MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team recently closed fall practice following the conclusion of the Red-Blue Series.

In 22 intrasquad games this fall, 2016 Freshman All-American Travis Swaggerty led the team in batting average (.348), hits (24), doubles (8) and on-base percentage (.438), and ranked second on the squad with seven stolen bases. Carter Perkins, Brendan Donovan and Jared Barnes tied for second on the team with 23 hits apiece. Barnes led the team in home runs (2), while Donovan topped the squad in slugging percentage (.529). Colton Thomas finished as the team leader with eight stolen bases. 

On the mound, right-hander Randy Bell struck out nine batters without issuing a walk, and did not allow a run in 11 innings pitched. He limited the opposition to a .081 batting average, allowing just three hits in six appearances. Right-hander Avery Geyer ranked second on the staff in ERA (1.12), and recorded nine strikeouts against two walks in eight innings pitched. Right-handers Harrison Spruiell and Alex Adair shared the team lead with 20 strikeouts each. Adair posted a 1.72 ERA and issued just six walks in 15 2/3 innings. Spruiell recorded a 1.80 ERA in his seven appearances, and issued seven walks in 15 innings pitched while limiting the opposition to a .204 batting average. Left-hander Thomas Huston posted a 2.30 ERA in 10 appearances, and struck out 15 batters against three walks in 15 2/3 innings. 

Jaguar head coach Mark Calvi recently sat down with USAJaguars.com to recap the fall. Below are a few highlights of that interview.

What do you look for from the team in the fall?
"With it being the fall and not playing anybody, you are looking for individual improvement. You see team improvement when you play other teams. And we're together as a team but playing ourselves in intrasquad, so you can only learn so much. However, you can see individual improvement." 

What did you see from the team defensively?
"I saw improvement in every returning position player – Brendan Donovan at third base, Carter Perkins behind the plate, Dylan Hardy in the outfield. Travis Swaggerty is moving to center field, and he has taken to that exceptionally well. Adam Wolfe seemed to be better before his fall was cut short to illness. Jared Barnes, who was already pretty solid behind the plate, has improved his blocking and throwing. Perkins and Barnes have improved so much behind home plate. Some guys are in different positions right now like Swaggerty in center field and Donovan at third base. We've had to move some guys around, but I have seen vast improvement in them in their confidence defensively. I think we have a chance to be a very strong defensive team."

What improvement did you see offensively?
"Offensively, the good thing is that we started five freshmen and sophomores that won 42 ball games last year. With those kids, collectively, in Donovan, Swaggerty, (Drew) LaBounty, Barnes and Perkins, you're looking at about 1,000 at-bats. So the nucleus of the lineup is back, and they are all one year older, better and smarter. I have seen vast improvement in their offensive game, not just hitting but their run-production and base running as well. Offensively I saw a lot of improvement in some guys from an individual standpoint in their swings – the pitches they swing at and lay off of – just their overall game. A guy like Dylan Hardy who didn't play a lot last year, but got very valuable playing time this summer. He is bigger and stronger, and has maintained his speed. He is still one of the fastest guys in college baseball. But I think his instincts have gotten better, both in the box and running bases. Last year he was a conversion guy – he was an infielder his entire life and had never played the outfield. He is vastly improved in the outfield, to the point that he has gotten some reps in center field. Hardy is one of our better outfielders right now; he has worked extremely hard at his game both physically and mentally. With that confidence, hopefully you see a guy who plays the game free and easy and can steal some bases for us. I have seen a lot of improvement in these kids both offensively and defensively, and it has been pretty significant improvement. I was very pleased with that."

How pleased were you with the progress of the returning pitchers?
"I was pleased with it. A guy like Randy Bell, who had an 8.00-plus ERA last fall, didn't give up a run this fall in nine innings; his changeup is better. His velocity was a little better; he touched 92 a few times. His curveball was good, and his changeup has developed into a pitch that he can use – it's a very solid pitch. Matt Peacock was just a different guy. He has had some elbow issues in his career, but he seems to healthy now. He was fantastic for us this fall and lights out at times – 91 to 95 with a really good breaking ball and he threw a lot of strikes. He really competed and did well. Harrison Sprueill, who pitched some last year, made a big jump with his velocity; we're extremely excited about that. Avery Geyer, who had some injuries last year, is off to a really good start this year. He seems to have made a jump."

How are the newcomers on the mound developing?
"The new guys who came in are more talented than the guys that left, and the returners are better than they were last year. I have been pleased with their development throughout the fall. We have some depth on the mound as long as we stay healthy, but there are some new guys. Last year we returned a lot of innings – guys with stripes. This year, we don't return as many innings. You have some guys like Matt Peacock; he's a veteran, but he hasn't pitched a lot. He was great this fall, but he hasn't pitched a lot in his collegiate career. Bell threw the most innings out of any of our returners last year. Thomas Huston pitched some for us last year, and he is working on being a sidearm left-handed reliever. Joey Jones is back; he pitched some in his junior year and this is his redshirt senior year. Can he make the jump and be that lefty that you rely on? Zach McMullen is coming off of an elbow injury. He pitched a little bit his freshman year, then was sidelined with an injury. He redshirted last year and had a minor procedure done earlier this fall, and we think we have that rectified. We saw some good things from him early in his career, we just haven't seen a lot of him since then. There are some question marks on the mound, but there is also some talent. There are some new guys, but the new guys have talent. We'll see how they settle in, take to their roles and where they fit best to help us win."

What are some areas you want to continue improving in before the season opener?
"There are some question marks defensively. Paul Russo has been sidelined with a knee injury, so we haven't had a good chance to look at him. And there are some inexperienced guys over at first base. Pitching and defense have been the cornerstone of this program, and it is going to be that way as long as I am here. We're going to try to achieve that every single year and every recruiting cycle. We have been very good running the bases as well as in the short game in getting our bunts down – sacrifice bunts, safety squeezes, double steals – just the things that pressure a defense. Our kids have really worked hard at that. We work them in practice and try to put them in game situations at game speed. We do a lot of defensive and offensive situations to force them to react. Hopefully, it will seem to slow down for them in the game. We have a bunch of returners who have already been around the block with us as a program a couple of times, and they were great leaders with the younger guys and helped them understand how we want things done. It is really just about maintaining the momentum that we had coming off the fall."

How pleased were you overall with fall practice?
"This was, in my opinion, the most productive fall for me in my career – just the way the team worked and how they came out every single day. There were never any pep talks; the kids came out to work and they enjoyed practice and being around each other. This game requires a lot of work just to be average to good. You have guys who put the work in and don't really like it, you have guys who don't put the work in and then you have the rare exceptions where the guys actually love the work that is involved. This team understands the type of work that it takes, and they love the work that goes in to being a good baseball player. We have a lot of those guys. This is probably the hardest-working team, just as far as how they approach practice on their own and team practice, I have ever seen. If they can bring that into the spring and that means something, then we have a chance to be there at the end of the season and playing for something whether it is hopefully another conference championship and postseason berth. This team has the team makeup and mental makeup, and I think we are physically talented. We'll have holes like everyone else, and sometimes the areas you see as holes in the fall might be a strength in the spring and what you see as a strength might be a weakness in the spring. We have some question marks in the infield, but we have depth. The question isn't if we have enough guys, it is who the right guys are. You take the first 20-25 games and move guys around to find the best combination to go from game 26 to 56 and get to the conference tournament where you know who your team is. There will be some tough decisions, and that's what you want. The tougher the decisions are for who to play where, then the better you are."

USA will open the 2017 season Fri., Feb. 17, when it hosts Eastern Illinois at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).