Appalachian State Mountaineers (6-16, 0-6 SBC)
vs.
South Alabama Jaguars (13-11, 3-2 SBC)

March 29-31 • Stanky Field • Mobile, Ala.

Game 1 - Thu., March 29 - 6:30 p.m.
Game 2 - Fri., March 30 - 6:30 p.m.
Game 3 - Sat., March 31 - 1 p.m. 

Media Information
Live Stream:  All three games of the series willl be streamed live and available for free through JagNationTV.com.

On the Radio:  Every Jaguar baseball game is broadcast live in Mobile on 99.5 FM The Jag, and available worldwide via the iHeartRadio 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 — @WeAreSouth_BSB — for news and updates.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Thu., March 29
USA - LHP  Andy Arguelles (1-0, 5.56 ERA)
APP - LHP  Andrew Vaccacio (1-5, 5.76 ERA)

Fri., March 30
USA - RHP  Tyler Carr (3-2, 3.89 ERA)
APP - LHP  Colin Schmid (1-2, 3.47 ERA)

Sat., March 31
USA - TBA
APP - RHP  Travis Holden (2-2, 6.23 ERA)

 All-Time Series
South Alabama holds a 6-4 all-time lead over Appalachian State in a series that began in 1973. The Jaguars swept a three-game series from the Mountaineers in Boone, N.C., last season, winning all three games by a combined scored of 43-17 following a 24-run outburst in game two of the series. App State's last win in the series came in a 4-3 victory in a rubber match in 2016 in Boone. USA is 6-3 all-time against App State under head coach Mark Calvi.

Jag Notes
• South Alabama is 7-3 at Stanky Field this season, and 5-2 in home night contests following Tuesday's loss to New Orleans. USA has dropped two of its last three home games entering the series opener.

• The Jaguars have played seven nationally-ranked opponents this season. USA is 2-6 against top-25 competition, with wins over No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 13 Southern Miss, and losses to No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 16 LSU, No. 18 Auburn and No. 23 Indiana. USA defeated No. 28 Southeastern Louisiana on March 20, which marked its third win against ranked opposition.

• South Alabama ranks 12th nationally in walks (144), which ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference behind Coastal Carolina (168). 

• The Jaguars rank fourth in the SBC in fielding percentage (.975) after committing two errors in Tuesday's loss to UNO, which snapped a streak of three straight games without an error.

• USA enters the weekend ranked second in the SBC in walks, fourth in runs scored (151) and RBIs (134), fifth in on-base percentage (.371), doubles (44) and hits (201), and tied for sixth in home runs (16).

• South Alabama has scored six or fewer runs in seven of its last eight games, with a 12-run performance in game two of the Georgia State series marking the lone contest with more than six runs in that span.

Jags Last Week
USA is 1-2 in its last three games entering the series. The Jags split a SBC series at Georgia State last weekend, with Sunday's game cancelled due to inclement weather, before falling to UNO 8-2 Tuesday at Stanky Field. USA allowed six runs in the second inning in its loss to the Privateers.

Scouting Appalachian State
The Mountaineers snapped a seven-game losing skid with an 8-4 win over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday. This weekend's series will mark the third consecutive SBC road series for App State, who was swept in three games at Georgia Southern last weekend. The Mountaineers have played 12 straight road games entering this weekend's series with USA. App State ranks last in the SBC in batting average (.201), runs scored (80), hits (147), and tied for last in RBIs (75). 

HARDY AMONG SBC LEADERS IN HITS, STOLEN BASES AND RUNS
Outfielder Dylan Hardy enters the weekend tied for second in the SBC in stolen bases (12), tied for third in hits (34) and tied for fourth in runs scored (27). Hardy has reached base safely in every game this season, carrying a 24-game on-base streak into the series, and has hit safely in 19 of 24 games. Hardy also ranks sixth in the league batting average (.351) and OBP (.452).

SWAGGERTY IN TOP FIVE IN TWO OFFENSIVE CATEGORIES
Center fielder Travis Swaggerty enters the week ranked tied for fifth in the nation in walks (26) and sixth in the country in walks per game (1.08); however, he has walked just three times in his last eight games while striking out seven times in that span.

SWAGGERTY PASSES DOGGETT ON CAREER LIST
Travis Swaggerty enters the game with 117 career walks, which ranks sixth all-time at South Alabama. Swaggerty passed former Jaguar Geoff Doggett after drawing a walk in the series opener at Georgia State on March 23. Swaggerty needs five walks to pass Luis Gonzalez (121) for fifth on the career list. Mike Warren holds the career record in walks at USA with 155, while Drew LaBounty ranks second all-time with 149 career walks.

SWAGGERTY LEADS SBC
Center fielder Travis Swaggerty enters the weekend tied for the SBC lead in walks, ranked third in OBP (.478) and tied for sixth in home runs (5).

DONOVAN NEAR SBC LEAD IN SACRIFICE FLIES
Third baseman Brendan Donovan enters the week ranked second in the Sun Belt in sacrifice flies (4), which ranks 13th nationally. Donovan also ranks tied for fifth in the league in RBIs (23).

HARDY'S LAST 10 GAMES
Dylan Hardy has batted .417 (15-for-36) with one double, six RBIs, 13 runs scored, seven stolen bases and a .543 on-base percentage in his last 10 games, dating back to March 10 at Louisiana. Hardy has hit safely in eight of those 10 contests, and has recorded multiple hits in six of those games.

DAVIS AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS IN RBIs, WALKS
First baseman Wells Davis ranks tied for fifth in the Sun Belt Conference in RBIs (23), and tied for ninth in walks (19).

DONOVAN RECORDS 150TH CAREER HIT
Third baseman Brendan Donovan recorded his 150th career hit in Tuesday's contest with New Orleans in the form of a second-inning single. He has hit safely in six of his last seven games, and has recorded multiple hits and driven in multiple runs in three of those seven contests.

LUFT IN SBC GAMES
Shortstop Will Luft is batting a team-leading .467 (7-for-15) with two doubles, two RBIs, seven runs scored and a .556 OBP in five Sun Belt Conference games this season. He has hit safely in four of five league games this year, and has recorded multiple hits in three of those five contests.

CARR'S STARTS THIS YEAR
Right-hander Tyler Carr has recorded quality starts in four of his six starts this season, and has pitched at least six innings in every start. He tied his career high in innings pitched (7.0) in last week's win at Georgia State, but issued a season-high four walks.
 
JAGS AT NIGHT/DAY
South Alabama enters the weekend 6-5 in day games, and 6-5 in night games this season following Tuesday's loss to UNO.

OFFENSIVE RUNS / HITS PER GAME
South Alabama is averaging six runs scored  and eight hits per game through 24 contests, and is averaging over eight strikeouts per game against six walks per contest. The Jags have struck out 10 or more times in 12 games this season.

ALLOWING FIVE OR LESS
South Alabama is 12-2 this season when allowing five or fewer runs, but is 1-9 when allowing six or more. 

SCORING SIX OR MORE
The Jags are 12-3 when scoring six or more runs this year, but are 1-8 when scoring fewer than six runs.

SCORING FIRST
USA is 10-3 this season when scoring the game's first run, but is 3-8 when the opposition scores first.

MORE HITS, MORE WINS
The Jaguars are 9-2 when out-hitting the opposition this season, but are 4-7 when getting out-hit by opponents.


Game Notes