Calvi Named Coach Of The Year, Patterson Named SBC Player Of The Year
South Alabama received more accolades on Tuesday as the Jags baseball team prepare to open their 2013 Sun Belt Conference Tournament campaign against UALR on Wednesday.
Head coach Mark Calvi was named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, Jordan Patterson was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and in all seven Jaguars earned All-Conference honors at the SBC Family Fun Night at M. L. “Tigue” Moore Field in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Patterson is the sixth Jaguar all-time to earn the award and the first since David Freese in 2006. The award is voted on by the conference’s coaches. He joins an impressive list of Jaguars who have earned the honor which includes: Mike Zimmerman (1990), Jon Lieber (1992), Marlon Anderson (1995), Juan Pierre (1998) and Freese.
Patterson was also named to the First-Team All-SBC team as a utility player. It is his second consecutive season he has earned All-Conference honors and his first first-team selection. Patterson is a junior.
Joining Patterson is Dustin Dalken (DH) and Robby Campbell (2B) on the first team. Matt Bell (starting pitcher), Kyle Bartsch (relief pitcher), Whitt Dorsey (C) and Nolan Earley (OF) were all named to the second-team All-SBC team.
USA and Louisiana-Lafayette tied for the most all-conference selections with seven each. It also marked the most by a Jaguar squad since the 2006 season when seven Jags were named to the All-SBC team.
Additionally, the Jags were recognized for their share of the regular season championship, the 14th Sun Belt title for the University.
Mark Calvi was honored after the team recognition as the SBC Ron Maestri Coach of the Year. It’s the eighth time a Jaguar head coach has been named the conference coach of the year with Eddie Stanky (1983) and Steve Kittrell (1992, ’96, ’98, 2001, ’03). Coach Calvi led the Jags to a 40-win season, which is the most since the 2003 season, and 20 conference wins which is the most since the Jags 27 in 1999.
South Alabama Sports Weekend Roundup
Softball
On Sunday night, the South Alabama Lady Jaguar softball team’s season came to heartbreaking end. The Jags stared at the scoreboard after the game not believing what happened in the 7-6 loss to Florida State.
The Jags, facing elimination in the first game on Sunday, fought hard behind the pitching of Farish Beard to win 3-0. But in game two, Farish had a five run lead heading into the top of the seventh inning when the game got away. Along with the game went their chance to advance to the super regionals.
Florida State’s Kelly Hensley nailed a grand slam off of the Jaguar Field scoreboard to tie the game in the seventh inning. Pitcher Monica Perry worked out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh then Victoria East hit a home run over the fence in right center field in the top of the eighth inning to lead FSU to the super regionals in Austin, Texas.
This was South Alabama’s first time to host an NCAA Regional tournament and they were very close in advancing to the super regional. However a stunning comeback by the Seminoles turned the Jags away and gave them hearache that will not heal quickly.
The Jaguars end the season with a 48-9 record overall this season. Of the nine losses, all but one was by one run.
Congratulations on such a great season ladies. Jaguar Nation is very proud of what you accomplished this season.
Baseball
The South Alabama baseball team won one of the three game over the weekend against Troy to earn a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season title. However, since they shared the title with Troy and had a 1-2 record against them, the Jags will be a #2 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
USA (40-16 overall, 20-10 SBC) will open the tournament against #7 seeded Arkansas-Little Rock (28-16 overall, 13-17 SBC) at 4pm on Wednesday in Lafayette, Louisiana.
The Jags have more SBC Tournament wins than any other current or former school with 78-50 all-time tournament record.
THe Jags swept a three-game series against UALR earlier this season at Eddie Stanky Field and have a 2-1 record against them in SBC Tournament play.
#1 seeded Troy will face #8 Arkansas State on Wednesday prior to the Jags game against UALR. They also have FAU and WKU on their side of the bracket. While the Jags have UALR, FIU and ULL on their side of the bracket.
The Jags enter the tournament with a RPI of 17, which factors into their chances of hosting a regional tournament.
Big Weekend For South Alabama Baseball And Softball
The #18 ranked University of South Alabama baseball team will host Troy University for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series beginning this evening at Eddie Stanky Field. This series will close out the regular season, but it also will determine who the regular-season conference champion will be.
The Jags are 39-14 overall on the season and 19-8 in Sun Belt play. They have won their last six conference series and are looking to earn their 14th Sun Belt Conference title and a #1 seed for the Sun Belt Conference Championship tournament coming up soon.
The three game series will be played on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings with first-pitch scheduled for 6:30pm each night.
Troy is 37-15 overall and 18-9 in Sun Belt play.
Scheduled to take the mound for the Jags on Thursday night is James Traylor, he has a 5-3 record with a 3.93 ERA. Matt Bell, who is 6-0 with a 2.87 ERA, is scheduled to take the mound for game two on Friday. The Jags have not named their starter for the third game while Troy has not named their starters for any of the games yet.
