USA Ranked 25th In Collegiate Baseball Weekly Poll
The South Alabama Jaguars baseball team is ranked 25th in this weeks Collegiate Baseball weekly top-30 poll released on Monday.
The Jags, the only Sun Belt team ranked in the poll this week, is 17-4 overall and 2-1 in Sun Belt play. This is the second time this season the team has been ranked in the top-30 poll released by Collegiate Baseball. It also marks the highest ranking in the poll since May 19, 2003 when the Jags reached #25 with a 39-15 record.
Last week the Jags went 3-1 in games played with a win over Alabama State and two out of three games in Troy as they opened the Sun Belt Conference schedule.
USA is ranked 12th in RPI according to Boydsworld.com and warrennolan.com as they travel to Southeastern Louisiana for a midweek game tonight as first pitch is scheduled for 6pm.
Below is the full top-30 poll as released by Collegiate Baseball on Monday.
1. North Carolina 18-1
2. Oregon State 19-1
3. Louisiana St. 18-2
4. Vanderbilt 19-2
5. South Carolina 17-3
6. Mississippi 20-2
7. Florida St. 18-1
8. Kentucky 16-3
9. UCLA 15-3
10. Georgia Tech 17-2
11. Virginia 17-2
12. Cal. St. Fullerton 16-3
13. Louisville 16-2
14. Mississippi St. 19-4
15. Oregon 15-6
16. N.C. State 16-5
17. Stanford 10-5
18. Oklahoma 17-4
19. Notre Dame 12-5
20. Cal Poly 15-4
21. Oklahoma St. 17-3
22. Arizona St. 12-4-1
23. U.C. Irvine 15-5
24. Texas A&M 14-7
25. South Alabama 17-4
26. Florida Gulf Coast 13-4
27. California 13-7
28. Arkansas 14-7
29. Campbell 16-3
30. Central Arkansas 17-3
South Alabama Sports Weekend Update
Baseball
The South Alabama Jaguars clinched the series against Troy with an 11-10 win on Friday night and a 7-5 win on Saturday but fell in the third game 7-8 as they were unable to complete the sweep in the conference opener.
USA scored seven unanswered runs in the final two innings which included a game-winning home run by Nick Zaharion to bring home the 11-10 win.
On Saturday, Dylan Stamey tossed 4 1/3 shutout innings in relief while Kyle Bartsch pitched a perfect ninth inning as the Jags won 7-5 and clinch the series against Troy on Saturday. Stamey allowed one hit and one walk while striking out a career-high five batters he faced to earn his fourth win of the season. Bartsch struck out one in the ninth to earn his sixth save of the season.
The Jags gave up five runs in the seventh inning as they fell to Troy 7-8 in the Sunday finale against the Trojans. The Jags held a 5-3 lead entering the bottom of the seventh inning but an error allowed the Trojans to cut the lead to 5-4. Then a two-run double would put the Trojans in the lead 5-6. Then one batter later a three-run home run would put the Jags up 8-5.
USA would score two more runs in the game but could not manufacture another run to tie the game up. The Jags improve to 17-4 overall over the weekend and 2-1 in Sun Belt play while Troy falls to 12-6 overall and 1-2 in Sun Belt play.
USA will travel to Hammond, Louisiana to take on Southeastern Louisiana University on Tuesday with first pitch set for 6pm.
Softball
The South Alabama softball team won two out the three games over the weekend against #22 ranked Louisiana-Lafayette at Jaguar Field by scores of 7-3 and 8-4.
Senior Brittany Fowler batted .833 with three home runs, four runs scored and seven RBI on Saturday alone. She went 5-for-6 with a slugging percentage of 2.333.
Hannah Campbell and Farish Beard each pitched complete games on Saturday. Hannah struck out two to improve to 10-4 on the season while Beard struck out three and only allowed four hits to improve to 10-0 on the season.
The Jags fell 1-2 in the third game of the series on Sunday as Kaitlyn Griffith hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning to give the Jags an early lead. ULL took the lead for good with a two-run fourth inning.
Ragin’ Cajun pitcher Jordan Wallace struck out 15 Jaguars on the way to the win.
The Jags improve to 23-5 overall over the weekend and 2-1 in Sun Belt play. ULL comes out of the weekend with a 19-11 record overall and 2-4 in conference play.
