South Alabama Jaguars (17-13)
vs.
Alabama State Hornets (17-13)

Tue., April 10  • Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex • Montgomery, Ala.
        
Media Information
Live Stream:  No stream will be available for Tuesday's contest.

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
Tue., April 10
USA - RHP  Tyler Perez (0-0, 2.53 ERA)
ASU - RHP  Channing Walker (0-2, 8.55 ERA)

 All-Time Series
South Alabama holds a 15-2 all-time lead over Alabama State in a series that began in 1984. The Jags won both matchups last season, defeating the Hornets 13-4 in Montgomery and 6-4 at Stanky Field. USA carries a three-game winning streak in the series into Tuesday's matchup. ASU's last win over USA came in the form of a 12-7 decision at Alabama State in 2016. The schools were scheduled to meet earlier this season on March 6 at Stanky Field, but were forced to cancel the game due to inclement weather. 

Jag Notes
• 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 seventh nationally in walks (186), which ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference behind Coastal Carolina (202), who is tied for the lead nationally entering the week.

• The Jaguars rank second in the SBC in fielding percentage (.979), which ranks 23rd nationally entering the week. USA has not committed an error in six straight games, and has been charged with just wo in its last 10 contests.

• USA enters the week ranked second in the SBC in walks, tied for third in runs scored (185), and fourth in on-base percentage (.375), RBIs (165) and doubles (51).

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. Travis Swaggerty led the team with a .444 batting average, two home runs, two RBIs, five runs scored, one stolen base, a .643 OBP and 1.111 slugging percentage in three contests.

Scouting Alabama State
The Hornets swept Alcorn State in a three-game SWAC series last weekend in Lorman, Miss. Alabama State scored 39 runs over three games, and scored 16 or more in the last two contests of the series. ASU enters the game with a .276 team batting average, and 4.24 team ERA in 263 innings pitched. Hornet pitchers have recorded 254 strikeouts against 103 walks in 30 games this year. Ray Hernandez leads the team in batting average (.361), hits (39), home runs (7), RBIs (27), slugging percentage (.602), and tied for the team lead in stolen bases (9).

HARDY AMONG SBC LEADERS IN HITS, STOLEN BASES
Left fielder Dylan Hardy ranks third in the SBC in stolen bases (15), fourth in hits (43), sixth in batting average (.352), seventh in runs scored (32), 

SWAGGERTY IN TOP FIVE IN TWO OFFENSIVE CATEGORIES
Center fielder Travis Swaggerty enters the game ranked second nationally in walks (34), 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 game with 125 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 four walks to pass Tyrone Dixon (128) for fourth on the all-time list.

DONOVAN ECLIPSES 100 CAREER RBIs
Third baseman Brendan Donovan enters recorded his 100th career RBI over the 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) and OBP (.490). Swaggerty also ranks tied for sixth in the league in home runs (7), and ninth in slugging percentage (.567).

DONOVAN NEAR SBC LEAD IN SACRIFICE FLIES
Third baseman Brendan Donovan enters the week 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 (29), fifth in RBIs (30) and tied for eighth in home runs (6). Davis ranks 13th nationally in walks, and is eighth in the country in walks per game (1.00) entering Tuesday's contest.
 
JAGS AT NIGHT/DAY
South Alabama enters the week 10-7 in day games, and 7-6 in night games this season following last weekend's series at Coastal Carolina.

OFFENSIVE RUNS / HITS PER GAME
South Alabama is averaging six runs scored  and eight hits per game through 30 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 2-11 when allowing six or more. 

SCORING SIX OR MORE
The Jags are 14-4 when scoring six or more runs this year, but are 3-9 when scoring fewer than six runs.

SCORING FIRST
USA is 14-4 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 13-2 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.


Game Notes