2020 Schedule

MOBILE, Ala. – Sixteen of the University of South Alabama baseball team's games in 2020 will come against eight different opponents who made NCAA Regionals last season, including three who advanced to the College World Series, including the eventual national champion, as part of the 2020 schedule announced Friday by head coach Mark Calvi.

The South Alabama Athletic Ticket Office also announced Friday that season tickets for the 2020 baseball season are now on sale, and start at just $50. Season tickets can be purchased online at USAJaguars.com or over the phone by calling (251) 461-1USA. Renewals for customers who purchased season tickets or donated to the Dugout Club last season have been mailed as of Thu., Oct. 31.

Person(s) interested in season parking and stadium club access for the 2020 season must join the Dugout Club, the unrestricted fundraising arm of South Alabama Baseball. Membership starts at just $100, with season parking only $50 for the 2020 season; these items can be added to your season ticket purchase. 

After opening the season with a three-game series with Campbell (Feb. 14-16), who competed in the 2019 Greenville (N.C.) Regional, the Jaguars will travel to Nashville, Tenn., for a pair of midweek games against 2019 national champion Vanderbilt (Feb. 18-19). 

USA will return to Stanky Field to host a round-robin tournament that will feature Siena, UT-Martin and Indiana (Feb. 21-23). The Hoosiers competed in the 2019 Louisville (Ky.) Regional.

"I think it is great. It's exciting for the guys, and it is that time of year where you can get a great Big Ten team like Indiana down here, " Calvi said. "This way, you're not playing the same team three times, and you get the excitement of teams showing up and being in a tournament atmosphere. When you get to the conference tournament or regional, the guys have been in a tournament before and know how to handle themselves. We want to bring in good teams for our fans as well, and we're excited about this tournament."

The Jags host New Orleans (Feb. 25) for a midweek contest before a three-game series with Gonzaga (Feb. 28-March 1) at Stanky Field. South Alabama will then kick off a five-game road swing against SEC opponents:  at Alabama (March 3), at Arkansas (March 6-8) and at LSU (March 11). Both Arkansas and LSU advanced to the College World Series last year after each hosting a Regional and winning a Super Regional.

USA then opens Sun Belt Conference play at Georgia State (March 13-15) in Atlanta, followed by road midweek game at New Orleans (March 17) and a home contest with Tulane (March 18).

The Jaguars will host Georgia Southern (March 20-22) for the Sun Belt home-opening series before a midweek matchup at Southeastern Louisiana (March 24). USA will host Arkansas State (March 27-29), then head to Coastal Carolina (April 3-5), who competed in the 2019 NCAA Atlanta (Ga.) Regional, for a three-game conference series.

The Jaguars will host Appalachian State (April 9-11) in a three-game Sun Belt series before a midweek matchup at Mississippi State (April 14), who also competed in the 2019 College World Series. USA will host Alabama State (April 15) then head to ULM (April 17-19) for a three-game conference series.

South Alabama will take on Southern Miss (April 21), a 2019 NCAA Baton Rouge (La.) participant, in Hattiesburg, Miss., before hosting Louisiana (April 24-26) in a three-game Sun Belt series at Stanky Field.

The Jags will host Southeastern Louisiana (April 28) before heading to Little Rock (May 1-3) for a three-game conference set. USA will then host UT-Arlington (May 8-10), followed by a midweek contest with Southern Miss (May 12) at Stanky Field.

South Alabama will close the regular season with a three-game conference series at Troy (May 14-16) before heading to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament (May 19-24) at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala.

"I have two different phases," Calvi said. "Number one, when you are putting it together you try to get the best teams that you can. The second phase is when you get it done and look at it and go, 'Oh boy' – everyone looks at it and has the same reaction you have. Iron sharpens iron, and you can't run from anything. If you have plans to play in the College World Series, then you have to play teams that are going to push you and you have to learn to push back. That's kind of been our way here; we like to schedule tough, and it lets you know who you have. The kids grow up quick, especially when you take them on the road in some tough environments. We have had some success in the (Sun Belt) conference, and our goal is obviously to win the league. The kids who are on the field young – the guys who played Texas Tech a couple of years ago, and at Baylor and Clemson, who have played the tough schedules for a year or two, they develop because they are playing tougher competition. You see some guys start to grow up in a hurry. Not only does it help us perform well, it helps us as a program because your guys are better. It also prepares guys for the next level. When we're recruiting, if you have a guy who shies away from a tough schedule then you probably don't want him. 

"We want to play the toughest schedule that we can. On the downside, if you have a couple of injuries then the schedule can swallow you. I would rather be accused of scheduling too hard than too soft. Also, from a conference standpoint it helps the overall RPI; it helps our chances of getting multiple teams in the postseason, and that's what it's about. Number one, I am all about this program and putting our guys in a position to be successful both on and off the field in their careers, and am about putting them in a position to be successful and get into the postseason, but I am also all about the conference and putting it in position to be successful, even if it's not us on a particular year going to the postseason. I'm all about enhancing this program first, and the Sun Belt Conference second. Those are my two motivating factors when we schedule, along with our guys developing against some of the best. When they leave here, not only are they prepared to play LSU in a (NCAA) regional, but they're also prepared for a professional career. We try to schedule top-25, top-50 and top-75 RPI teams, and then the next step is you have to go win your share, and have quality wins on the road. Sixteen of our games this year are against teams that were in regionals last year, 11 games are versus teams that have been in the College World Series the last six years, including Indiana. Our guys can be in a position to be in the postseason if we hold our own in the league, and win our share with some quality wins against a tough schedule."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give.