Georgia Southern Eagles (16-16, 8-3 SBC)
vs.
South Alabama Jaguars (18-13, 7-4 SBC)

April 13-15  • Stanky Field • Mobile, Ala.

Game 1 - Fri., April 13 - 3:30 p.m.
Game 2 - Fri., April 13 - 6:30 p.m. - Frank Bolling Night
Game 3 - Sun., April 15 - 1 p.m.        

Media Information
Live Stream:  All three games will 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
Fri., April 13
GS - RHP  Brian Eichhorn (2-1, 2.86 ERA)
USA - RHP  Tyler Carr (5-2, 3.35 ERA)

Fri., April 13
GS - TBA
USA - LHP  Jared Proctor (2-0, 1.89 ERA)

Sun., April 15
GS - RHP  Seth Shuman (4-3, 4.39 ERA)
USA - TBA

 All-Time Series
South Alabama holds a 12-6 all-time lead over Georgia Southern in a series that began in 1987. The Jaguars took two of three games from the Eagles to open Sun Belt Conference play last season, outscoring Georgia Southern 24-6 over the final two games of the series, and defeated the Eagles 7-6 in 10 innings in last year's SBC Tournament championship game on a walk-off single by Brendan Donovan. USA carries a three-game win streak in the series into Friday's contest, and has won four of the last five meetings dating back to 2016.

Jag Notes
• Saturday's game has been moved up to Friday, and will be played as part of a doubleheader. Game one of the series is now scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch Friday afternoon at Stanky Field, with game two set to start approximately 30-45 minutes after the conclusion of game one. The series is still scheduled to conclude with game three at 1 p.m. Sunday at Stanky Field.

• The Jaguars have played eight nationally-ranked opponents this season. USA is 3-8 against top-25 competition, with wins over No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 18 Coastal Carolina 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. 18 Coastal Carolina on April 7, which marked its third fourth against ranked opposition.

• South Alabama ranks sixth nationally in walks (195), which ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference behind Coastal Carolina (206), who ranks second nationally entering the weekend.

• The Jaguars rank second in the SBC in fielding percentage (.978), which ranks 26th nationally entering the weekend. USA committed two errors in Tuesday's win at Alabama State, which broke a string of six straight games without an error. 

• USA enters the week ranked second in the SBC in walks, third in runs scored (203) OBP (.381) and RBIs (181), and fourth in doubles (53) and home runs (24).

Jags Last Week
South Alabama dropped two of three games last weekend in a Sun Belt Conference East Division series with Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C. The Jaguars won the series opener after building a 10-0 lead through four-and-a-half innings, en route to an 11-6 victory. USA drew a season-high 15 walks in game one of the series. CCU evened the series with a 14-7 win in game two, which snapped a four-game Jaguar winning streak, and clinched the series with a 12-0 run-rule victory in the rubber match on Sunday. The Jags hit just .221 in the three-game set, while the pitching staff posted a 12.52 ERA in 23.0 innings pitched. USA defeated Alabama State 18-7 Tuesday in Montgomery, Ala., scoring 11 unanswered runs over the final three innings of the game to enforce the 10-run mercy rule. All nine Jaguar starters hit safely in the game, and eight different Jags drove in runs. USA recorded 16 RBIs in the contest, which bettered their previous high of 14 against Hartford on Feb. 23, and scored 18 runs which also bettered their previous season high of 17 runs which also came on Feb. 23 against Hartford.

JAG PITCHING IN SBC GAMES
The South Alabama pitching staff ranks tied for the SBC lead in hits allowed (80) in league games, second in opposing batting average (.231) and third in strikeouts (97); however, the Jaguars rank ninth in ERA (5.52) in conference contests entering the weekend.

JAG FIELDING IN SBC CONTESTS
The Jaguar defense enters Friday's series opener with an eight-game errorless streak in Sun Belt contests. USA leads the league in fielding percentage (.994) in conference games, and has committed just two errors in league contests this season with its last coming in the series finale with ULM on March 18.

SWAGGERTY'S LAST FIVE SBC GAMES
Travis Swaggerty is batting .353 with two home runs, three RBIs, five runs scored, two stolen bases, five walks, a .522 on-base percentage and .706 slugging percentage in his last five Sun Belt Conference games, dating back to the March 31 doubleheader with Appalachian State. He has hit safely in every game during that span, and recorded one multiple-hit contest.

DAVIS HEATING UP IN LEAGUE PLAY
First baseman Wells Davis has hit safely in three of his last four Sun Belt games, and has recorded two doubles, two home runs, five RBIs, four runs scored and six walks during that span, which goes back to the series finale with Appalachian State on March 31.

HARDY IN SBC CONTESTS
Left fielder Dylan Hardy is batting a team-best .357 in 11 Sun Belt games, with two doubles, one triple, four RBIs, 12 runs scored, eight stolen bases and .451 OBP. Hardy has hit safely in seven of 11 league games entering the weekend, and has recorded five multiple-hit contests during that span.

CARR IN SBC STARTS
Right-hander Tyler Carr enters Friday's start 4-0 with a 3.00 ERA in four SBC starts this season, and has recorded 21 strikeouts against seven walks in 27 innings pitched while limiting the oppositing to a .237 batting average. Carr tossed a career-high eight innings in his win at Coastal Carolina on April 6, and struck out a season-high seven batters.

