South Alabama Jaguars (30-23)
at the 2018 SBC Championship
May 23-27 • Russo Park • Lafayette, La.
Wed., May 23 - No. 4 South Alabama (30-23) vs. No. 5 Georgia Southern (29-24) at 9 a.m.
Thu., May 24 - No. 4 South Alabama vs. TBD at TBA
Media Information
Live Stream: Every game of the SBC Tournament will be broadcast live by ESPN+ and available through the baseball championships tab at SunBeltSports.org.
On the Radio: Every Jaguar baseball game is broadcast live in Mobile on 99.5 FM The Jag, and also vailable 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., May 23
USA - RHP Tyler Carr (8-3, 3.43 ERA)
GS - RHP Chase Cohen (5-4, 4.01 ERA)
Thu., May 24
USA - TBA
TBD - TBA
All-Time Series
South Alabama holds a 15-6 all-time lead over Georgia Southern in a series that dates back to 1987. The Jags swept a three-game SBC series from the Eagles earlier this year at Stanky Field, and carries a six-game win streak in the series into Wednesday's tournament opener. South Alabama defeated Georgia Southern 7-6 in 10 innings in last year's SBC Tournament championship game in Statesboro, Ga. South Alabama head coach Mark Calvi is 10-4 all-time against Georgia Southern.
Last Meeting
South Alabama swept the Eagles in three games April 13-15 this season at Stanky Field, and outscored Georgia Southern 28-10 in the series. USA swept a doubleheader to open the series, followed by an 11-3 win in the series finale in which it recorded a season-high 19 hits including four from Paul Russo. The Jags hit .362 with three doubles, one triple, four home runs, 26 RBIs, 28 runs scored, one stolen base and a .426 team OBP in the series. The Jaguar pitching staff posted a 3.33 ERA with 24 strikeouts and nine walks in 27 innings pitched in the series. Russo batted .615 (8-for-13) with two doubles, two RBIs, four runs scored and a .615 OBP in three games, followed by Hunter Stokes who hit .455 in the three-game set. Travis Swaggerty batted .417 with two home runs, seven RBIs, five runs scored and a .533 OBP in the series.
Jag Notes
• South Alabama went 1-3 last week with a 12-9 loss at Southeastern Louisiana on May 15, followed by losses in two of three games at Troy to close the regular season. Troy shut out the Jags 3-0 in the series opener, marking just the second time this year USA has been shut out, and clinched the series with an 11-1 win in game two. South Alabama avoided the sweep with an 8-5 win in 10 innings in the regular-season finale on Saturday at Riddle-Pace Field.
• The Jaguars have played eight nationally-ranked opponents this season. USA is 3-11 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. 15 Southern Miss, No. 16 LSU, No. 23 Indiana and two lossses to No. 16 Auburn.
• South Alabama ranks sixth nationally in walks (304), which ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference behind Coastal Carolina (314).
• The Jags rank second in the SBC and 28th nationally in fielding percentage (.977).
• Five Jaguars earned all-Sun Belt Conference honors on Monday from the league office. Junior outfielder Dylan Hardy and Travis Swaggerty were named first-team all-SBC, while right-handed pitcher Tyler Carr, third baseman Brendan Donovan and catcher Carter Perkins were each named second-team all-SBC.
• South Alabama will play in this year's SBC Tournament as the No. 4 seed after finishing third in the SBC East Division standings with an 18-11 record. The Jags won last year's SBC Tournament in Statesboro, Ga., as the No. 3 seed.
ROAD WOES TO CLOSE
South Alabama snapped a five-game losing skid with an 8-5 win in 10 innings at Troy in Saturday's regular-season finale. USA closed the regular season having dropped five of its last six road contests.
TWO-OUT RBIS
USA enters the tournament with 131 two-out RBIs, which accounts for 40 percent of its 328 RBIs this season. Wells Davis leads the team with 20 two-out RBIs, followed by Brendan Donovan, Michael Sandle and Travis Swaggerty with 17 apiece.
JAGS DRAW SEASON-HIGH IN WALKS AT LITTLE ROCK
South Alabama batters drew a season-high 17 walks in its 10-7 win over Little Rock on May 5, falling one walk shy of tying the program's single-game record for walks which came on April 8, 1979, against Alabama.
DAVIS DURING HIT STREAK
First baseman Wells Davis is batting .432 (16-for-37) with three doubles, one triple, two home runs, 14 RBIs, eight runs scored, one stolen base, a .500 OBP and .730 slugging percentage during his current 10-game hit streak. Davis has recorded five multiple-hit and a team-best five multi-RBI games during that span.
DONOVAN SINCE APRIL 10
Third baseman Brendan Donovan is batting .372 with seven doubles, three home runs, 25 RBIs, 27 runs scored and one stolen base while posting a .495 on-base percentage in 23 games played, dating back to an April 10 win at Alabama State. Donovan has hit safely in 18 of 23 games with 12 multiple-hit and seven multi-RBI contests during that span.
