Valley took three of four games from SWAC Eastern Division foe Alabama A&M last weekend to keep its slim first-place lead in the league over Jackson State.
The Delta Devils are 10-3 - a game and a half ahead of the Tigers - in their quest for their fifth Eastern Division title in Doug Shanks' nine-year tenure as head coach.
JSU won two of three against Alcorn last weekend and will play Southern this weekend in non-conference play.
Valley will host SWAC East seller-dweller Alabama State (2-7) at 4 p.m. Friday. The two teams will finish the series with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Delta Devils' defense and pitching have helped them get atop the East standings. In SWAC competition only, they rank first in team fielding (.971) and second in team pitching (3.44 ERA).
Valley is seventh in batting at .277.
"We're in good shape in the league. We've just got to keep taking care of business," Shanks said. "We've got a series at JSU in two weeks that will certainly be a big one."
