MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team will begin the second half of its Sun Belt Conference schedule this weekend when it hosts Louisiana at Lafayette in a three-game set at Stanky Field.
The series will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Friday evening, followed by game two Saturday at 6:30 p.m. First pitch for Sunday’s series finale will be at 1 p.m.
Web stream for all three games will be available through the All-Access section at www.usajaguars.com. Each game will be broadcast on WNSP 105.5 FM in Mobile, and can be accessed nationwide at www.usajaguars.com. Live stats will also be available through the multimedia section at www.usajaguars.com. In-game Twitter updates can be accessed at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports.
South Alabama (14-23, 8-7 SBC) enters the series coming off of two straight wins after knocking off Southern Mississippi, 8-7, Wednesday at Stanky Field and taking the final game of last weekend’s series at UALR.
The Jaguars lead the SBC in nine offensive categories in league games entering the weekend: batting average (.330), hits (180), doubles (30), home runs (24), runs scored (128), RBI (117), total bases (284), slugging percentage (.520) and on-base percentage (.402).
Dustin Dalken leads the league in batting average (.447) and slugging percentage (.723) in conference games. Nick Zaharion is tied for the league lead with five homers and 40 total bases in SBC contests, and ranks second with 21 RBI in league games. He is third in the league with 37 total RBI.
USA left-hander Phillip Byrd (3-2) will make his seventh start of the season, and will square off against ULL right-hander Jordan Nicholson (3-4). With Friday’s appearance, Byrd will tie former Jaguar All-American Mike Zimmerman for the school record in appearances (86).
Payton Gardner (0-2) will make his fourth start of the season Saturday, and his first weekend start since Feb. 25 against Samford. In his last start, which came on April 10 at Mississippi State, Gardner tossed 6 2/3 shutout innings and allowed only two hits while matching a career high with seven strikeouts. Ragin’ Cajun left-hander Chris Griffit (4-2) is scheduled to start Saturday’s contest for Louisiana-Lafayette.
Jaguar right-hander Jarron Cito (4-3) is scheduled to make his 10th start of the season in Sunday’s series finale. Cito struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings last Sunday at UALR to earn his fourth win of the year. Louisiana-Lafayette left-hander Jordan Harrison (3-2) will make his fifth start of the season for the Ragin’ Cajuns in Sunday’s contest. Harrison ranks third in the SBC in opposing batting average (.218), and is sixth in ERA (2.82).
USA enters the series with a .270 team batting average, while the Ragin’ Cajuns enter with a .258 team average.
Louisiana-Lafayette (17-19, 6-9 SBC) defeated Northwestern State 10-8 Wednesday, after dropping two of three games to Florida International last weekend in Lafayette, La.
Ryan Leonards leads Louisiana-Lafayette in batting average (.349), runs scored (24), hits (44) and on-base percentage (.430). Leonards ranks eighth in the conference in batting average. Dylan Butler leads the Ragin’ Cajuns in homers (6) and RBI.
South Alabama holds a 54-34 all-time lead over Louisiana-Lafayette in a series that dates back to 1975. The Jags have won six of the last nine contests against the Ragin’ Cajuns, and are 30-10 all-time in Mobile. USA is 25-10 all-time against Louisiana-Lafayette at Stanky Field.
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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Game Notes
