Game Notes

South Alabama Jaguars
(9-8)
vs.
Georgia Southern Eagles
(9-7)

March 17-19 • J.I. Clements Stadium • Statesboro, Ga.


Media Information
On the Radio:  Jaguar baseball games are broadcast live in Mobile on 99.5 FM The Jag, and also available via the iHeartRadio app. 

Live Streaming:  All three games will be broadcast by ESPN3 and available via WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.

Live Stats:  Live stats for every South Alabama baseball game are available through the multimedia section of USAJaguars.com.

Twitter:  Follow the official Twitter account of South Alabama baseball — 
@SouthALBaseball — for news and updates.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Fri., March 17
USA - RHP  Randy Bell (0-1)
GS - LHP  Evan Challenger (0-3)

Sat., March 18
USA - LHP  Thomas Huston (0-1)
GS - RHP  Brian Eichhorn (1-1)

Sun., March 19
USA - RHP  Tyler Carr (0-0)
GS - RHP  Chase Cohen (1-1)

All-Time Series
South Alabama holds a 9-5 all-time lead over Georgia Southern in a series that began in 1987. The Eagles won three of the four meetings between the schools last season, with USA's lone win coming in a 10-0 victory in the series finale of the three-game set played at Stanky Field. GS eliminated the Jags from last year's SBC Tournament in San Marcos, Texas, with a 4-0 win in the elimination round.

Jag Notes
• South Alabama enters the weekend as the Sun Belt Conference leader in on-base percentage (.406) and fielding percentage (.984), with the latter ranking 11th nationally. USA ranks second in the league in batting average (.293), home runs (15), walks (92), runs scored (130) and triples (5). 

• Center fielder Travis Swaggerty saw his 13-game hit streak come to an end in Tuesday's loss to Southeastern Louisiana. It marked the first game this season that Swaggerty has failed to hit safely.

SWAGGERTY IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
Travis Swaggerty enters the weekend leading the SBC in OBP (.607) and batting average (.467), which rank second and seventh, respectively, nationally.

SWAGGERTY NAMED SBC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Center fielder Travis Swaggerty was named the SBC Player of the Week earlier this week after hitting .556 (10-for-18) with two doubles, one home run, nine RBI, four runs scored and three stolen bases while posting a .636 on-base percentage and .833 slugging percentage in five games last week. He recorded two multiple-hit games, including a career-high four hits at Auburn along with a career-high four RBI, and finished with three hits and three RBI last Sunday against Mississippi State. Swaggerty hit safely in all five games last week to extend his hitting streak to 13 games and drove in runs in three of five contests, all of which were multi-RBI performances.

HUSTON LEADS LEAGUE
Left-hander Thomas Huston enters the series as the SBC leader in ERA (0.96). In 18 2/3 innings pitched this season, Huston has allowed just two earned runs - both of which came during last weekend's 2-0 loss at Mississippi State.

TWO OR FEWER TO WIN
USA is 4-1 when allowing two or fewer runs, but is 5-7 when surrendering three or more. 

TWO-OUT RBI
Of USA's 118 team RBI, 61 have come with two outs. Eddie Paparella and Travis Swaggerty lead the team with 10 two-out RBI each this season.

LEADING AFTER SEVEN
USA is 7-0 when leading after seven innings this season, but is 1-8 when trailing or tied after seven frames.

JAGS WITH BASES LOADED
South Alabama is hitting .531 (17-for-32) with the bases loaded this season, led by Travis Swaggerty and Eddie Paparella who each have three hits with the bases full.

RUNNERS IN SCORING POSITION
The Jags are batting .325 (63-for-194) with runners in scoring position, led by Eddie Paparella who is hitting .556 (10-for-18) with RISP.

TEN OR MORE RUNS
USA is 4-0 when scoring 10 or more runs this season and 7-3 when scoring six or more, but is 2-5 when scoring five or less. The Jags have scored four or fewer runs in four of their last five games.

JAGS COMING OFF SEASON HIGH IN ERRORS
USA committed a season-high three errors in Tuesday's loss to Southeastern Louisiana, yet still leads the SBC in fielding percentage (.984). The Jaguars entered Tuesday's contest as the nation's leader in fielding percentage at .988 prior to their three-error game.

HITTING, ON-BASE STREAKS
Shortstop Drew LaBounty carries a team-best six-game hitting streak into this weekend's series, while infielder Will Luft has hit safely in five straight games. Travis Swaggerty enters the weekend with a team-best 14-game on-base streak, having reached base safely in every game he has played this season.

MELTON NAMED SBC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Jaguar left-hander Zach Melton was named the SBC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 21 after tossing six no-hit innings while striking out nine batters and issuing one walk in his first career start against Eastern Illinois on Feb. 18. He retired the final 13 batters he faced in the game following a two-out walk in the second inning.

JAGS SET SCHOOL RECORDS IN FIRST SERIES OF 2017
South Alabama's 32 runs and 30 RBI against Eastern Illinois on opening weekend set new school single-game records, breaking the previous records of 29 runs and 26 RBI which was set in 2013 against New Orleans at Stanky Field.

PAPARELLA TIES RBI RECORD    
Eddie Paparella tied former Jaguar Alex Pastore's single-game RBI record with nine RBI in USA's 32-0 win over Eastern Illinois earlier this season. Paparella finished 5-for-6 with a triple, a home run, nine RBI and four runs scored in the game. Pastore's nine-RBI performance came against Auburn in 1973.