HOMERS AS OF LATE
South Alabama has homered in four of its last five games, dating back to the series finale with Appalachian State on March 31, and has recorded multiple home runs in three of those contests including Tuesday's win at Alabama State which saw Brendan Donovan (grand slam) and Paul Russo (2-run HR) go deep. The Jags hit five home runs in last weekend's three-game SBC series at Coastal Carolina.

HARDY AMONG SBC LEADERS IN HITS, STOLEN BASES
Left fielder Dylan Hardy ranks third in the SBC in stolen bases (15), fourth in hits (44), sixth in batting average (.349) and tied for fifth in runs scored (34).

SWAGGERTY IN TOP FIVE IN TWO OFFENSIVE CATEGORIES
Center fielder Travis Swaggerty enters the game ranked second nationally in walks (35), which is tied for the Sun Belt Conference lead, and is third nationally in walks per game (1.13).

SWAGGERTY MOVING UP CAREER WALKS LIST
Travis Swaggerty enters the weekend with 127 career walks, which ranks fifth on the career list at USA. He passed former Jaguar Luis Gonzalez on the career list last weekend at Coastal Carolina, and needs two walks to pass Tyrone Dixon (128) for fourth on the all-time list.


DONOVAN ECLIPSES 100 CAREER RBIs
Third baseman Brendan Donovan recorded his 100th career RBI last weekend, which came in game two of the Coastal Carolina series on April 7 in the form of a two-run home run to right-center field.

SWAGGERTY LEADS SBC
Center fielder Travis Swaggerty enters the game as the SBC leader in walks (34), ranks fourth in OBP (.483). Swaggerty also ranks tied for sixth in the league in home runs (7), and 10th in slugging percentage (.550).
DONOVAN NEAR SBC LEAD IN SACRIFICE FLIES
Third baseman Brendan Donovan enters the weekend ranked tied second in the Sun Belt in sacrifice flies (4); however, he has not recorded a sacrifice fly since the March 20 win over Southeastern Louisiana.

DAVIS AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS IN RBIs, WALKS
First baseman Wells Davis ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference in walks (31), sixth in RBIs (30) and tied for sixth in home runs (7). Davis ranks 12th nationally in walks, and is sixth in the country in walks per game (1.03) entering the weekend.
 
JAGS AT NIGHT/DAY
South Alabama enters the week 10-7 in day games, and 8-6 in night games this season following Tuesday's win at Alabama State.

OFFENSIVE RUNS / HITS PER GAME
South Alabama is averaging six runs scored and eight hits per game through 31 contests, and is also averaging over eight strikeouts per game against six walks per contest. The Jags have struck out 10 or more times in 15 games this season.

ALLOWING FIVE OR LESS
South Alabama is 15-2 this season when allowing five or fewer runs, but is 3-11 when allowing six or more. 

SCORING SIX OR MORE
The Jags are 15-4 when scoring six or more runs this year, but are 3-9 when scoring fewer than six runs.

SCORING FIRST
USA is 15-4 this season when scoring the game's first run, but is 3-9 when the opposition scores first.

MORE HITS, MORE WINS
The Jaguars are 14-2 when out-hitting the opposition this season, but are 4-9 when getting out-hit by opponents.

CALVI NAMED AlaBCA COACH OF THE YEAR
Head coach Mark Calvi was named the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Division I Coach of the Year in 2017, marking the third consecutive year he has earned the honor, after leading the Jaguars to 40 wins and an NCAA Hattiesburg (Miss.) Regional appearance. 

JAG OFFENSE IN 2017
USA broke the program record for walks (373) in a season last year, which ranked second nationally. The Jags ranked sixth in the country in runs scored (488) and on-base percentage (.415), seventh in runs per game (8.0), 11th in fielding percentage (.980), 14th in sacrifice flies (32) and home runs (78), and 15th in slugging percentage (.480).

JAGS SET PROGRAM SINGLE-SEASON FIELDING PERCENTAGE IN '17
South Alabama set a program record for single-season fielding percentage (.980) last year, which led the Sun Belt Conference and ranked 11th nationally.

2017 HOME RUN PRODUCTION
The Jaguars hit 78 home runs in 2017, the most since the 2008 squad hit 79 home runs; however, USA lost 26 percent of its home run production from last season following the departure of Eddie Paparella and Jared Barnes. Paparella homered seven times last year while Barnes, who was an eighth-round selection by the Miami Marlins in the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft, hit 13 as a junior.

JAGS PICKED TO WIN SBC EAST DIVISION
South Alabama was picked to win the 2018 Sun Belt Conference East Division by the league's head coaches after receiving all 12 first-place votes.

SWAGGERTY NAMED TO 2018 PRESEASON GOLDEN SPIKES WATCH LIST
Travis Swaggerty was named to the 2018 USA Baseball Preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List. Swaggerty was also a preseason first-team All-America selection by Baseball America, D1Baseball, College Sports Madness and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and was a third-team preseason All-America selection by Collegiate Baseball.

All tickets purchased for either Friday, April 13 or Saturday, April 14, contests versus Georgia Southern will be valid for entry to the Friday night game. If unable to attend, those holding an original game ticket for Saturday, April 14 may redeem their unused ticket for any remaining home game during the course of the 2018 season.

Game Notes