MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team will host Southern Illinois in a three-game series this weekend at Stanky Field, which will open with game one Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Game two is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, while the series finale is set for 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday afternoon.
All three games will be streamed live and are available for purchase through the All-Access section at USAJaguars.com. Each game will also 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, and in-game updates are provided via Twitter at Twitter.com/SouthALBaseball.
South Alabama (5-7) dropped two midweek games this week with losses at Jackson State and at No. 8 Mississippi State. The Jaguars will be in search of their second series win of the season after they took two of three games at No. 24 Arkansas last weekend in Fayetteville, Ark.
USA enters the weekend batting .249 as a team, while the pitching staff carries a 3.48 team ERA into the series. Hayden Jones leads the Jaguars with a .333 batting average after a three-hit performance at No. 8 MSU Wednesday. Adam Ballew carries a seven-game hitting streak – which began in the final game of the Jags' series at New Orleans – and 12-game on-base streak into the weekend. Ballew has hit safely in 10 of 12 games this season.
Right-hander Brandon Hallford enters the series with a 9 1/3 scoreless-innings streak, and is tied for third in the Sun Belt with three saves.
SIU (8-3) carries a three-game winning streak into the weekend series after taking two of three games against Northern Illinois last weekend, and earning a 7-6 win over Belmont Wednesday night. The Salukis are hitting .246 as a team, but have posted a 2.55 team ERA through their first 11 games of the season. Cody Daily leads SIU in batting average (.333), while Donny Duschinsky leads the team in home runs (3) and RBI (10).
South Alabama will send right-hander Kevin Hill (1-1) to the mound in the series opener, while Locke St. John (1-0) will make his fourth start of the season in Saturday's contest. The Jags have not announced a starter for the series finale.
SIU will start two right-handers in the first two games of the series. Sam Coonrod (0-1) will start the opener while Todd Eaton (0-1) will go in game two. Left-hander Aaron Hauge (1-1) will start the series finale.
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).
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