Busy Weekend In South Alabama Sports
The Jaguar baseball team will travel to Arkansas State for a weekend series while the Lady Jaguar Softball team will host North Texas. But that is not all going on this weekend in South Alabama sports.
The Men’s Tennis team will wrap up their regular season this weekend in Memphis, Tennessee as they face UAB and #46 Memphis. They enter this weekends matches with a 10-11 record overall after facing seven ranked opponents this season with wins over #30 BYU, #56 St. John’s and #60 Georgia State.
The women’s Tennis team will also wrap up their regular season this weekend at home against UAB. The matches will begin at 11am at the South Alabama Tennis courts.
Also the South Alabama men’s and women’s track and field teams will hold their final home meet of the season on Friday and Saturday. They will welcome Alabama State, Loyola, North Alabama, Spring Hill, Tulane, West Alabama and West Florida to Jaguar Track for the South Alabama Invitational.
It will begin at 4:30pm on Friday and will start at 10am on Saturday morning with men’s javelin throw.
Jags Baseball Fall To Nicholls State 4-1
The Jags fell to Nicholls State on Tuesday evening 4-1. The Colonels jumped ahead early with three runs in the first inning and stayed ahead behind Brandon Jackson’s pitching.
Jackson allowed only one run on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks for his first win of the season. Jaguar pitcher Andrew Fonzi took the loss in three innings of work after allowing four runs on five hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
The Colonels first score came on a two out, two run triple to left center. Then they plated another run one batter later on an RBI single to left field. In the top of the third inning, they added another run on a two-out RBI single through the left side.
The Jags were hitless until the bottom of the fifth inning before Whitt Dorsey got a single. He advanced to second base on a failed pickoff attempt. Later that same inning, the Jags would load the bases but Jackson pitched his way out of the jam without allowing a run.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Jags would load the bases again with no outs on three consecutive singles. A sacrifice fly by Hayden Jones would net the only Jaguar run of the game.
Hunter Soleymani, James Traylor and Brandon Boyle all combined to pitch six shutout innings and only allowed two hits with seven combined strikeouts.
Jackson pitched 6 1/3 innings for the Colonels and scattered five hits and only one earned run with six strikeouts. Marc Picciola and Jordan McCoy combined for 2 2/3 innings with each only allowing one hit each with Picciola picking up three strikeouts.
The Jags will travel to Jonesboro, Arkansas for a weekend series against Arkansas State with the first game set to begin at 6pm on Friday.
Jags Baseball Host Nicholls State Tonight
The South Alabama baseball team look to improve their 24-9 record against Nicholls State tonight at Eddie Stanky Field.
The Jags took two of three from FIU over the weekend and fell to #17 ranked Mississippi State a week ago.
Andrew Fonzi will take the mound for the Jags for his fourth start of the season. He has allowed three earned runs or less in all three of his previous starts with eight strikeouts and four walks in 12 innings pitched.
Nicholls State enters the game on a three game skid after Texas A&M-Corpus Christi swept the Colonels. They have lost six of their last seven actually as they enter the game with a 15-18 record overall.
The Jags lead the Sun Belt Conference in several statistical categories such as runs scored with 233, RBI with 207, hit by pitch with 41 and sacrifice flies with 19. They are also tied with Louisiana-Lafayette for tops in the league with 335 hits.
First pitch is set for 6:30pm.
South Alabama Sports Weekend Update
Baseball
The South Alabama Jaguar baseball team had a chance to sweep Florida International, but the Golden Panthers took the final game to prevent the sweep.
In game one on Friday, Jarron Cito worked a season-high 7 2/3 innings in the 8-1 win. He scattered nine hits and only allowed one run while striking out five with three walks.
Jeff DeBlieux led the Jags by going 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. He was one of seven Jags to record hitsw in the game.
In game two the Jags clinched the series with a 6-5 win over FIU. Four Jaguars pitched in the game with Jacob Noble tossing 4.2 innings allowing eight hits and four runs, three of them earned, and three walks.
