MOBILE, Ala. – The third-seeded University of South Alabama baseball team will open the 2016 NCAA Tallahassee (Fla.) Regional against No. 2 seed Southern Mississippi at 11 a.m. Friday at Dick Howser Stadium.

USA (40-20) will send right-hander Kevin Hill (8-1) to the mound for his 16th start of the season. Hill, who was named a Louisville Slugger first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball on Thursday, was also voted the 2016 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year – marking the first time in the league's history that a player has twice earned the award – as well as first-team all-SBC. Hill led the conference in strikeouts for the second consecutive season, and also led the league in innings pitched.

He has tossed four complete games this year while also combining for one shutout. Hill enters this weekend's NCAA Tallahassee (Fla.) Regional ranked fourth in career strikeouts (325), and needs just three to pass former Jaguar All-American Mike Zimmerman (327) for third on the all-time list. In 15 starts this season, Hill has struck out 125 batters and issued 29 walks in 117 1/3 innings pitched and recorded a 2.53 ERA. 

USM (40-18) will counter with left-hander Kirk McCarty (7-1), who enters the game with a 3.38 ERA and 85 strikeouts against 27 walks in 82 2/3 innings pitched this season. McCarty has tossed one complete game and one shutout, while also combining for an additional shutout. 

The winner of Friday's contest will square off with the winner of No. 4 Alabama State and No. 1 Florida State at 5 p.m. (CT) Saturday, while the elimination game for the losing teams in games one and two is scheduled for an 11 a.m. (CT) first pitch Saturday.

South Alabama is 60-32 all-time against Southern Miss, 14-2 against Alabama State and 27-36-1 all-time against Florida State. USA won a pair of games against USM earlier this season, with one at Stanky Field and the other at MGM Park in Biloxi, Miss.

The Golden Eagles won the Conference USA Tournament, and finished the conference season in third place with a 20-10 record. USM is 12-14 in games played away from Hattiesburg, Miss., this season. Tim Lynch leads the team in batting average (.366), RBI (57), walks (36) and on-base percentage (.465). USM enters the weekend batting .306 as a team, while the pitching staff carries a 4.19 team ERA into Friday's game.

"They (Southern Miss) have a scary offense and some very good arms," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "That is evident in what they have done in a very good Conference USA. We knew how good Southern Miss was this year. You just have to play well this time of year. Nobody is the same team; we're not the same team that played Southern Miss two months ago and they aren't the same team that played us. But it is the second season, and we have a ton of respect for (Southern Miss head coach) Scott Berry and his (coaching) staff and team. At this time of year, it comes down to who plays well and does the things to help their team advance. Southern Miss will be ready for tournament play, as our guys will, and we are looking forward to it."

USA enters the weekend batting .263 as a team, while the pitching staff carries a 3.43 team ERA into the regional. The Jaguars also lead the SBC with a .978 fielding percentage in 60 games.

"Our guys have done a good job of putting themselves and this program in a position to be rewarded with a postseason berth," Calvi said. "We have had a lot of big wins; our kids have had a phenomenal season. I am very excited for the University of South Alabama, our administrators – (Director of Athletics) Dr. Joel Erdmann, President Tony Waldrop and everyone involved – our coaching staff, the players, parents and fans who have been with us and the seniors who have been with us through the good and bad times. This is the culmination of a lot of hard work and effort by a lot of people; it has been a complete collective effort at the University of South Alabama. We're really excited to be here." 

South Alabama is 35-50 in 25 NCAA Regional appearances, and is 1-2 under head coach Mark Calvi. The Jags' last trip to the NCAA postseason came at the NCAA Starkville (Miss.) Regional in 2013. USA is 3-6 all-time against Florida State in the NCAA postseason, and 0-2 against Southern Miss. The Jaguars have never faced Alabama State in the postseason. South Alabama competed in the 2005 NCAA Tallahassee Regional, but was eliminated after two consecutive losses to Auburn and Army.

Every game of the NCAA Tallahassee (Fla.) Regional will be broadcast live by ESPN3, and available via WatchESPN. In-game updates are also provided through the South Alabama 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).