MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team will open Sun Belt Conference play this weekend when it hosts Troy in a three-game series at Stanky Field.

Both the series opener on Friday and game two Saturday evening are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch. Sunday's series final is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch. All three games will be streamed live and available for purchase through the All-Access section of USAJaguars.com. Each game of the series will be broadcast live on WNSP 105.5 FM in Mobile, and can be accessed nationwide at WNSP.com. Live stats for every South Alabama game are available through the multimedia section of USAJaguars.com, while in-game updates are provided via Twitter at Twitter.com/SouthALBaseball.

Jaguar right-hander Kevin Hill (1-1) will make his third start of the season in Friday's conference opener. In his last two starts, a span of 15 innings, Hill has allowed five runs on 13 hits and struck out 14 batters against six walks. He struck out a career-high nine batters last week in his start against Southern Illinois. He will square off with Troy right-hander Tanner Hicks (1-2), who has posted a 2.79 ERA and recorded 32 strikeouts against six walks in 29 innings pitched.

Southpaw Locke St. John (2-0) will make his fifth start of the year in the second game of the series Saturday evening. St. John has allowed just two runs in his last two starts, which encompasses a span of 16 1/3 innings. Troy will send last season's SBC Pitcher of the Year recipient, Shane McCain (3-1), to the mound for game two. McCain has recorded 33 strikeouts against 12 walks in 26 innings this season, and will make his fifth start of the year in Saturday's contest. Neither team has announced a starting pitcher for the series finale.

While South Alabama (9-7) split its two three-game series with Troy last season, the Trojans have won three of the last four contests. Troy dropped the opener of last year's final regular-season series, but rallied to win the final two games and clinch the series and a share of the SBC title. The Trojans avoided a three-game sweep by the Jags in last year's series at Troy, which opened SBC play, with an 8-7 win in the series finale.

USA is 25-12 all-time against Troy in Mobile, and 18-12 all-time against the Trojans in regular-season contests at Stanky Field. The Jags are 6-6 against Troy under head coach Mark Calvi. The Jags carry a season-best four-game winning streak into the weekend after sweeping a three-game series from Southern Illinois last weekend at Stanky Field, and a 5-1 win over Southern Mississippi Wednesday in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Troy (9-7) enters the weekend hitting just .254 as a team, but carries a 3.08 team ERA into the series. Marc Skinner leads the Trojan bullpen in ERA (1.74), appearances (9) and saves (3) in 10 1/3 innings pitched. Trevin Hall leads Troy in batting average (.364), runs scored (13), hits (24), home runs (4), total bases (43) and slugging percentage (.652), and is tied for the team lead in RBI (12).

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).
Game notes