LAFAYETTE, La. -- Senior centerfielder Ray Kruml was named second-team All-Sun Belt Conference Tuesday night, as the league announced results of coaches' voting on the eve of the conference tournament. South Alabama (31-24, 15-15) opens play Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. as the No. 7 seed, facing No. 2 New Orleans in the second game of the day.
Kruml sits atop the team in batting average at .353, while hitting seven home runs and driving in 42 runs. He holds a .424 on-base percentage and leads the Sun Belt Conference in stolen bases with 31. The native of Lisle, Ill., leads the Jaguars in multiple-hit games with 28, while registering more than one RBI on seven occasions.
As a team, the Jaguars are batting .311 and have a 6.29 ERA, while the fielding percentage is among the league leaders at .970.
Ryne Jernigan has provided most of the team’s scoring production with 16 home runs and 70 runs batted in. David Doss is second in both home runs (10) and RBIs (44).
On the mound, Kevin Nabors and Eric Gonzalez each have six wins, while Lance Baxter and Brandon Sage have also started during the conference season.
The tournament has a double-elimination format for two separate brackets, with No. 3 Troy and No. 6 seed Louisiana-Lafayette joining the Jaguars and Privateers. Louisiana-Monroe, Florida Atlantic, Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee are on the other side. The two bracket winners will meet Saturday afternoon in a single-game championship, which will be televised by CSS and Cox Sports Television.
The entire tournament will be shown live over the internet on www.sunbeltsports.org, while South Alabama's games will be broadcast on WNSP Radio (105.5-FM)
