Game notes


MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team will face its first ranked opponent of the season this weekend when it travels to Fayetteville, Ark., for a three-game series with No. 22 Arkansas.

The series will kick off at 3:05 p.m. Friday afternoon at Baum Stadium at George Cole Field with Jaguar right-hander Matt Bell (1-0) squaring off with Arkansas southpaw Jalen Beeks (2-0). Game two will feature USA left-hander Locke St. John facing Razorback right-hander Chris Oliver (1-0). South Alabama has not announced a starter for Sunday's finale, scheduled for 1:05 p.m., but Arkansas will send right-hander Trey Killian (0-0) out for the final game of the series.

All three games will be streamed live and will be available for purchase at ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Each game will also be carried live on ArkansasRazorbacks.com, while Saturday's game is scheduled to be broadcast live on WNSP 105.5 FM in Mobile. Live stats for every South Alabama baseball game are available through the multimedia section at USAJaguars.com, and in-game Twitter updates are provided at Twitter.com/SouthALBaseball.

Arkansas holds a 1-0 series lead over South Alabama. The Razorbacks won the only meeting between the schools – an 8-7 decision at Stanky Field as part of the 2006 Jaguar Invitational.

Arkansas (6-0) swept its first two series of the season, taking three games each from Appalachian State and Eastern Illinois. The Razorbacks enter the weekend with a .277 team batting average, while the Arkansas pitching staff has posted a 2.17 team ERA through the first six games of the season. South Alabama (3-4) enters the series with a .287 team batting average and 2.95 team ERA. USA is tied with Louisiana-Lafayette for the top fielding percentage (.986) in the Sun Belt Conference heading into the weekend. The Jags have committed four errors through the first seven games of the year.

Matt Wojciechowski carries his team-best seven-game hitting streak into the series, while Bud Collura has hit safely in three straight games. Wojciechowski has doubled in three consecutive contests, and leads South Alabama in batting average (.346), doubles (3), total bases (14) and slugging percentage (.538).

Brian Anderson leads the Razorbacks in batting average (.458), hits (11), total bases (17), and slugging percentage (.708), and shares the team lead in home runs (1), doubles (3) and RBI (9).

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).