MOBILE, Ala. - University of South Alabama baseball will look to capture its fifth consecutive Sun Belt Conference series and extend its conference lead this weekend when it travels to Bowling Green, Ky., for a three-game series against No. 21 Western Kentucky.
The Jaguars will open the series at 6 p.m. Friday night at Nick Denes Field. The series continues Saturday at 3 p.m., and concludes Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
USA (22-11, 10-2 SBC) sits atop the SBC after its sweep of New Orleans last weekend at Stanky Field, while Arkansas State took two of three games from WKU in Jonesboro, Ark.
The Jaguars enter the weekend 4-1 in their last five games, which includes a three-game sweep of UNO and a 12-11 win over No. 22 Southeastern Louisiana Tuesday night at Stanky Field. Auburn knocked off the Jags 6-2 Wednesday night at Plainsman Park in Auburn.
USA is hitting .378 (62-for-164) over its last five games, with 13 doubles, two home runs, 39 RBI, 42 runs scored and 11 stolen bases. The Jaguars are averaging 8.4 runs and 12.4 hits per game over that stretch. South Alabama ranked fifth in the nation in hits (362) entering the week, seventh in runs (269) and 19th in stolen bases (59). Entering the week, the Jaguars ranked 11th in the nation in double plays turned with 31.
South Alabama leads the SBC in hits (392), doubles (81), runs (283), stolen bases (64) and at-bats (1,169), and ranks second in the league in batting average (.335). USA ranks third in the conference in ERA (4.37) and strikeouts in SBC games.
South Alabama right-hander D.D. Hanks (7-1) is scheduled to start Friday's contest. The Saraland, Ala., native is tied for the most wins in the nation and ranked ninth in the country in strikeouts entering the week (60). Hanks leads the SBC in wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched (57.2). He enters the weekend with a 2.18 earned run average, which ranks third in the league.
Senior left-hander Lance Baxter (4-0) ranked eighth in the nation in ERA (1.24) entering the week, and leads the conference in ERA and runs allowed per game (1.65). Baxter is tied for first in earned runs allowed (6) and tied for second in saves (5) in the SBC.
Third baseman Jake Overstreet entered the week as the nation's leader in RBI (51). The Thomasville, Ala., native also ranked fifth in sacrifice flies (5), and ninth in RBI per game (1.65). Overstreet leads the SBC in RBI (52), and leads the league in home runs (5) and total bases (37) in conference games. He is tied for second in runs scored in SBC contests with 14.
Senior second baseman Zach Grichor ranked 15th in the nation in runs scored (38) entering the week. The Spring, Texas, native ranks second in the conference in hits (53), and is tied for second in runs scored (41). Grichor ranks sixth in the SBC in batting average (.405) entering the weekend.
Sean Laird ranks third in the conference in hits (52), and fourth in batting average (.426) and total bases (83). Laird leads USA in batting average, slugging percentage (.680) and total bases (83). Junior center fielder Taylor White leads the conference in stolen bases (16), while junior catcher Brent Tanner leads the league in runs scored (15) in SBC games.
Western Kentucky (24-7, 7-2 SBC), ranked 21st in this week's Baseball America poll, enters the weekend 3-2 in its last five games and sits in second place in the SBC standings. The Hilltoppers dropped two of three games at Arkansas State last weekend, before knocking off Murray State and Belmont in midweek contests earlier this week.
WKU pitchers lead the league in strikeouts (262) and runs allowed (140), and rank third in the conference in ERA (3.93). Right-hander Matt Ridings (6-0) is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Jags. Ridings leads WKU in wins, ERA (3.56) and innings pitched (43), and ranks fourth in the league in ERA (1.71) in conference games. Right-hander Rye Davis leads the SBC in saves (7), and ranks second in the league in ERA (0.90) in conference games. Davis has struck out 34 batters this season while issuing just seven walks.
Hilltopper catcher Matt Rice leads WKU in batting average (.378), doubles (11) and RBI (39), and is tied for the team lead in hits (48) and home runs (6). Outfielder Jared Andreoli is tied for the team lead in hits (48) and at-bats (128).
All three games this weekend will be broadcast on WNSP 105.5 FM in Mobile, and can be accessed nationwide at www.wnsp.com.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
- USA -
