South Alabama Jaguars (25-17, 13-7 SBC)
vs.
Little Rock Trojans (23-19, 12-8 SBC)

May 4-6 • Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, Ark.

        
Game 1 - Fri., May 4 - 6 p.m.
Game 2 - Sat., May 5 - 2 p.m.
Game 3 - Sun., May 6 - 1 p.m.

Media Information
Live Stream:  Each game of the series will be broadcast live and available through LR All-Access at LRTrojans.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., May 4
USA - RHP Tyler Carr (7-2, 2.89 ERA)
LR - TBA

Sat., May 5
USA - LHP  Zach Melton (1-3, 5.34 ERA)
LR - TBA

Sun., May 6
USA - TBA
LR - TBA

 All-Time Series
South Alabama holds a 70-14 all-time lead over Little Rock in a series that began in 1992. USA won two of three games from the Trojans last season at Stanky Field. The Jags have won seven of the last eight meetings in the series, and have won five straight series dating back to 2013. This weekend's seri9es will mark the first time the schools have met in Little Rock, Ark., since 2014 when the Jags won two of three games.

Last Meeting
South Alabama won two of three games against Little Rock last season at Stanky Field. The Jaguars took the series opener 8-3 while the Trojans evened the series with an 11-5 win in game two. USA won the rubber match 5-3 to capture the series. South Alabama hit .288 in three games against Little Rock last year with four doubles, four home runs, 15 RBIs, 18 runs scored and two stolen bases. The Jaguar pitching staff posted a 5.00 ERA with two saves in the series while striking out 21 batters against seven walks in 27 innings pitched. Will Luft led USA with a .455 batting average in last year's series, while Travis Swaggerty, Drew LaBounty and Wells Davis each homered in the series. Little Rock hit .297 in three games against the Jags last season with a 5.04 team ERA. 

Jag Notes
• After winning a season-best seven consecutive games after the first two games of the Texas State series, the Jaguars have dropped two straight contests after falling to the Bobcats in the series finale last Sunday and dropping a 5-3 decision at No. 15 Southern Miss on Tuesday.

• USA went 1-3 last week after a 5-3 loss at No. 15 Southern Miss on April 24, and dropping two of three games to Arkansas State in SBC action last weekend at Stanky Field. The Jags hit .218 in four games last week, led by Brendan Donovan who batted .471 with two doubles, one home run, three RBIs, five runs scored and a .500 on-base percentage. The Jaguar pitching staff posted a 4.37 ERA and one save in four games while striking out 41 batters against 19 walks in 35 innings pitched. 

• The Jaguars have played eight nationally-ranked opponents this season. USA is 3-10 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. 18 Auburn and No. 23 Indiana. 

• South Alabama ranks 10th nationally in walks (244), which ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference behind Coastal Carolina (269).

TWO-OUT RBIS
USA enters the series opener with 108 two-out RBIs, which accounts for 42 percent of its 260 RBIs this season. Brendan Donovan leads the team with 16 two-out RBIs this season.

JAGS SWEEP SBC WEEKLY AWARDS LAST WEEK
South Alabama right-hander Tyler Carr was named the SBC Pitcher of the Week and Carter Perkins was named the SBC Player of the Week on Tue., April 24. Carr tossed his first career complete game, and carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning of the series opener at Texas State on April 20, which was broken up on a 1-2 pitch with two outs in the ninth. He retired 22 of the first 24 Bobcat batters he faced in the game. Perkins batted .625 (10-for-16) with three doubles, three home runs, eight RBIs, seven runs scored, a .684 OBP and 1.375 slugging percentage in four games. He recorded multiple hits in three of four contests, and drove in at least one run in three of four games. Perkins finished with a career-high four hits, including a double and a pair of home runs, and tied his career high in RBIs (4) in an April 18 win at New Orleans. He went 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored in the series opener at Texas State, and followed that performance by going 4-for-4 with a double, one home run, three RBIs and two runs scored in game two of the series. It marked the first time either Carr or Perkins has earned weekly SBC honors.

DAVIS APPROACHING 100 HITS, RBIS
First baseman Wells Davis enters the weekend with 98 career hits and RBIs; however, he has recorded just two hits and one RBI in his last five games.

SWAGGERTY EXTENDS ON-BASE STREAK
Center fielder Travis Swaggerty carries a team-best 24-game on-base streak into this weekend's series. He went hitless in two of four games last week, but reached base safely on a walk in each of those contests - April 24 at No. 15 Southern MIss and April 28 against Arkansas State. Swaggerty has also reached base safely in 19 straight SBC games entering Friday's series opener.