The Lady Jaguars will host UAB on Wednesday with a first pitch set for 4pm at Jaguar Field. They previously defeated the Blazers 8-2 on March 2 in the Magic City Classic.
Men’s Basketball
The season isn’t quite over just yet. The Jags will participate in the postseason for the first time in five years after accepting a spot in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
The Jags will face the Green Wave of Tulane on Wednesday at Devlin Fieldhouse in Louisiana. Tipoff is set for 7pm.
This is the fifth year for the CIT and it’s 32 team tournament. Previous winners of the tournament are Old Dominion (2009), Missouri State (2010), Santa Clara (2011) and Mercer (2012).
Interim head coach Jeff Price’s tenure on the court with be extended at least one more game. The Jags are in the midst of a coaching search for the head coaching position, which Price is also vying for.
The Jags are 17-12 on the season and went 14-6 in Sun Belt play. Tulane has a 19-14 record overall, it’s best since the 1999-2000 season.
Women’s Basketball
In a bit of a surprise on Friday, Athletics Director Joel Erdmann announced that he had relieved head coach Rick Pietri of his duties after 13 seasons at the helm of the women’s program.
“We will begin a national search immediately and look far and wide and near and far for who the next coach will be,” Erdmann said to AL.com. “It will be very similar to other searches that we have conducted. Obviously, we are looking for someone who has ties to competitive success and winning, while at the same time maintaining their eye on excellence in the classroom and managing a tremendous overall program.”
Pietri, in a phone interview with AL.com was very grateful of former AD Joe Gottfried for hiring a boys’ high school coach in 2000 to take over a women’s program that had struggled for several years. He also indicated that only one of his seasons was not better than the 10 season’s previous to his.
Pietri leaves as the school’s all-time winningest coach with a record of 220-167 and 111-104 record against Sun Belt Conference opponents. He had three 20-win seasons, the most recent in the 2008-09 season.
Erdmann indicated that he hopes to have a new coach hired as soon as possible. Possibly as soon as April.
The Lady Jags went 17-13 overall this season and fell in the first round of the SBC Tournament.
Football
The Jaguar football team will pick up where they left off prior to Spring Break. They will hit the practice fields at the Jaguar Practice Facility around 6am on Tuesday morning.
Pietri Not Being Retained
Reports are surfacing that Women’s basketball coach Rick Pietri will not be retained by the University of South Alabama.
This news comes as a bit of a shock to fans of the program. We will have more as more information comes out.
Baseball And Softball Open Sun Belt Play This Weekend
South Alabama baseball and softball teams both open Sun Belt Conference play this weekend.
Baseball
The Jags open Sun Belt Play this weekend in Troy, Alabama against in-state rival Troy University. Jacob Noble (3-0) will make his fifth start of the season against the Trojans tonight and will face Tanner Hicks (3-0). First pitch is set for 6pm.
Saturday’s game is set for another 6pm first pitch with Brandon Boyle (0-1) taking the mound for the Jags as Troy is set to send Will Starling (3-1) as their starter.
Finally, the Sunday series finale is scheduled for a 1pm first pitch and is scheduled to see Jarron Cito (0-1) on the mound for the Jags and Shane McCain (3-0) taking the mound for the Trojans.
The Jags have won five of its last six games to enter the weekend with a 15-3 record this season. They also enter the weekend with a 36-28 all-time lead in the series against the Trojans while are only 10-17 all-time in Troy and is only 11-16 against the Trojans since they joined the Sun Belt in 2006.
All three games will be broadcast on 105.5 FM WNSP and can be accessed online at http://wnsp.com/
Softball
The Jaguar softball team opens Sun Belt Conference play against #22 ranked Louisiana-Lafayette at Jaguar Field. The Jags enter the weekend with a 21-4 record overall.
South Alabama will be tested as ULL comes into the weekend as the Sun Belt Conference leader in almost every offensive statistical category. But the Jags enter with an undefeated record at home as they have won all six home games so far this season.
Hannah Campbell tossed her first no-hitter against UC-Santa Barbara last week as the Jags won 3-0. She also is in the top-10 in the nation with an ERO of 0.90.
The last time these teams faced off it was in the Sun Belt Conference tournament where the Jags handed the five-time conference champs a 3-1 loss to win the Jaguars first Sun Belt Championship. ULL had swept the regular season series against the Jags.
