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CLEVELAND, Miss. -- No. 10 Delta State University baseball opens the 2019 season with a three-game series against Great American Conference member East Central Oklahoma at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 1 at Harvey Stadium-Ferriss Field. The series concludes with a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday. 

The series marks the first home opener since 2016 when the Statesmen hosted former Gulf South Conference and current GAC member Harding University. Delta State is opening a season at home for just the fourth time since 2011, sweeping three-game series against Harding (2016), Montevallo (2013) and Lambuth (2011). 
 
About East Central: East Central is a member of the Great American Athletic Conference and is located in Sewanee, Oklahoma, The Tigers went 5-37 overall and 4-28 in the GAC in 2018.  East Central returns eight players and welcomes a new coaching staff led by first-year skipper Lloyd Gage. Gage comes to ECU after spending one year at Seminole State College as the pitching coach.  In his one season with the Trojans, he helped the team to a 44-11 record, conference championship and the NJCAA Division I Region II Title.

2018 Statesmen Rewind: The Statesmen posted a 41-11 overall record and a 23-5 GSC mark, capturing their second straight GSC Regular Season title. DSU would go on to make their 32^nd NCAA Tournament appearance, going 2-2- in the NCAA South Regional in Lakeland, Fla.  Zach Shannon was named the Rawlings ABCA National Player of Year for the second straight year, setting school records with 31 home runs, 93 RBIs and a .404 batting average. Shannon, who was also named the Gulf South Conference Player of the Year for the second time, was joined by Clay Casey (OF), Emil Ellis (2B) and Seth Birdsong (RHP) on the All-GSC First-Team All while Brian Lane (DH) was named to the second-team.
 
Additionally, Shannon was named the NCBWA National Player of the Year and First-Team NCBWA All-American while garnering ABCA and D2CAA South Region Player of the Year and First-Team All-Region honors. Casey earned NCBWA Honorable Mention All-American and was named First-Team D2CCA and ABCA All-South Region for the second time. Ellis was selected ABCA and D2CCA Second-Team All-South Region and Birdsong claimed Second-Team D2CAA All-South Region laurels.

New Faces: Mike Kinnison begins his 23rd season as the Statesmen skipper with an overhauled coaching staff. Blake Mathews, whose primary duties will be working with the pitchers, comes to the Delta from Davidson College where he spent one season. During his tenure, Mathews served as pitching coach in addition to managing bullpens while also assisting with the outfielders, camp coordination, recruiting and daily field maintenance. Slater Lott comes to DSU after serving as an assistant coach at Meridian Community College from 2014-18. The Meridian, Miss., native coached the catchers and outfielders and also served as hitting coach. The Eagles led the MACJC and ranked second in the NJCAA with a .368 team batting average, while also ranking 10th in runs scored (490) and 12th in hits (580) in the NJCAA. Graduate assistant coach Luke Stanley (3rd season)is the lone hold over on the staff while former players Seth Birdsong (1st season) and Tyler Brown (1st season) join the staff for their first season as graduate assistants. 

Harvey Stadium-Ferriss Field Update: Fans will notice a new addition to what is widely considered one of the finest on-campus baseball facilities in the country as Delta State University's Harvey Stadium at Ferriss Field added brick walls down the lines in time for the 2019 season. The privately-funded project extends the backstop brick wall all the way down each baseline. The project was completed in January, replacing the old chain-link fence that extended down each baseline. 

"The addition of brick walls is going to have a major impact on the aesthetics at Harvey Stadium-Ferriss Field," DSU Head Coach and Athletic Director  Mike Kinnison said. "When Harvey Stadium was finished, we began working towards raising the funds necessary to do this project. We appreciate the financial support of our former players, alumni and fans."

Statesmen Baseball Begins 77th Season: Delta State begins its 77th season and has an overall record of 2,014-963-11 all-time record entering 2019.

East Central Series: Delta State and East Central meet on the diamond for the first time since 2003. The Statesmen claimed a 15-2 win at East Central on Feb. 17, 2003.

Against the GAC: The Statesmen own a 357-83 all-time record against the Great American Athletic Conference.  Arkansas Monticello, Arkansas Tech, Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State are on the 2019 Statesmen Schedule.