PERKINS IN APRIL
Jaguar catcher Carter Perkins led the team with a .389 batting average in 15 games played in the month of April with three doubles, four home runs, 17 RBIs, 13 runs scored and a .477 on-base percentage. Perkins hit safely in 11 of 15 games in April, and also drove in at least one run in 11 of 15 contests. He recorded six multiple-hit games and three multi-RBI contests.

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.

CARR IN SBC GAMES
Right-hander Tyler Carr is 6-0 with a 2.45 ERA in seven Sun Belt Conference starts this season. He has tossed one complete game and combined for one shutout while striking out 34 batters against 11 walks in 47 2/3 innings pitched and limiting the opposition to a .247 batting average. Carr has earned the win in his six of his last seven starts dating back to the ULM game on March 17. His start last weekend against Arkansas State marked the first SBC game this season in which he did not earn the win. He leads the league in wins (6) in conference contests, ranks third in innings pitched (47.2) and tied for fifth in ERA (2.45).

HOMERS AS OF LATE
South Alabama has homered five times in its last five games, but went homerless in three of those contests. The Jags hit two home runs at No. 15 Southern Miss on April 24, and homered three times in the series finale with the Red Wolves. South Alabama has hit 20 home runs in road games this season, including in five of their last six road contests.

JAGS IN ROAD GAMES
USA is 8-11 in road games this sesaon, and is batting .243 with 27 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs, 110 RBIs and 126 runs scored in 19 contests. Carter Perkins leads the team with a .358 batting average in 17 road games, and has hit five of his six home runs on the road this season. The Jaguar pitching staff has posted a 6.58 team ERA in 19 road games. USA is 4-4 in SBC road contests this season.

HARDY AMONG SBC LEADERS IN HITS, STOLEN BASES
Left fielder Dylan Hardy enters the weekend ranked fourth in the SBC in hits (58), fifth in runs scored (44) and tied for seventh in stolen bases (15). Hardy has not stolen a base in 15 consecutive games, with his last steal coming in the March 31 series finale with Appalachian State.

SWAGGERTY IN TOP FIVE NATIONALLY IN TWO OFFENSIVE CATEGORIES
Center fielder Travis Swaggerty enters the series ranked seventh nationally in walks (42) and eighth in walks per game (1.00). He currently ranks fourth in career walks (133) at South Alabama after passing former Jaguar Tyrone Dixon (130) in an April 18 win at New Orleans. 

SWAGGERTY LEADS SBC
Swaggerty enters the weekend tied for the SBC lead in on-base percentage (.468), ranks second in walks (42), fourth in home runs (11) and seventh in slugging percentage (.565).

DONOVAN AMONG SBC LEADERS IN SACRIFICE FLIES
Third baseman Brendan Donovan enters the weekend tied for second in the Sun Belt Conference in sacrifice flies (5).

DAVIS AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS IN RBIs, WALKS
First baseman Wells Davis enters the series ranked third in the SBC in walks (38) and fourth in RBI (41). Davis ranks 16th nationally in walks per game (0.93) and 17th in walks.
 
JAGS AT NIGHT/DAY
South Alabama enters the week 16-8 in day games, and 9-9 in night games this season following Tuesday's loss at No. 15 Southern Miss. The Jags have dropped three straight night games entering Friday's series opener.

OFFENSIVE RUNS / HITS PER GAME
South Alabama is averaging six runs scored and eight hits per game through 42 contests, but is also averaging over eight strikeouts per game against five walks per contest. The Jags have struck out 10 or more times in 16 games this season. The Jags have not struck out 10 or more times in five consecutive games entering Friday's series opener. 

ALLOWING FIVE OR LESS
South Alabama is 18-4 this season when allowing five or fewer runs, but is 7-13 when allowing six or more. The Jags allowed six runs in each of their three games with Arkansas State last weekend at Stanky Field.

SCORING SIX OR MORE
The Jags are 22-4 when scoring six or more runs this year, but are 3-13 when scoring fewer than six runs. USA has scored three or fewer runs in four of its last five games entering this weekend's series.

SCORING FIRST
USA is 20-6 this season when scoring the game's first run, but is 5-11 when the opposition scores first.

FIRST-INNING RUNS
South Alabama is outscoring the opposition 58-15 in the first inning this season; however, it has allowed 49 runs in the second inning of games this year. 

MORE HITS, MORE WINS
The Jaguars are 19-2 when out-hitting the opposition this season, but are 6-12 when getting out-hit by opponents. USA is 0-3 when its hit total is tied with the opposition.


Game Notes