USA has won seven of their last eight games and enter the series with a 22-6 record at home. In addition to the #18 ranking in both the Baseball America and Perfect Game polls, they also bring in a #14 RPI.
The Jags are looking to take at least two of three games to secure the regular season title and a #1 seed for the conference tournament. But they are also hoping to bring their first NCAA Regional home to Eddie Stanky Field.
While we are on the subject of NCAA Regionals, the Lady Jaguars are gearing up to host their first-ever NCAA Regional at Jaguar Field. It gets underway on Friday with Mississippi State and Florida State facing off in game one followed by South Alabama and Mississippi Valley State facing off in Game two at 6pm on Friday.
The winners from Friday will face on in the first of three games scheduled on Saturday. Then both of the losers from Friday will face off in Game two on Saturday in an elimination game. Then the third game will feature the loser from the first game on Saturday (between the two winners from Friday) and the winner of the elimination game.
Sunday will see the final two teams play for the right to move on with a possible second game scheduled, if needed, to determine who moves on to face the winner of the Austin Regional which consists of #4 Texas, Houston, South Caroline and Army.
Each of the regional games will be aired on ESPN3.
Dustin Dalken Named SBC Player Of The Week
Senior Dustin Dalken earns his first SBC Player of the Week honor. Photo by Bobby McDuffie | usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s Dustin Dalken was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Monday.
Dalken, a 6’6″ Senior from Gainesville, Georgia, went 7-for-13 with a double and two home runs, six RBI, three runs scored and a .571 on-base percentage as he led the Jags to a 3-1 record last week. He got a hit in all four games and recorded two multi-hit games and two multi-RBI games. He also extended his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games, a career-best.
Dalken went 6-for-12 against Louisiana-Lafayette over the weekend with a double, two home runs, six RBI and three runs scored with 13 total bases.
This is Dalken’s first Player of the Week honor and the third Jag this season.
Jags Split Sunday Doubleheader To Clinch Series Over ULL
The South Alabama baseball team had their opening game in Lafayette cancelled due to weather but came back on Saturday to defeat ULL 9-6. Anthony Izzio tossed seven shutout innings in relief to earn his first win of the season by only allowing four hits while striking out four with only one walk.
Izzio entered the game facing a 6-0 deficit and proceeded to retire eight of the final nine batters he faced before being lifted with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for Dylan Stamey who struck out the only batter he faced to earn his fourth save of the season.
USA fell behind 6-0 after two innings due to a six-run second inning by the Ragin’ Cajuns.
The Jags finally responded in the top of the fifth inning when Nolan Earley doubled to left-center to lead off the inning and scored on an RBI single by Dustin Dalken.
In the top of the sixth inning the Jags would cut the deficit to one run by scoring four, all with two outs in the inning.
Nick Zaharion left off the top of the eighth inning with a single. Dalken then gave the Jags their first lead of the game at 7-6 when he nailed a two-run homer. Jeff DeBlieux added two runs for insurance with a two-run single for the 9-6 final score.
After the Friday game was scrubbed, the Jags and the Cajuns played a doubleheader on Sunday to make it up. The Jags were able to clinch the series by splitting to double bill.
They won the first game of the day by a score of 9-5 by jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
The Jags then fell in the second game of the day by a score of 17-7. ULL scored in six of seven innings and used two five-run innings to avoid the series sweep.
The Jags improved their overall record to 39-14 and 19-8 in Sun Belt play. USA continues to hold onto first place in the conference by one game over Troy.
First place in the conference will be determined this week when the Jags host Troy for the regular season final in a three game series at Eddie Stanky Field. The two teams will face on on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 6:30pm each game.
Jags Baseball Travel To Lafeyette For Weekend Series Beginning Tonight
The South Alabama Jaguar baseball team will travel to Lafayette, Louisiana for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against Ragin’ Cajuns.
Jarron Cito, 4-2 on the season with a 5.21 ERA will make his 13th start of the season in the opening game tonight at 6pm. He will face off against Austin Robichaux who is 7-2 on the season with a 2.92 ERA.
The Jags lead the Sun Belt standings with a 37-13 record overall and a 17-7 record in conference play while winning 10 of their last 11 games. They have also won their last five consecutive Sun Belt series and swept their last two conference road series.
ULL is 34-15 on the season and 15-9 in Sun Belt play. They enter the game with a three-game winning streak after sweeping Arkansas State las weekend in Fayafette. They lead the nation in home runs with 57 and have homers in 12 consecutive games.
Jags Shutout SLU 9-0 Tuesday Evening
The South Alabama baseball team shutout Southeastern Louisiana 9-0 on Tuesday evening.
