MOBILE, Ala. – The 23rd-ranked University of South Alabama baseball team will close its regular season when it travels to Troy, Ala., for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series with Troy.

The series will open with game one at 6 p.m.Thursday at Riddle-Pace Field, followed by game two at 6 p.m. Friday. The series finale is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday.

South Alabama (37-16, 20-7 SBC) enters the final weekend of the regular season atop the SBC standings. Two Jaguar wins at Troy, or two losses by Louisiana-Lafayette this weekend would give USA its 16th Sun Belt championship, its second straight league title and the third in four years under head coach Mark Calvi.

Troy (30-23, 15-12 SBC) swept a three-game series at Georgia State last weekend. The Trojans entered that series with a four-game losing streak after dropping the final two games of the Louisiana-Monroe series and falling to Auburn and No. 3 Mississippi State in midweek contests. Troy enters the series with a .265 team batting average. Joey Denison leads the team in hits (63), doubles (14), home runs (5), total bases (94) and slugging percentage (.485).

The Trojan pitching staff carries a 3.62 team ERA into the series, which ranks third in the Sun Belt. Troy reliever Corey Childress ranks tied for third in the conference in saves (10), and has recorded 42 strikeouts to 12 walks in 42 2/3 innings pitched this season.

South Alabama holds a 41-35 all-time lead over Troy in a series that dates back to USA's inaugural season of 1965. The Jaguars fell to the Trojans 2-1 in 10 innings at Stanky Field in the only matchup between the schools last season. USA has dropped three of the last four meetings in the series dating back to 2014.

USA right-hander Kevin Hill (8-1) will make his 14th and final regular-season start as a Jaguar in the series opener. Hill leads the SBC in strikeouts (114) and innings pitched (104.2), ranks tied for second in wins and is third in opposing batting average (.207) and ERA (2.24). His 114 strikeouts ranks fifth nationally, and he needs just 14 to pass former Jaguar All-American Mike Zimmerman (327) for third on the career strikeouts list. 

Troy will send right-hander Grant Bennett (8-2) to the mound in the series opener. In 13 starts this season, Bennett has struck out 68 batters against 17 walks and posted a 1.99 ERA in 90 1/3 innings pitched. Bennett enters the series as the SBC leader in ERA, and tied with Hill for second in the league in wins.

Jaguar right-hander Randy Bell (5-1) will make his ninth start of the year in game two on Friday. Bell has struck out 46 batters against 15 walks in 65 1/3 innings this season, and has pitched three complete games while also combining for one shutout. He carries a 2.76 ERA into the contest, and has limited opponents to a .226 batting average.

Trojan right-hander Lucas Brown (7-4) will make his 14th start of the season in game two. Brown ranks ninth in the SBC in ERA (2.77), and has recorded 61 strikeouts against 23 walks in 87 2/3 innings while also tossing one complete game and combining for one shutout.

USA right-hander Austin Bembnowski (6-2) will get his 13th start of the year in the series finale. Bembnowski carries a 3.77 ERA into the contest, and has 42 strikeouts to 27 walks in 57 1/3 innings pitched. He has also combined for one shutout and limited the opposition to a .226 batting average. 

Troy right-hander Houston Mabray (4-3) will start the series finale. Mabray has made eight starts this season, and has 26 strikeouts against 13 walks in 53 innings with a 3.40 ERA.

South Alabama leads the SBC in runs scored (340), RBI (301), walks (285), stolen bases (98) and sacrifice flies (29), and ranks third in on-base percentage (.378). USA ranks fourth nationally in walks and ninth in stolen bases entering the series.

 The Jaguar pitching staff ranks second in the conference in ERA (3.38), runs allowed (212) and earned runs allowed (179). USA also leads the Sun Belt with a .977 fielding percentage.

Drew LaBounty leads the SBC in walks (49), ranks second in on-base percentage (.460) and sacrifice flies (6), fourth in stolen bases (14) and eighth in runs scored (41). Cole Billingsley leads the league in stolen bases (30), which ranks 10th nationally, and sacrifice flies (8) in which he ranks third in the country.

Travis Swaggerty ranks second in the Sun Belt in stolen bases (17) and walks (38), fifth in on-base percentage (.435) and seventh in runs scored (43). Danny Martinez ranks fourth in the conference in RBI (46), while Jared Barnes is seventh in slugging percentage (.506) and Adam Wolfe ranks tied for seventh in home runs (7).

Left-hander Shane McKinley ranks fifth in the league in saves (7), while southpaw James Traylor is tied for 10th in the SBC in wins (5).

All three games of the series will be streamed live and available for purchase through TroyTrojans.com. Each game will be broadcast live on 99.5 FM The Jag in Mobile, and also available via the iHeartRadio app. Live stats for every Jag game are available at USAJaguars.com, while in-game updates are provided through the Jaguar baseball Twitter account (@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).