Brandon Boyle earned the win in two innings of relief allowing one run on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Kyle Bartsch pitched a perfect nineth inning for his seventh save of the season. Dylan Stamey pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings with four strikeouts.
Cole Billingsley led the Jags by going 2-fo-4 with a triple, a walk and three RBIs.
In the final game, FIU used a four run fourth inning to down the Jags 7-4 at Eddie Stanky Field. FIU took a 2-0 lead early in the top of the first inning on a two-out, two run double down the right field line.
In the top of the fourth the Panthers added their first run on a leadoff homer to left field. Then an RBI single would double their lead to 4-0, but they weren’t done yet. A two run homerun to left field would put FIU up 6-0.
Tripp Cecil sufferred the loss in 3 1/3 innings pitched where he allowed five runs on four hits with a strikeout and two walks. The Jags tried to rally but the Panthers held on for the win.
The Jags improve their record to 24-9 overall and 7-5 in Sun Belt play with the two wins this weekend. FIU fell to 18-14 and 6-6 in Sun Belt play with their two losses. The Jags are tied with Troy one game out of first place in the Sun Belt. FAU and WKU both have an 8-4 conference record.
The baseball team will be in action on Tuesday when they host Nicholls State at Eddie Stanky Field for a 6:30pm first pitch.
Softball
The South Alabama softball team earned their second conference sweep of the season over Middle Tennessee this past weekend. The #23 ranked Jags used a four run third inning in game one to break open a 1-1 tie. They would knock off the Blue Raiders 9-1 in game one.
In the second game, they eruped for 19 hits and 13 runs to win a run-rule victory over the Blue Raiders 13-3.
Haley Fagan led the Jags on Saturday in the doubleheader by going 6-for-7 with a home run, two runs scored and eight RBI. Julie Moss went 6-for-8 with five runs scored and her second triple of the year.
Meghan COllins hit two home runs, scored three times and drove in four RBI. Brittany Fowler had three hits and scored five runs including her eighth home run to lead the team.
Hannah Campbell and Farish Beard both recorded their 15th win each on Saturday. They combined for 15 strikeouts and no walks while holding Blue Raiders to a .220 batting average. Hannah struck out seven while scattering six hits for her 16th complete game. She only allowed one earned run. Beard struck out eight and allowed five hits and three earned runs.
On Sunday, the Lady Jags used a shutout performance to earn the sweep over MTSU. Alex Breeden went 3-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored whiel Blair Johnson recorded three RBI on two hits to lead the Jags in the victory.
Julie Moss and Britany Campbell both added two hits each while Kaitlyn Griffith hit her seventh homerun of the year.
Hannah Campbell earned her 16th win of the season with two strikeouts, no walks and inducing two double plays in the game.
The Jags improve to 34-7 overall and 11-3 in Sun Belt play while MTSU fell to 4-33 overall and 1-13 in Sun Belt play. The Jags sit on top of the Sun Belt standings with their 11-3 record with WKU two games back in the win column at 9-3.
The Lady Jags will return to action when they host Florida State at Jaguar Field on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 6pm.
Jags Fall To #17 Mississippi State At Home
The South Alabama baseball team fell to the #17 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs Tuesday night by a score of 6-4 at Eddie Stanky Field.
The Jags opened the scoring with sac fly to left field in the bottom of the third inning. The Jags held onto the 1-0 lead until the top of the fourth inning. MSU loaded the bases in the top of the fourth when Jaguar pitcher Matt Bell balked home the tying run before inducing the inning ending groundout to first base.
In the top of the fifth inning the Bulldogs took the lead on a wild pitch by Bell. They would then extend their lead to 3-1 with an RBI groundout. In the top of the sixth, the Bulldogs would add another run to their lead when a ball was mishandled in right field.
