MOBILE, Ala. – The 20th-ranked University of South Alabama baseball team will travel to Lafayette, La., this weekend for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series with Louisiana at Lafayette at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.

The first two games of the series will begin at 6 p.m., with the finale set for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.

Jaguar right-hander Jarron Cito (4-2, 5.21) will make his 13th start of the season in the opener, and will square off with ULL right-hander Austin Robichaux (7-2, 2.92). Matt Bell (5-0, 2.59) will put his perfect record on the line in Saturday’s contest, while Cajun southpaw Cody Boutte (8-2, 4.66) will get the start for ULL. USA left-hander Jacob Noble (5-2, 2.59) will start the series finale. ULL has not announced a starter for Sunday’s game.

Bell and Noble are tied for the SBC lead in ERA (2.59) entering the weekend, and Bell leads the league in opposing batting average (.210). The Jaguar pitching staff leads the league in ERA (3.90), innings pitched (450), strikeouts (436), wins (37) and saves (20). USA is second in the league in opposing batting average (.249) and walks allowed (150). Kyle Bartsch ranks second in the conference with 11 saves.

South Alabama (37-13, 17-7 SBC) sits atop the Sun Belt standings entering the weekend, and has won 10 of its last 11 games. USA has won five consecutive SBC series, and has swept its last two conference road series. The Jaguars are 15-7 in road games this season.

Offensively, the Jaguars lead the SBC in sacrifice flies (26), hit by pitch (72), at-bats (1,760) and total plate appearances (2,122), and rank second in hits (525) and walks (228). USA is third in the league in batting average (.298), on-base percentage (.395), runs scored (355) and RBI (320).

Jordan Patterson leads the Sun Belt in on-base percentage (.500), ranks second in the league in walks (35) and hit by pitch (16), tied for second in doubles (20) and runs scored (54). He ranks fifth in the conference in hits (68) and batting average (.368). Patterson ranks second in batting average in SBC games at .415, and leads the league with 14 doubles in conference contests. He enters the weekend just two hits shy of 200 for his career.

Jeff DeBlieux leads the SBC in triples (6), and ranks ninth nationally. Dustin Dalken carries a team-best nine game hitting streak into the weekend, followed by Nolan Earley and Robby Campbell who have hit safely in six straight contests.

ULL (34-15, 15-9 SBC) carries a three-game winning streak into the series after sweeping Arkansas State last weekend in Lafayette. The Cajuns lead the nation in home runs (57), and have homered in 12 consecutive games.

Dex Kjerstad leads the SBC in batting average (.377) and hits (72), while Tyler Girouard ranks fourth in the league with a .369 batting average.

The Cajuns lead the Sun Belt in slugging percentage (.498), hits (543), batting average (.318), homers and total bases (850), and are second in the league in stolen bases (58).

USA holds a 56-35 all-time lead over Louisiana at Lafayette in a series that dates back to 1975. The Jaguars have won three of the last four series, dating back to 2009, and are 17-17 all-time at ULL.

All three games will be broadcast live on WNSP 105.5 FM in Mobile, and can be accessed nationwide at WNSP.com. Live streaming will also be available for each game through the All-Access section at RaginCajuns.com. Live stats for every South Alabama baseball game are available through the multimedia section at USAJaguars.com, while Twitter updates will be provided at Twitter.com/SouthALBaseball.

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).