South Alabama and ULL will play a doubleheader on Saturday and a series finale on Sunday. Live streaming will be available on USAJaguars.com All-Access section.
Go Jags!
Jags Offer A Trio Of Players Recently
South Alabama has offered a trio of players over the last few days. The first is a local standout in Jerry Gibson of Theodore High School. Gibson is a 6’3″ 213-pound tight end that is listed as clocking a 4.83 40-yard dash. He has offers from Arkansas State and Furman so far.
Tyre McCants is a 5’10” 184-pound wide receiver from Niceville, Florida. He is rated a three-star wide receiver by 247sports. Rivals has the following stats on him: 4.45 40-yard dash, 490-pound squat max and a vertical of 39 inches. He also has offers from FAU, Georgia Tech, ULL, Louisville, Old Dominion and the Jags.
Keiwan Jones is a 6’2″ 265-pound defensive tackle from Dunnellon, Florida. He has a two-star rating from 247sports and has offers from Old Dominion, Western Michigan as well as the Jags. He is listed as having a 30″ vertical and a 330-pound bench max. Last season he had 36 tackles, 8 sacks, three forced fumbles, a blocked pass, a touchdown and a safety.
Season Ticket Renewals Have Been Mailed
The South Alabama Jaguars celebrate their first FBS win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday, October 20th 2012.
The South Alabama Athletic Ticket Office announced that season ticket renewals have been mailed out to season ticket holders.
The 2013 season will be a huge first for the Jags as they will be eligible for the Sun Belt Conference championship and a potential bowl berth.
The Jaguars have six home games scheduled at Ladd-Peebles Stadium with five of the six teams coming to Mobile participating in bowl games last season, including four Sun Belt opponents.
The Jags will kick off the season on Thursday, August 29 against Southern Utah, Western Kentucky on September 14, Kent State on October 19,Arkansas State on November 2, Louisiana-Monroe on November 23 and the season finale against Louisiana-Lafayette on December 7.
Season ticket prices are $50 for end zone seats, $85 for the East stands and $100 for the West stands. University faculty and staff receive a discount on up to six season tickets. Priority seating may be purchased in sections C-H in the West stands with a contribution to the Jaguar Athletic Fund.
Information about road games will be available on May 1. Call the USA Athletic Ticket Office at 251.461.1USA to renew or purchase new season tickets.
Go Jags!
Jags Defeat Alabama State 5-1 In Montgomery
South Alabama defeated Alabama State in Montgomery 5-1 on Tuesday in a one-hit performance by three Jaguar pitchers. Matt Bell improved to 3-0 on the season by only allowing one run on one hit while striking out four and walking two in a career high 5 2/3 innings of work.
James Traylor threw 2 1/3 hitless innings while striking out two in relief with Jordan Patterson pitching a perfect ninth inning and striking out one to earn the save.
The Jags got started early with a triple then scoring on a wild pitch to give the Jags a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, the Jags would load the bases on two walks and a hit batter. A Sacrifice fly would score a run then an RBI single would score another run to increase the lead to 3-0.
In the top of the fourth, the Jags would add another run on a passed ball to go up 4-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, Bell would face the minimum through 3 1/3 innings before allowing a one-out single. The only run for the Hornets would be allowed to score when a runner was caught trying to steal second which allowed a runner to score during the rundown.
USA would score once more in the top of the eighth for the final score of 5-1.
The Jags improve their overall record to 15-3 on the season as they prepare to begin Sun Belt play this weekend at Troy.
Jags Basketball Is Waiting To See If Season May Be Extended
The South Alabama’s basketball team’s season may not be over just yet. There is a chance the Jags could play in one of the other postseason tournaments that are held.
The NCAA Tournament is the tournament that all the teams want to invited to, but the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and CollegeInsider.com Tournaments will invite a total of 80 teams to participate in their tournaments.
Also, if the school is invited to participate in one of the tournaments, the school could turn down the opportunity. Some tournaments are on a ‘buy in’ basis so Athletics Director Joel Erdmann said that the decision to participate in one would be made “in the best interest of the program” on several occasions when asked.
Meanwhile, the school is preparing to conduction an national search for the head coaching position that is currently held by interim head coach Jeff Price after Ronnie Arrow announced his retirement back in December.
