MOBILE, Ala. - After taking over first place in the Sun Belt Conference standings with its series win at Arkansas State last weekend, University of South Alabama baseball will take on Nicholls State and Southern Miss in consecutive road games Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

The Jaguars will travel to Thibodeaux, La., for a 6 p.m. contest against Nicholls State Tuesday at Ray E. Didier Field, before traveling to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take on Southern Miss Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.

USA (28-16, 15-6 SBC) took the outright lead in the SBC by taking two of three games from ASU over the weekend, and now holds a one-game lead over Florida Atlantic and Western Kentucky in the conference standings.

The Jaguars split a doubleheader Saturday afternoon, falling to the Red Wolves 9-8 in 10 innings in game one, before rebounding to take game two 9-4. USA won the rubber match, 7-6, Sunday with two runs in the top of the ninth inning, marking the first time this season it has won when trailing after eight innings.

The Jags batted .310 (36-for-116) over the weekend with 24 runs against Arkansas State, who led the SBC in earned run average in conference games entering the series. USA starting pitchers averaged eight innings per outing over the weekend, and averaged 5.33 strikeouts per game.

South Alabama center fielder Taylor White recorded three hits in each game over the weekend, and batted .643 (9-for-14) in the series with two RBI, six runs and two stolen bases. White finished the week with a .667 on-base percentage while slugging .643. White leads the league in stolen bases (23), steal attempts (25), and is tied for third in sacrifice flies (5). The Jackson, Ala., native is batting .386 (22-for-57) in April, with nine RBI, 19 runs scored and nine stolen bases. White enters Tuesday's matchup with NSU with four consecutive three-hit games.

USA leads the league in runs scored (178), RBI (159), stolen bases (36) and at-bats (750) during SBC games. The Jags rank second in hits (236) in conference games.

South Alabama leads the Sun Belt in doubles (100), stolen bases (86) and steal attempts (111), and ranks second in hits (509), runs scored (368), RBI (332), at-bats (1,565) and total plate appearances (1,834). The Jags lead the conference in doubles per game (2.27) and stolen bases per game (1.95).

Third baseman Jake Overstreet leads the SBC in RBI (62), and is tied for the lead in sacrifice flies (6). Overstreet also leads the league in RBI in SBC games (28), and is tied for third in home runs (6) in conference games.

Adam Heisler ranks second in the league in stolen bases (21) and steal attempts (24). Heisler is batting .371 (26-for-70) with a home run, 20 RBI, 13 run scored and 10 stolen bases in April. He carries a 24-game on-base streak and six-game hitting streak into Tuesday's contest with NSU.

Right fielder Sean Laird is hitting .382 (21-for-55) with a home run, 13 RBI, 18 runs scored, with an on-base percentage of .528.

USA right-hander D.D. Hanks leads the league in wins (9), and is tied for the league lead in strikeouts (72) and innings pitched (74.2), while left-hander Lance Baxter ranks third in the SBC in ERA (2.94), and is tied for third in saves (5).

South Alabama enters Tuesday's matchup with Nicholls State (20-19, 10-11 Southland) with a 29-11 all-time series lead after knocking off the Colonels, 13-7, April 13 at Stanky Field. The Jags homered four times in the previous meeting while pounding out 15 hits. NSU enters Tuesday's contest 4-1 in its last five games, with wins over Sam Houston State, New Orleans and Central Arkansas. USA is 10-2 all-time in Thibodeaux, and has won four consecutive games at Nicholls State, dating back to 2006.

NSU is led by third baseman Beau Faulk, who leads the Colonels in batting average (.411), slugging percentage (.556) and on-base percentage (.500).  Designated hitter Adam Miley leads NSU in hits (50), home runs (6), triples (3), RBI (35), total bases (81) and at-bats (151).

Freshman right-hander Brent Bonvillian (2-2) is scheduled to start Tuesday's game for the Colonels against USA right-hander Lance Brown (1-3). Bonvillian enters the game with a 5.54 ERA in 26 innings pitched with 25 strikeouts and 21 walks. Opponents are batting .276 against him.

Southern Miss (21-17, 5-7 C-USA) enters Wednesday's contest on a three-game winning streak after a three-game sweep of Houston over the weekend. The Golden Eagles are 3-2 in their last five games, with their two losses coming at No. 19 Ole Miss on April 20, and at Marshall on April 18.

The Jags hold a 52-26 all-time series lead over Southern Miss after defeating the Golden Eagles, 14-13, March 30 at Stanky Field. USA pitchers Hanks, Baxter, Garrett Harris and Jarrett Bailey held USM scoreless for the final four innings in the schools' previous meeting. South Alabama is 22-14 all-time at Southern Miss, and has dropped four consecutive games in Hattiesburg, dating back to 2006.

USM is led by sophomore shortstop B.A. Vollmuth, who leads the Golden Eagles in doubles (14), home runs (8), walks (22), runs scored (41), slugging percentage (.644), and total bases (96), and is tied for the team lead in RBI (41). Second baseman Taylor Walker leads USM in batting average (.382), hits (58) and at-bats (152), and is tied with Vollmuth for the team lead in RBI.

Both games will be broadcast on WNSP 105.5 FM in Mobile, and can be accessed nationwide at www.wnsp.com.

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

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