MOBILE, Ala.  – The University of South Alabama baseball team will head to Starkville, Miss., Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. contest with Mississippi State at Dudy Noble Field.

The game will be broadcast live 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, and in-game updates can be found at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports.

Jaguar right-hander Payton Gardner (0-2) will make his third start of the season, while Mississippi State right-hander Brandon Woodruff (0-0) will make his first start of the year.

Gardner has struck out 23 batter in 19 innings pitched, and Woodruff has nine strikeouts in five appearances which spans 7 1/3 innings.

Mississippi State (20-12) holds a 40-24 all-time series lead entering Tuesday’s contest, and a 22-13 series lead at Dudy Noble Field.

South Alabama (12-20) has dropped two consecutive games against the Bulldogs, and fell to MSU 15-9 last season at Stanky Field. The Jags last defeated Mississippi State in 2009, when they took a 17-9 decision at Stanky Field.

USA is 7-10 in road games this year after defeating then No. 30 Florida Atlantic 7-4 Sunday afternoon in Boca Raton, Fla. The win snapped a five-game losing skid, and marked the Jaguars’ first win in the state of Florida since 2009 when it took the final game of a three-game set at FAU. South Alabama has committed just one error in its last five games.

Nick Zaharion ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference with 33 RBI, and leads South Alabama in batting average (.331), hits (39), total bases (66), slugging percentage (.559) and on-base percentage (.410). He is tied with Jordan Patterson for the team lead in home runs with six.

MSU is 18-6 at home this season after taking two of three games from Vanderbilt in Starkville last weekend. Daryl Norris leads the Bulldogs with a .409 batting average, while Adam Frazier leads the team in hits (46) doubles (11) and total bases (57).

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).