcher in the conference has won the award more than twice.

Manley missed a couple of starts earlier this season due to an injury, but that hasn't kept the junior from racking up the strikeouts and posting numbers in the top of the Gulf South Conference. He currently leads the GSC in opposing batting average (.190). Manley sits fourth on the strikeout list with 66, just eight behind the conference lead. Manley is tied for second in the GSC with seven wins and ranks in fewest hits allowed (3rd, 44), fewest runs allowed (2, 19), and fewest earned runs allowed (4, 17).

Statesmen rack up postseason GSC awards
Delta State garnered 12 postseason awards from the Gulf South Conference on Tuesday. Mike Kinnison was named the Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career while eight Statesmen were named to the All-GSC First Team and three more were named to the All-GSC Second Team.

Pitchers Josh Branstetter, Michael Manley, and Taylor Stark earned first team honors. For Manley and Stark, it is their first time on the list. Branstetter was named a second team selection in 2012 and was a first team selection in 2011.

Outfielders Jordan Chovanec and Michael Vinson each earned first team selections. For Chovanec, it is the juniors second straight year as a first team selection. Vinson also garners All-GSC for the second straight season after being named to the second team in 2012.

Infielders Carlos Leal and Tyler Aldridge, as well as designated hitter Ben Kingsley were also named to the first team this season.  All three are first time winners of the award.

Middle infielders Josh Crowdus and Kasey Hinton joined pitcher Colton Mitchell in being named to the All-GSC second team. For Crowdus and Hinton, it is their first selection. Mitchell garners the All-GSC selection for the second straight season after being named to the first team in 2012.

King of the mountain
Ben Kingsley has been a major force at the plate this season for the Green-and-White and the designated hitter has really turned it up in the month of April. In the month, Kingsley has hit .375 and belted four home runs, including two this past week against Henderson State and Valdosta State.

On the season Kingsley leads the GSC with 53 RBIs on the season. He is fourth in the GSC in batting average (.375), third in slugging percentage (.563), third in hits (66), second in home runs and is tied for the lead in total bases. Kingsley also leads the team with 16 multiple-RBI games and 13 doubles.

Josh Branstetter, Michael Vinson and Jordan Chovanec climbing the career charts
All three of the Statesmen are moving up the career lists for the Statesmen all time.  Josh Branstetter is ranked in four pitching categories. The senior is second in innings pitched (310.0) and sixth in the strikeouts (232). He also ranks ninth in victories with 24 and 12th in appearances with 49.

Michael Vinson is eighth on the all-time list in career games played with 202. The senior also ranks ninth in runs batted in with 167, tenth in doubles with 48, 11th in hits with 241 and 11th in base on balls with 93. Jordan Chovanec has cracked the top 10 list in stolen bases as a junior. Chovanec is tied for sixth on the list with 50.

Bullpen proving solid in relief
The Statesmen bullpen has been solid this season for coach Mike Kinnison. In 46 games, DSU's relievers are 12-1 with a 3.48 ERA.  Garrett Pickens (2-0, 0.00 ERA) and Ricky Winters (4-0, 3.12) have led the way out of the bullpen, along with Taylor Stark. Stark (3-0, 3.05 ERA) leads the team with five saves and 15 appearances. The bullpen has 106 strikeouts in 126.2 innings pitched, limiting batters to a .246 average.

Early and often
The Statesmen have scored first in 29 of 46 games this season and are 28-0-1 in those games. Delta State's offense has produced 169 runs in the first four innings, while Statesmen pitching and defense has allowed only 157 total runs in all nine innings this season.

Delta State has outscored opponents in every inning this season except for the seventh, where the Statesmen have 25 runs to the opponents 27 runs.

Aldridge makes history with 28-game streak
In his first at bat of the day on Friday, March 29, Tyler Aldridge hit a two out double against West Alabama to break the Statesmen hit streak record shared with Clay Smith, who hit in 27 consecutive games in 2005.

The record for Aldridge dated back to the first game of the season against Montevallo on February 8. Aldridge was unable to record a hit in game two of the doubleheader, stopping the streak at 28.

The senior has been a dominant force in the batter's box for the Statesmen and used the streak to propel to the top of several categories in the Gulf South Conference. The Steens, Miss., native leads the GSC in hits (67), third in batting average (.383), and fourth in on-base percentage (.468). The former East Mississippi CC transfer leads the Statesmen in multiple hit games with 22 and is second on the team in multiple RBI games with nine. Aldridge also leads the team in stolen bases with 19.

Professional Statesmen
Three former Statesmen, Eli Whiteside (Round Rock, Rangers), Edwin Maysonet (Iowa, Cubs) and Dusty Hughes (Gwinnett, Braves), have all been placed in roles at the AAA level coming out of spring training. 2012 Senior Brandon Hardin has been assigned to Kannapolis, the class-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Aaron Newcomb, another 2012 senior, is with Burlington, the class-A affiliate of the Angels.  The other two draft and signees out of last seasons senior class, James Hudelson and Jon Carnahan, are also in the lower levels of the minor league system.

700-Club, Kinnison Style
Mike Kinnison, a member of the MS Sports Hall of Fame, joined the 700-win club last season with the Statesmen's regional championship victory over Stillman last season.

With the victory, Kinnison became the quickest coach in NCAA Division II history to reach 700 career wins, completing the feat in his 16th season.

Kinnison is 741-223-2 all time and is the active leader in winning percentage (.768) of coaches with at least 10 years in Division II.