Price is on the list to be considered for the position and hopes to get a chance to extend the season a little longer. “I think anytime your program has the opportunity to play int he postseason, regardless of what tournament that might be in, it’s something you want to do,” Price said to AL.com. “It’s good for the players and the experience, it’s good for recruiting and I think it’s good for the program. I’m definitely hopeful we’ll get a chance to play again.”
The Sun Belt tournament continues to be a tough conference for high-seeded teams. The Jags, a #3 seed in the tournament, fell to #6 seeded Western Kentucky who then defeated #2 seeded Arkansas State to get into the Sun Belt Championship Game.
The #1 seeded Middle Tennessee State was upset by #4 seeded Florida International in the quarterfinals to earn the right to face Western Kentucky.
Last night, in the championship game, the Hilltoppers held on in a close game all night to earn their second consecutive Sun Belt Championship and their second consecutive NCAA Tournament trip. This leaves Middle Tennessee State ‘On the bubble’ for the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Raiders are hoping for an at-large invitation to the tournament.
USA Weekend Update
Baseball
The University of South Alabama baseball team rebounded from a 15-2 loss on Saturday to the University of North Florida to win the series with a 9-8 win on Sunday at Eddie Stanky Field.
Jaguar pitcher Dylan Stamey tied a career high with four strikeouts and allowed four hits and one earned run in 4 1/3 innings of relief to earn his third win of the season. Kyle Bartsch earned his fourth save of the year after pitching a perfect ninth inning while striking out one batter.
The Jags struck early by taking a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Then North Florida responded with five runs in the top of the third inning to take the 5-3 lead over the Jags. South Alabama reponded in the bottom half of the inning after Nolan Early hit a three-run homer to put the Jags back on top 6-5. USA would put two more runs over the plate in the inning to lead 8-5 at the end of the inning.
UNF would add two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to get within one of the Jags 8-7. Jags would add another run in the bottom of the 6th and UNF would cut the lead to one run again in the top of the eighth, but would not be able score again after that.
The Jags improve to 14-3 on the season while UNF falls to 11-5.
The Jags will travel to Montgomery to take on Alabama State on Tuesday with first pitch set for 6pm. Then the Jags will travel to Troy to take on the Trojans in a weekend Sun Belt series.
Softball
South Alabama battles hard against #9 UCLA on Saturday, but fell short by losing 2-1. UCLA improved to 20-4 on the season.
The Lady Jags then turned around and split the final day of games in California. The Jags fell to Utah 2-1 in the early game on Sunday before rebounding for a 4-1 win over host Long Beach State in the late game.
Hannah Campbell’s record fell to 9-4 on the season but earned her team-leading third save of the season. Farish Beard improved her record to 9-0 on the season with nine strikeouts in six innings while only allowing three hits and one earned run against LBSU.
The jags will return to action when they open Sun Belt play at Jaguar Field on Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Men’s Basketball
South Alabama had the lead with 25 seconds left in the game against Western Kentucky, but a turnover allowed the Hilltoppers to take the lead and hold on for the 62-59 win.
The Jags had an opportunity with 9.2 seconds left in the game, but a three-point attempt by Barrington Stevens III missed but the Jags kept possession with 0.5 seconds left. A final desperate heave by Augustine Rubit hit the rim twice but would not fall for the Junior.
Rubit finished with a team-high 22 points and eight rebounds. Senior Javier Carter added 11 points, six rebounds and one block. Stevens, Wright and Ammons both added six points.
Sun Belt Tournament
Western Kentucky defeated #2 seed Arkansas State 58-56 on Sunday. Then #1 seed Middle Tennessee fell to #4 seed Florida International 61-57 to fall short of getting to the Sun Belt Championship game for the second season in a row.
The Conference Championship Game will tip off Monday evening at 6pm with #4 FIU squaring off against #6 Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are looking for back-to-back Sun Belt Championships and NCAA Tournament berths.
Jags Face WKU Tonight In SBC Tournament Showdown
South Alabama will face Western Kentucky in the second around of the Sun Belt Tournament Saturday night in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
South Alabama earned a bye in the first round of the tournament with a #3 seeding while #6 seed WKU defeated #11 seed ULM 79-73.
The Hilltoppers hold a 4-3 lead over the Jags in Sun Belt Tournament games. The Jags split the regular season meetings with the ‘toppers with each team winning their home game.
The game is scheduled to tip-off at 8:30pm with radio coverage on WNSP with play-by-play by Lee Shirvanian and streaming video available via the Sun Belt Digital Network.