MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team will close its 2011 regular season road schedule this weekend when it travels to Bowling Green, Ky., for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series with Western Kentucky.

South Alabama (25-23, 12-12 SBC) enters the weekend on a three-game win streak after sweeping Arkansas State last weekend at Stanky Field. The Jags carry a .299 team batting average into the weekend series at Western Kentucky, where they dropped two of three games last season.  USA is 3-2 in its last five games, while WKU also enters at 3-2 in its last five.

The Jaguars sit in sixth place in the SBC standings heading into the weekend, while the Hilltoppers are in a three-way tie for third with Florida Atlantic and Louisiana-Lafayette.

USA right-hander Garrett Harris (6-3), the Sun Belt leader in strikeouts (76) and innings pitched (89.2), will take the mound for the Jags in Friday’s 6 p.m. contest at Nick Denes Field. He will go against WKU lefty Tanner Perkins (6-3), who ranks third in the league in ERA (2.24)

Saturday’s 3 p.m. contest will feature Jaguar right-hander Dustin Crenshaw (6-1) on the mound for South Alabama, and freshman right-hander Justin Hageman (8-4) on the hill for the Hilltoppers.  

The series will conclude Sunday at 1 p.m. with Carlton Paris (3-4) scheduled to make his 10th start of the season for South Alabama. In his last outing, Paris pitched his first career complete game while striking out a career-high eight batters. WKU has not announced a starting pitcher for Sunday’s contest.

Brent Tanner leads South Alabama with a .357 batting average, and ranks in the top five in the conference in on-base percentage (.453) and RBI (43). Taylor White ranks third in the SBC in hits with 73, and ranks second in the league with 18 stolen bases. White is tied for sixth nationally with 217 at-bats, which leads the Sun Belt.

Logan Kirkland leads the conference with nine sacrifice flies, and ranks second nationally. Nolan Earley is tied for second in the league in doubles (19).

Western Kentucky (29-19, 14-10 SBC) enters the weekend with a .307 team batting average, which ranks second in the SBC, led by Kes Carter. Carter ranks third in the SBC in batting average (.368) and fifth in slugging percentage (.553). Matt Rice leads the Hilltoppers with eight home runs, which is tied for fourth in the conference. Rice is tied for third in the league in total bases (112), and ranks sixth in the SBC in slugging percentage (.552).

The Hilltopper pitching staff enters with a 4.12 team ERA, while opponents are hitting .271 against them. WKU is 18-5 at Nick Denes Field this season, while South Alabama is 6-13 in road games and 3-9 in SBC contests on the road.

All three games of the series will be broadcast on WNSP 105.5 FM in Mobile, and can be accessed nationwide at www.wnsp.com. Live stats for all three games will 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).



All-Time List
Third baseman Jake Overstreet continues his climb up the career records list at South Alabama. The Thomasville, Ala., native needs to appear in just three games to pass former Jaguar David Doss (212) for fourth on the all-time list, as he enters the weekend with 210 games played. Overstreet also needs three runs scored to pass Luis Gonzalez (176) for fourth on the career list at USA, and needs only two RBI to pass Mike Mordecai (174) for fifth on the all-time list. Overstreet enters the weekend with 174 career runs scored and 173 RBI.


Quality Starts
Harris enters Friday’s contest with seven quality starts this season, and has pitched into at least the seventh inning in 11 of his 12 starts. Dustin Crenshaw has six quality starts to his credit this season, while Carlton Paris has posted four quality starts with two in his last starts on the mound.