LORMAN &8212; Just one look at the three new recruits was enough for returning senior Gregory White to do a double take.

It was fall workouts for Alcorn&8217;s baseball team, and the coaches introduced three new guys they were hoping would make an immediate impact on a team that based its attack around speedy leadoff hitter Corey Wimberly.

Marcus Davis, Shawn Taylor and Bradley &8220;B.J.&8221; Hubbert joined the team. And White knew things would be different.

&8220;When I saw them, I thought I&8217;d better get in the weight room so I can catch up,&8221; White said. &8220;B.J. and Marcus, we call them our twin towers. They&8217;re the tallest guys we&8217;ve had since I&8217;ve been here. I was glad to have them on the team. They&8217;re good hitters, and all three of them have a good work ethic.&8221;

The three recruits have made that big of a difference this season on the diamond for the Braves. Much through the recruiting efforts of assistant coach Marqus Johnson, the Braves have converted from a small-ball team to one that can sit back and get the three-run homer or the two-run double.

They hit 4-5-6 in the lineup and are a big reason why the Braves are feeling good about their chances at the SWAC Tournament next month as they wrap up the regular season this weekend against Jackson State.

Through 37 games, the Braves have eclipsed last year&8217;s mark in homers (26 over last year&8217;s 14), RBI (285 to last year&8217;s 277) and runs (322 to last year&8217;s 319). And you don&8217;t want to know what those numbers would be last year without Wimberly.

&8220;All three of them have come from junior colleges, and they brought an impact,&8221; Alcorn head coach Willie &8220;Rat&8221; McGowan said. &8220;They could hit decent, and they brought that to Alcorn along with hitting and hard work. They&8217;re the backbone of the ball club when it comes to hitting, and they work hard at it. They&8217;re in the batting cage early, and that&8217;s the kind of things we need to pick up our program. The rest of the team caught on.&8221;

The three have helped the Braves clinch a spot in the conference tournament May 18-20 at Trustmark Park in Pearl. That&8217;s where McGowan&8217;s bunch will end conference play at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against Jackson State after playing a doubleheader Friday in Lorman.

Saturday&8217;s game will be televised on ESPNU.

New arrivals

They came with tags of potential. Taylor was a solid hitter with superb defensive skills from Seward County (Kansas) Community College whose initial plans of playing baseball and football at Bethune-Cookman fell through.

Hubbert played at Georgia State but was looking for a place to get more playing time. And then there was Davis, who had great power and a rocket arm and was a 21st-round draft pick by the Florida Marlins out of Magee High School. He landed at East Central where his power skills blossomed as a sophomore.

Together, well, McGowan could only imagine the possibilities. And so did the three after meeting each other.

&8220;We had a click,&8221; said Taylor, a native of Colorado Springs. &8220;We all bonded together. We got here in the fall, and we were able to meet each other right away.&8221;

Johnson heard of Taylor when Seward County made the Juco World Series, and Hubbert was a guy he recruited out of high school. Johnson knew of Davis from previous recruiting efforts at East Central and was able to get him at Alcorn.

And from three different states, the three joined a team that had players from seven other states and two different countries on the roster.

&8220;I was looking to transfer somewhere where I could play, and they gave me an opportunity,&8221; Hubbert said. &8220;So I chose to come here. We&8217;re pretty close. It&8217;s a murderers&8217; row. This is by far the best team I&8217;ve ever played on. It&8217;s just a matter of putting it all together, and we can&8217;t be stopped. Hopefully we can do it this weekend.&8221;

Baseball kept everyone together, and the work habits of the three won over everyone quickly. The three have backed it up on the field, too.

They are three of the team&8217;s top four hitters with Hubbert&8217;s .434 average leading the team and Davis hitting .416 with 10 home runs and seven triples. Taylor leads the team with 46 RBI.

&8220;They meshed pretty good,&8221; McGowan said. &8220;BJ and Davis are real good friends, and (Taylor) &8212; we call him Colorado &8212; all three of those guys blend in real well. They&8217;ve got a good relationship going. That&8217;s good for the ball cub. &8221;

All three produce

The arrival has converted Alcorn into a big-inning offense, one that has put up double digits in runs in 16 of 37 games this season &8212; including a stretch of eight straight games of putting up 10 or more runs.

But the three each have their own goals at the plate. For Davis, who leads the SWAC in homers, it&8217;s about cutting down on his strikeouts and getting out of a little funk at the plate earlier this month.

He had two hits in a 14-1 loss to Southern Miss last week to extend his hitting streak to nine games.

&8220;I fell into a little slump, but I&8217;ve worked hard to get out of it,&8221; he said. &8220;I had gotten down to .390 or so, but I got it back to .400. I&8217;m trying to (cut down on strikeouts), but I&8217;m failing at it right now. I&8217;m just missing good pitches.&8221;

But it wasn&8217;t for the numbers that Johnson and McGowan brought the three in. Each has significant postseason experience at the previous team, and that may help the team get over its postseason hump of recent seasons.

The Braves have been in the SWAC tournament twice in the last four seasons. Both ended without a win. They&8217;re in it again this season.

&8220;They believe in working hard, and all three of them understand the importance of going to class,&8221; Johnson said. &8220;I think that experience is going to drive the team a little more and make them hungry. All three of them have been to the postseason. I think our guys are going to feed off of that.&8221;