MOBILE, Ala.  – The University of South Alabama baseball team will play its first Sun Belt Conference road series this weekend when it travels to Monroe, La., for a three-game set against Louisiana at Monroe.

The series will kick off Friday at 6 p.m. at Warhawk Field, followed by game two Saturday at 6 p.m., and will conclude Sunday at 1 p.m.

South Alabama (6-14, 2-1 SBC) captured its first series win of the season last weekend in its SBC opening series against Troy at Stanky Field. The Jaguars lead the SBC in seven offensive categories in league games, including batting average (.371), hits (39), runs scored (29), RBI (26) and on-base percentage (.427).

Nick Zaharion and Dustin Dalken lead the SBC in batting average (.583) and hits (7) in league contests. Zaharion ranks second in on-base percentage (.643) in SBC games, and is tied for second with seven RBI.

Zaharion and Jordan Patterson have reached base in 17 consecutive games entering the weekend. Whitt Dorsey has reached base safely in 11 straight games, and carries a nine-game hitting streak into the weekend series. Dorsey leads USA with a .350 batting average and three stolen bases.

Left-hander Phillip Byrd (2-0) is scheduled to make his third start of the season in the series opener Friday evening. Byrd carries a 2.49 ERA into the contest, and has struck out 24 batters in 25 1/3 innings this season. He has earned wins in his last two starts, and pitched a career-high 7 2/3 innings in last Friday’s win over Troy. ULM left-hander Randy Zeigler (2-3) is scheduled to start Friday’s game for the Warhawks. Zeigler has a 2.02 ERA and has struck out 39 batters in 35 2/3 innings this season. He leads the conference in strikeouts, and is tied for the league lead in innings pitched.

USA right-hander Anthony Izzio (3-0) will start Saturday’s contest, and has a 2.12 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched. Izzio has recorded quality starts in four of his five starts this season. Cale Wine (4-1) will make his fifth start of the season Saturday for ULM. Wine has struck out 18 and issued 15 walks in 31 innings pitched this season.

Jarron Cito (1-2) is scheduled to start Sunday’s finale for the Jags. Cito has a 5.70 ERA and has struck out 20 batters in 23 2/3 innings.

South Alabama holds an 18-10 all-time series lead over ULM after taking two of three games last season at Stanky Field. The Jags are 2-3 all-time at Louisiana-Monroe, and swept a two-game set in 2009 the last time the schools met in Monroe. USA has won four consecutive SBC series over ULM.

Louisiana-Monroe (13-8, 1-2 SBC) dropped two of three games to Louisiana-Lafayette last weekend to open SBC play. The Warhawks are 3-2 in their last five games with wins over Tulane, Tennessee and ULL.

ULM is batting .243 as a team, and carries a 3.73 team ERA into the weekend series. The Warhawks are last in the conference in batting average, and second in the league in strikeouts (166) offensively.

ULM’s Joey Rapp is tied for third in the conference in home runs (5), and tied for fifth in hits (28). Rapp ranks second in the league in total bases (49) and slugging percentage (.645). Les Aulds leads the Warhawks with 11 stolen bases, which ranks third in the SBC.

All three games will be broadcast on WNSP 105.5 FM in Mobile, and can be accessed nationwide at www.wnsp.com. Live stats will be available through the multimedia section at www.usajaguars.com. Updates for each game will also be available at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports.

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).




Game Notes