Jaguar’s Jame Traylor allowed just four hits in six innings of work with four strikeouts and only two walks to earn his fifth win of the season. He combined with Hunter Soleymani, Dylan Stamey and Kyle Bartch for the shutout. They combined to allow only one hit with five combined strikeouts.
The Jags took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. They then loaded the bases in the bottom of the second inning and Jeff Deblieux drew a walk to increase the lead to 3-0. A sacrifice fly would add another run to make it 4-0.
In the bottom of the third inning, Robby Campbell would drive in Nolan Earley on a double to left-center field to increase the Jaguar lead to 5-0.
SLU would load the bases in the top of the fifth inning, but Traylor would induce a 4-3 inning ending ground out to escape the jam.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, a two-out, two-run single by Cole Billingsley would increase the Jaguar lead to 7-0. They would get another run on a two-out double in the bottom of the seventh by Jordan Patterson.
The final run would come on a bases-loaded, pinch hit RBI single to center field in the bottom of the eighth inning by Cole Jarman.
The Jags will travel to Louisiana-Lafayette this weekend for their next-to-last series of the regular season. First pitch is set for 6pm on Friday evening. The game can be heard on 105.5 WSNP in the Mobile area and streamed online at WNSP.com.
Jags Baseball Moves Up In Polls
The University of South Alabama baseball team moved up two spots in the Collegiate Baseball poll to #23 while also entering the Perfect Game’s Top 25 poll at #23 as well.
The Jags will host Southeastern Louisiana this evening at Eddie Stanky Field for a 6:30pm first pitch in a make-up game that was rescheduled due to weather.
This weekend the Jags travel to Louisiana-Lafeyette for a three game SBC series.
South Alabama Sports Weekend Update
Baseball
The 20th ranked South Alabama Jaguar baseball team took two out of three from Middle Tennessee State over the weekend to win another Sun Belt series.
The series began on Friday afternoon at 2pm but was suspended due to rain and had to be concluded on Saturday evening. When it was suspended, the Jags were behind 11-9 in the top of the 14th inning. The Jags would end up winning the game 12-11.
On Saturday, the Jags needed an extra inning to decide the second game in the series as well. Nolan Earley gave the Jags the win on a two-out walk-off double in the bottom of the 10th inning for the 3-2 win.
Cole Billingsley reached on a bunt down the first base line then advanced to to third base on a single to right center by Whitt Dorsey. Earley then placed the 1-0 pitch into right center gap to drive Billingsley in for the win.
Matt Bell allowed two unearned runs on four hits while striking out five and no walks in the no-decision.
The Jags fell in the final game of the series on Sunday 6-5 to the Blue Raiders.
Jacob Noble took the loss after six innings of work where he allowed three unearned runs on seven hits and six strikeouts and one walk.
In the top of the seventh inning the Jags were behind 5-0 after a two-run homer to right field. The Jags finally responded in the bottom of the seventh when Nick Zaharion doubled to left center field then scored when Nolan Earley got his 200th hit and his 50th career double. Earley would then score on Dustin Dalken’s groundout to cut the lead to 5-2.
In the top of the eighth inning MTSU would add another run to make it 6-2.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Jags would load the bases with two outs when Whitt Dorsey was walked, then Jordan Patterson was hit by a pitch and another walk to Zaharion. But an inning ending popup would end the Jaguar threat with a score of 6-2.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Jags would rally for three runs but a game ending 5-3 double play off the bat of Zaharion would allow the Blue Raiders escape the sweep.
The Jags will play Southeastern Louisiana at Eddie Stanky Field to make up a game that was cancelled last month due to weather.
Softball
The Lady Jaguar softball team had their regular season ending doubleheader canceled due to field conditions at Troy.
USA Baseball Hosts MTSU This Weekend
The 20th ranked South Alabama Jaguar baseball team will host Middle Tennessee this weekend at Eddie Stanky Field for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series.
The series will begin this afternoon with first pitch set for 2pm, head of the 50th Anniversary Celebration that will begin at 6:30pm at The Mitchell Center.
The Jags (34-12 overall, 15-6 SBC) enters the weekend on top of the Sun Belt standings and a seven game winning streak and a RPI of 15.
MTSU (25-22 overall, 8-13 SBC) enters the game after knocking off the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on Tuesday after dropping two of three to Arkansas State last weekend. This will wrap up a seven game road trip for the Blue Raiders where they have a road record of 6-13.
Jarron Cito will make his 12th start of the season on Friday to open the series. He has a 4-2 record with an ERA of 5.10 this season. Johnathan Frebis will take the mound for the Blue Raiders where he has a 5-5 record with an ERA of 5.06.
The Jags hold a 37-21 all-time record against MTSU that dates back to the early ’70’s.