The Jags responded in the bottom of the seventh inning when they were facing a 4-1 deficit. They took advantage of two Bulldog errors on the way to tying the game.
But in the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs got on base on a single and a batter being hit by a pitch to start the inning. A flyout ot right field would advance one runner to third base with one out. A walk would load the bases prior to a two-run single through the right side of the inning for the 6-4 final score.
Matt Bell tied a career high in innings pitched with six, but came away with a no-decision in the game. James Traylor sufferred the loss to fall to 2-3 on the season in two innings of relief.
The Jags will look to break the four game skid when they host Southeastern Louisiana University on Wednesday evening. First pitch is set for 6:30pm at Eddie Stanky Field.
South Alabama Sports Weekend Update
Baseball
Florida Atlantic had the Jaguars number this weekend in Boca Raton as the #24 were swept in the three game Sun Belt Conference series.
In the opening game on Friday, the Jags jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning after Austin Gomber belted a three-run homer to right. The Owls would cut the lead down to one in the bottom of the first inning after Tyler Rocklein also homered to right field.
In the bottom of the second inning the Owls took the lead 4-3 on consecutive RBI singles. They then extended their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning to the final score 6-3 as the Jags were unable to get anything going to manufacture runs.
Brandon Boyle suffered the loss in five innings of work by allowing four earned runs on 10 hits with a strikeout and two walks. James Traylor struck out five and only allowed two hits in three shutout innings of relief.
On Saturday, the Owls scored five unanswered runs to defeat the Jags 7-6. Through 4 1/2 innings the Jags led 6-2 before the Owls scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run triple followed by an RBI single to cut the Jaguar lead to 6-5.
The Owls then tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a sac fly. They then scored the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth on a Jag error that allowed the runner to score from second after reaching on a leadoff single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt.
On Sunday, FAU’s Jeremy Strawn threw a complete-game shutout as the Owls completed the series sweep with a 3-0 win over the Jags. Strawn improved his overall record to 2-1 on the season while Jacob Noble suffered his first loss of the season.
FAU scored their first two runs in the bottom of the second inning with the first coming on a Jaguar error at third base. Then their second came on a sacrifice bunt.
The Jags loaded the bases in the top of the third inning but Strawn worked out of it by inducing a grounder for a force out at home plate, then he struck out Jordan Patterson to end the Jaguar threat.
FAU improved to 19-9 on the season and 7-2 in Sun Belt play while the Jaguars fell to 22-7 overall this season and 5-4 in Sun Belt play.
The Jags are in action again on Tuesday evening as they host Mississippi State with first pitch scheduled for 6:30pm.
Softball
The Lady Jaguars split the series opening doubleheader on Friday against Western Kentucky at Jaguar Field.
In the first game the Jags fell 4-3. WKU were the first on the board with a solo home run to left center in the top of the fourth inning, only the fifth homerun given up by Hannah Campbell this season.
The Jags responded in the bottom half of the inning after a Brittany Fowler single and a Haley Fagan double that scored Fowler. Then Julie Moss put down a sacrifice bunt to move Fagan to third base before Kaitlyn Griffith knocked her sixth home run of the year to give the Jags a 3-1 lead.
The next inning the ‘Toppers scored the game-winning two-out single to score both runners on base for the 4-3 margin.
In the second game the Jags responded with an 8-5 win. The Jags opened the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Both schools scored a run in the fifth inning. Then the Jags scored their final runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth when they extended their lead to 8-3.
WKU would add two more runs for the final score of 8-5.
On Sunday, WKU’s ace pitcher dominated the beginning of the game by retirin gnine of the Jags first 10 batters before Blair Johnson hit a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game up at 1 apiece.
That wouldn’t last long as the ‘Toppers would respond in the top of the next inning with two runs to take a 3-1 advantage.
Britany Campbell would cut the WKU lead to one as she hit a home run over the right field wall, but consecutive fly outs would end the game.
