South Alabama Jaguars (21-13)
vs.
New Orleans Privateers (17-20)
Wed., April 18 • 6:30 p.m. • Maestri Field • New Orleans, La.
Media Information
Live Stream: The game will be streamed live and available through UNO Showcase at UNOPrivateers.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
Wed., April 18
USA - LHP Ryan Terry (0-0, 11.25 ERA)
UNO - LHP Chris DeMayo (0-0, 7.20 ERA)
All-Time Series
South Alabama holds a 94-63 all-time lead over New Orleans in a series that began in 1970. USA has played UNO more times than any other opponent in the program's 50-plus year history. The Jags fell to the Privateers 8-2 on March 27 at Stanky Field, snapping a three-game Jaguar winning streak in the series. Jaguar head coach Mark Calvi is 10-3 all-time against New Orleans.
Last Meeting
UNO scored six second-inning runs en route to an 8-2 win at Stanky Field on March 27. The Privateers' Beau Bratton led all hitters with four hits, including two doubles, along with two RBIs and one run scored, while John M. Stephens struck out eight and issued two walks while allowing two runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings pitched in the win. Dylan Hardy led South Alabama with a pair of hits in the game, along with two RBIs.
Jag Notes
• South Alabama enters the game on a four-game win streak after going 4-0 last week. The Jags defeated Alabama State 18-7 on April 10 in Montgomery, Ala., before sweeping Georgia Southern in a three-game Sun Belt Conference East Division series last weekend at Stanky Field.
• USA batted .381 with five doubles, one triple, six home runs, 42 RBIs, 46 runs scored and one stolen base while posting a .458 team on-base percentage in four games last week. Paul Russo led the Jags at the plate, hitting .667 (10-for-15) with three doubles, one home run, six RBIs, five runs scored and a 1.734 OPS in four contests.
• 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.
• South Alabama ranks ninth nationally in walks (207), which ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference behind Coastal Carolina (220).
• The Jaguars rank 19th nationally in fielding percentage (.979), which is second in the Sun Belt, entering Wednesday's contest at New Orleans. USA entered last week with a six-game errorless streak, but committed two at Alabama State on April 10, and also committted one error in the series finale with Georgia Southern on Sunday.
• USA kicks off a five-game road swing with Wednesday's contest at New Orleans. The Jags will then travel to San Marcos, Texas, for a three-game Sun Belt series with Texas State, and will close the road trip with a contest at Southern Miss on Tue., April 24.
SWAGGERTY DURING HIT STREAK
Travis Swaggerty is batting .353 (12-for-34) with four home runs, 11 RBIs, 12 runs scored, two stolen bases, eight walks, .500 OBP and .706 slugging percentage in his current nine-game hitting streak. Swaggerty has also driven in runs in six of those nine games during that span.
STOKES' HITTING STREAK
Second baseman Hunter Stokes carries a seven-game hitting streak into Wednesday's contest, and has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games played dating back to the March 24 game at Georgia State. Stokes is batting .455 with six RBIs, 10 runs scored, seven walks, and a .586 OBP during his current seven-game streak.
JAGS IN APRIL
South Alabama is batting .316 with nine doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 57 RBIs, 64 runs scored and two stolen bases in seven games this month. Hunter Stokes leads the team in the month of April with a .455 batting average, with Travis Swaggerty, who has homered four times this month, second at .385. The Jags have also posted a .987 fielding percentage in April, with three errors in seven games.
HOMERS AS OF LATE
South Alabama has homered in six of its last eight games, dating back to the series finale with Appalachian State on March 31, and has recorded multiple home runs in four of those contests including last week's win at Alabama State which saw Brendan Donovan (grand slam) and Paul Russo (2-run HR) go deep, as well as Travis Swaggerty's two-home run performance against Georgia Southern last Friday at Stanky Field.
JAGS SET SEASON HIGH IN HITS
South Alabama set a new season high in hits with 19 in Sunday's series-finale win over Georgia Southern, surpassing the previous high of 18 which came in the season opener against Kansas State on Feb. 16.
HARDY AMONG SBC LEADERS IN HITS, STOLEN BASES
Left fielder Dylan Hardy enters the week ranked third in the SBC in stolen bases (15), fourth in hits (47), fifth in runs scored (38) and sixth in batting average (.338).
SWAGGERTY IN TOP FIVE nationally iN TWO OFFENSIVE CATEGORIES
Center fielder Travis Swaggerty enters the week ranked second nationally in walks per game (1.09), and fourth in walks (37).
SWAGGERTY MOVING UP CAREER WALKS LIST
Travis Swaggerty enters the game with 128 career walks, which is tied for fourth on the all-time Jaguar list with Tyrone Dixon (1990-93). Mike Moredcai ranks third on the career list with 146 walks during his three-year career from 1987-89.
PERKINS ECLIPSES 100 CAREER HITS
Catcher Carter Perkins recorded his 100th career hit last weekend, which came in the series finale with Georgia Southern in the form of an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning.
SWAGGERTY LEADS SBC
Center fielder Travis Swaggerty enters the week as the SBC leader in on-base percentage (.488), ranks second in walks (37), tied for fourth in home runs (9) and fifth in slugging percentage (.587).
DONOVAN TIED FOR SBC LEAD IN SACRIFICE FLIES
Third baseman Brendan Donovan enters the week tied for the Sun Belt Conference lead in sacrifice flies with five, which ranks 20th nationally.
DAVIS AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS IN RBIs, WALKS
First baseman Wells Davis ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference in walks (32), fourth in RBIs (35) and tied for eighth in home runs (7). Davis ranks 12th nationally in walks, and is 14th in the country in walks per game (0.97) entering the week.
JAGS AT NIGHT/DAY
South Alabama enters the week 12-7 in day games, and 9-6 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 34 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 17-2 this season when allowing five or fewer runs, but is 4-11 when allowing six or more.
SCORING SIX OR MORE
The Jags are 18-4 when scoring six or more runs this year, but are 3-9 when scoring fewer than six runs.
SCORING FIRST
USA is 17-4 this season when scoring the game's first run, but is 4-9 when the opposition scores first.
FIRST-INNING RUNS
South Alabama is outscoring the opposition 43-9 in the first inning this season; however, it has allowed 40 runs in the second inning of games this year
MORE HITS, MORE WINS
The Jaguars are 16-2 when out-hitting the opposition this season, but are 5-9 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.
Game Notes