Arkansas-Monticello – 81-8      
Arkansas Tech - 51-10
East Central (Okla.) – 1-0
Harding - 42-7              
Henderson State - 59-6 
Ouachita Baptist – 54-14
Southeast Oklahoma – 4-5
Southern Arkansas – 62-32
Record vs. GAC Schools – 351-85

For Openers: The Statesmen are 16-6 under Head Coach Mike Kinnison and 52-25 all-time on opening day. The Green-and-White have recorded 11 shutouts while only being shut out three times in season openers. The only season-opening shutout under Kinnison was an 11-0 win over Belhaven in 2003. Three opening day games have gone extra innings (1948, 1992, 2017) with the last dating back to the start of last season in a 9-7 win over Harding University (2.3.17). 

Statesmen at Harvey Stadium-Ferriss Field: The Statesmen own a 997-295-4 record in 55 years at Harvey Stadium Ferriss Field, The Green-and-White are 44-9 in home openers since 1961.

Quest For 1,000 Wins: Statesmen skipper Mike Kinnison is in his 23rd season at the helm of the Statesmen, and needs 61 wins to register his 1000^th win. The Benton, Miss., native enters the 2019 season with an unbelievable career record of 939-299-2 (.756), averaging 43 wins per season as head coach. His all-time career record, including high school, is an astounding 1,271-391-2 (.768). In his 22 seasons, Kinnison has guided the Statesmen to the 2004 NCAA Division II National title, six College World Series appearances (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2012 and 2017), 13 NCAA South/South Central Regional appearances (1999-2005, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017), 11 GSC Western Division titles (1997-2005, 2007-2008), six NCAA South/South Central Regional championships and seven GSC titles.

Preseason National Rankings: The Statesmen are ranked 10^th in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason National Poll and received votes in the NCBWA Preseason National Poll. The Statesmen will face six teams ranked in the CBN poll, including No. 13 Southern Arkansas and No. 38 West Florida. Defending GSC Tournament Champion Mississippi, Arkansas Monticello, Lee University and Montevallo received votes. The Statesmen are ranked 5^th in the NCBWA Preseason South Region Poll.  Southern Arkansas is No. 13 while Mississippi College is ranked 18^th in the NCBWA National Preseason Poll.

Next Man Up: Catcher Josh Russell is the lone position player returning but David Herrington (3B), Darek Sargent (SS), Matthew Majeur (OF) and Peyton Lane (DH/1B) give the Statesmen a good nucleus of returning experience. Herrington, Sargent, Majeur, and PeLane drew a combined 26 starts last season along with reserve catcher Bradley Sanford, who made 10 starts behind the plate.
 
On the Mound: The Green-and-White return a good nucleus to build around on the pitching staff. Sophomore Hunter Riggins (RHP) is expected to transition into a starting role in addition to returning seniors Dalton Minton (LHP), and Seth Hoguesen (LHP). The Statesmen will look to build the bullpen around senior lefty Melvin Frazier and right-hander Tyler Walton. 

Statesmen Welcome 19 Newcomers: Brett Young (CF) and Tommy Childree (RHP) represent the 19 Statesmen newcomers on the GSC Top Newcomers List. Young is a senior transfer from Nebraska-Kearney after the elimination of the program following the 2018 season. Childree comes to the Delta from Carl Albert State Community College.

Preseason GSC Poll: The Statesmen, who tallied 129 points with three first-place votes, are picked second behind preseason favorite and in-state rival Mississippi College. The defending GSC champion tallied 137 points along with nine first-place votes. The University of West Florida (122) is third with the University of Montevallo (93) and Valdosta State (92) closing out the top five. Lee University (91), the University of West Georgia (86), the University of West Alabama (79), Alabama Huntsville (58) and Union University (43) represent sixth through 10th.  Auburn Montgomery (42), Shorter (30) and Christian Brothers (12) close out the poll's bottom tier.
 
Up Next: Delta State travels to Arkadelphia, Ark., to play three games against No. 13 Southern Arkansas, Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist. The Statesmen battle Southern Arkansas on Sat., Feb. 9 at 3 p.m. and Henderson State at 6 p.m. before taking on Ouachita Baptist on Sun., Feb. 10 at 1 p.m.