CARR IN SBC GAMES
Right-hander Tyler Carr finished the regular season 7-1 with a 3.31 ERA in 10 Sun Belt Conference starts. Carr has tossed one complete game and combined for one shutout while striking out 43 batters against 15 walks in 65 1/3 innings pitched against league opponents this year. He has recorded eight quality starts against 11 SBC league members this season.
JAGS IN APRIL
South Alabama batted .282 with 22 doubles, three triples, 21 home runs, 110 RBIs and 120 runs scored in 15 games in April. Three Jaguars batted over .300 in the month: Carter Perkins (.389), Brendan Donovan (.383) and Travis Swaggerty (.322). The Jaguar pitching staff posted a 5.81 team ERA with 129 strikeouts against 65 walks in 127 innings pitched.
JAGS IN MAY
The Jaguars are batting .264 with 13 doubles, one triple, 15 home runs, 68 RBIs, 74 runs scored and seven stolen bases in 11 games this month. Wells Davis leads the team with a .390 batting average in May, and has recorded three doubles, one triple, two home runs, 14 RBIs, eight runs scored and one stolen base in 11 games played this month. The Jaguar pitching staff has posted a 6.51 team ERA with one save, and 79 strikeouts against 39 walks in 94 innings pitched with opponents hitting .281.
HOMERS AS OF LATE
South Alabama has homered in six of its last seven games with 10 home runs over that span, including four against UTA on May 11 two at Southeastern Louisiana on May 11.
SWAGGERTY JOINS 200-HIT CLUB
Travis Swaggerty recorded his 200th career hit with a second-inning single in a May 11 contest at Southeastern Louisiana. Swaggerty currently ranks 12th in career hits (203) at USA.
JAGS CAN'T AVOID INJURY BUG
South Alabama enters the tournament having lost eight contributors, including three starters from last season in shortstop Drew LaBounty, designated hitter Eddie Paparella and outfielder Colton Thomas. Five Jaguar hurlers have also been lost for the season: Andy Arguelles, Conner Jednat, Michael Marra, Chase Shell and Caleb Yarborough.
JAGS SNAP STREAK OF ERRORS
South Alabama did not commit an error in the regular-season finale at Troy last Saturday, which snapped a streak of six straight games in which the Jaguars were charged with at least one error.
HARDY FINISHES AMONG SBC LEADERS IN AT-BATS, HITS
Left fielder Dylan Hardy finished second in the SBC in at-bats (224), third in hits (75), fifth in batting average (.335), tied for fifth in runs scored (54) and tied for eighth in stolen bases (17). Hardy has stolen just two bases in his last 18 games.
SWAGGERTY IN TOP 15 nationally iN TWO OFFENSIVE CATEGORIES
Center fielder Travis Swaggerty ranks 11Th nationally in walks (49) and 12th in walks per game (0.92). He currently ranks fourth in career walks (140) at South Alabama after passing former Jaguar Tyrone Dixon (130) in an April 18 win at New Orleans. Swaggerty needs seven walks to pass former Jaguar Mike Mordecai (146) for third on the career list.
SWAGGERTY FINISHES AMONG SBC LEADERS
Swaggerty finished second in the league in walks (49), tied for fourth in home runs (13), fifth in on-base percentage (.450), eighth in runs scored (52) and total plate appearances (258), tied for eighth in total bases (108) and ninth in slugging percentage (.540).
DONOVAN AMONG SBC LEADERS IN THREE CATEGORIES
Third baseman Brendan Donovan Donovan finished second in the league in sacrifice flies (6), fourth in RBIs (52), tied for fourth in walks (45), eighth in OBP (.444), tied for eighth in doubles (16) and tied for 10th in runs scored (46).
DAVIS AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS IN RBIs, WALKS
First baseman Wells Davis finished third in the SBC in RBIs (55), tied for fourth in walks (45) and ninth in OBP (.434). Davis ranks 24th nationally in walks.
JAGS AT NIGHT/DAY
South Alabama enters the tournament 18-10 in day games, and 12-13 in night games this season.
ALLOWING FIVE OR LESS
South Alabama is 22-5 this season when allowing five or fewer runs, but is 8-18 when allowing six or more. The Jags limited Troy to five or fewer runs in two of three games in last weekend's series, but one just of those contests.
SCORING SIX OR MORE
The Jags are 27-6 when scoring six or more runs this year, but are 3-17 when scoring fewer than six runs. USA has scored six or more runs in five of its last seven games, and is 4-3 over that span.
SCORING FIRST
USA is 21-7 this season when scoring the game's first run, but is 9-16 when the opposition scores first.
FIRST-INNING RUNS
South Alabama is outscoring the opposition 61-21 in the first inning this season; however, it has allowed 56 runs in the second inning of games this year.
MORE HITS, MORE WINS
The Jaguars are 23-3 when out-hitting the opposition this season, but are 7-17 when getting out-hit by opponents. USA is 0-3 when its hit total is tied with the opposition. The Jaguars out-hit Southeastern Louisiana in a May 15 loss, but was out-hit by Troy in each game of last weekend's series.
Game Notes
