MOBILE, Ala. – After winning two of three games last weekend at the Dairy Queen Classic in Tucson, Ariz., University of South Alabama baseball will return to action Tue., March 8, with a 3 p.m. contest against Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Miss.

South Alabama knocked off Minnesota, picked to win the Big 10 Conference in the coaches’ preseason poll, on Friday, and closed the weekend with a 14-3 win over Washington State in which the Jaguars pounded out a season-high 25 hits.

USA (7-4) enters Tuesday’s matchup with Southern Miss batting .302 as a team, while the Golden Eagles are hitting .285. The Jaguars are averaging nearly 12 hits per game over their last five games.

Jaguar right fielder Nolan Earley leads South Alabama in batting average (.409), hits (18), doubles (6), total bases (26), slugging percentage (.591) and on-base percentage (.490).

Jake Overstreet leads the Jaguars in home runs (2) and RBI (14). Overstreet passed former Jaguar Brett Parker for sixth on the career doubles list with a three-run double in the ninth inning of Sunday’s win over Washington State, and enters Tuesday’s contest with  47 career doubles.

South Alabama right-hander Carlton Paris (0-1) will make his second career start Tuesday, while Southern Miss right-hander Boomer Scarborough (0-0) will make his first start of the season.

Paris enters the game with an 11.57 ERA in 4 2/3 innings pitched, and has allowed six runs on five hits while striking out four and issuing four walks. He made his first career start last Tuesday in the Jaguars’ 11-2 loss at Nicholls State.

Scarborough enters Tuesday’s matchup with a 5.40 ERA in 3 1/3 innings pitched, and has allowed two runs on two hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Opponents are hitting just .182 against the right-hander.

Southern Miss (8-3) split a pair of games with Louisiana-Lafayette over the weekend, knocking off the Ragin’ Cajuns 6-5 in game one before falling 8-4 in the second game.

The Golden Eagles were picked to finish second in Conference USA in the league’s preseason coaches poll, but received two first-place votes. Right-handers Todd McInnis and Collin Cargill, and shortstop B.A. Vollmuth were named to the preseason C-USA all-conference team.

Southern Miss enters Tuesday’s contest tied with UAB for the third-best record in Conference USA.

Tyler Koelling leads the Golden Eagles in batting average (.395), hits (17) and on-base percentage (.449), while Vollmuth leads USM in RBI (11) and slugging percentage (.568), and is tied with Mark Ellis for the team lead in home runs with two.

Tuesday’s contest will mark the 80th all-time meeting between the schools, with South Alabama holding a 52-27 series lead over Southern Miss.

Southern Miss won the last meeting between the schools 15-5 last season in Hattiesburg, however, the teams split the season series a game apiece. South Alabama won the first meeting between the two last year 14-13 at Stanky Field.

Tuesday’s game will be broadcast live on 105.5 FM WNSP in Mobile, and can be accessed nationwide at www.wnsp.com.

Live stats for the game will also be available at www.usajaguars.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).

-USA-