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Regional Bracket
Mark Calvi press conference
MOBILE, Ala. – The second-seeded University of South Alabama baseball team will open the 2013 NCAA Starkville Regional Friday at 2 p.m. against No. 3 seed Mercer at Dudy Noble Field on the campus of Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss.
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, and can be accessed at ESPN3.com. WNSP 105.5 FM in Mobile will also air the game live, and it can be accessed nationwide at WNSP.com. Live stats for every game of the Regional are available at HailState.com/NCAABaseball.
South Alabama (42-18) will give senior right-hander Anthony Izzio (3-0) the start in Friday’s contest. The right-hander is has recorded three consecutive wins in his last three appearances, one of which was a start, and has allowed just two runs in that 19 2/3-inning span. He has struck out 12 and issued only two walks in that time.
Mercer (43-16) will start right-hander Brandon Barker (7-1) who has a 2.35 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 26 walks in 84 1/3 innings pitched this season. Opponents are hitting .251 against him.
USA is 34-48 all-time in NCAA Regionals, and is appearing in its 25th NCAA Regional this weekend and first since 2006. The Jaguars are 6-2 all-time against Mercer, and defeated the Bears at Stanky Field to open the 2009 season in the last meeting between the schools. South Alabama has never faced Mercer in the postseason.
The Jaguars, who are ranked 27th in this week’s Collegiate Baseball poll, enter the weekend with a .302 team batting average and 4.21 ERA. Jeff DeBlieux leads the nation with 10 triples, and is hitting .407 with four doubles, five triples, two home runs, 10 RBI and 11 RBI during his current 14-game hitting streak.
Mercer carries a .301 team batting average and 4.06 ERA into the game. Chesny Young leads the Bears in batting average (.394), hits (100), triples (3) and on-base percentage (.453). Mercer won the Atlantic Sun regular-season championship with a 20-7 league record.
“We’re excited to be here in Starkville,” head coach Mark Calvi said. “Our guys had a great year. We finished as Sun Belt Conference champions, and for a team that went 23-34 last year and endured so many injuries – I couldn’t be more thrilled for a great group of guys and seniors. It’s been a fun ride since I got here in 2010. It has been a lot of work, but it’s been a great ride and our guys are excited to be here.
“Regionals are supposed to be hard. It doesn’t matter who is in it. You have to go and win, and take care of yourselves. We need to be a good version of ourselves. This is a great field, and whoever wins this Regional will earn it because there are some very good teams in this field.”
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
—USA—
Starkville Regional hosted by Mississippi State
Game 2 - #1 Mississippi St. (43-17) vs. #4 Central Arkansas (39-20), 7 p.m., ESPN3
Game 1 - #2 South Alabama (42-18) vs. #3 Mercer (43-16), 2 p.m., ESPN3
Game 3 – Loser G1 vs. Loser G2, Sat., June 1, 2 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3
Game 4 – Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, Sat., June 1, 7 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3
Game 5 – Loser G4 vs. Winner G3, Sun., June 2, 2 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3
Game 6 – Winner G4 vs. Winner G5, Sun., June 2, 7 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3
Game 7 – Winner G6 vs. Loser G6, Mon., June 3, 2 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3 (if necessary)
Game notes