The Lady Jags fell to 29-7 on the season and 6-3 in conference play. Hannah Campbell’s loss dropped her record to 13-7 on the season.
The Lady Jags will return to action on Wednesday with a midweek series against Florida Atlantic. They have a double-header scheduled on Wednesday with the first game set to start at 4pm.
Jags Baseball Travel To FAU This Weekend
The South Alabama Jaguar baseball team looks to extend their current five game winning streak this weekend when they travel to face Florida Atlantic University this weekend.
The series with the Owls will begin tonight with first pitch set for 5:30pm Central time with Brandon Boyle set to take the mound for the Jags. Game two has first pitch set for 3pm Central Time on Saturday with Jacob Noble taking the mound for the Jags. Then the series finale will begin at noon Central time Sunday with Jarron City taking the mound.
The 24th ranked Jags enter the game with a 22-4 record overall and a 5-1 record in Sun Belt play. The Jags pitching staff has a combined ERA of 1.96 with 47 strikeouts and 17 walks in 46 innings during the current winning streak. They have also held their opponents to a .204 batting average.
Offensively the Jags are hitting .330 with three doubles, four home runs, 33 RBI’s and 37 runs scored.
FAU enters with a 16-9 record overall and a 4-2 record in Sun Belt play. They are also coming off of a 6-1 win over Miami (FL) University and enter the weekend with a three game winning streak.
The Owls currently leads the conference in ERA with 3.02 and runs allowed with 105. They also have 205 strikeouts and 71 walks in 223 2/3 innings pitched this season.
All three games will be broadcast live on WNSP 105.5 FM and through their website WNSP.com.
Jags Down USM 3-1 In 10 Innings
South Alabama defeated Southern Miss 3-1 on Tuesday, but it took an extra inning to do so.
The Jags and the Golden Eagles were scoreless through five innings but the Jags broke that scoreless tie when Jordan Patterson singled in a run in the top of the sixth inning. USM threatened in the bottom half of the inning but the Jags worked their way out of it.
USM threatened again in the bottom of the eighth inning but again the Jags worked themselves out of it. But in the bottom of the ninth a lead off triple then a hit batter put runners on the corners. THen a single to right field would score the tieing run. The Jags would again work themselves out of the inning to go to the tenth inning.
In the top of the tenth, the Jags would load the bases with no outs. Patterson would reach on an error by the USM shortstop. Then Nolan Earley followed with a single to center field. Then a passed ball would advance both Jags into scoring position. Then Dustin Dalken would draw a walk to load the bases.
Brent Mitchell would fall behind in the count but would work it back to even at 2-2 before he would drive a slider into left field to score Patterson and Earley to give USA a 3-1 lead. Then the Jags held off the Golden Eagles in the bottom of the tenth to preserve the victory.
Jaguar starter Matt Bell threw six shutout innings and allowed only three hits while striking out three with one walk. Dylan Stamey would allow two hits in two shutout innings while striking out four and walking one.
Kyle Bartsch allowed one run on two hits and struck out one to earn his third win of the season. James Traylor would strike out three with one walk and only one hit in one shutout inning for his first save of the season.
“Matt Bell was really good,” Calvi said. “They (USM) put the ball in play, and we played good defense behind him. Stamey was solid again for two innings, and did a nice job with four strikeouts. We went to Bartsch late, he’s our guy. He threw 44 pitches on Saturday, so he only had one shot to get it done and unfortunately he didn’t. But James Traylor did a nice job behind him. It was a team win tonight, a team pitching-staff win for sure.”
Bell had his longest career outing as a Jag on Tuesday night. He used two inning-ending double plays in the first four innings of the game to do it.
The #24 ranked Jaguars will travel to Boca Raton, Florida for a three game SBC series with FAU.
Jarron City Named SBC Pitcher Of The Week
Cito was named SBC Pitcher of the Week on March 25, 2013. Photo by Bobbie McDuffie | usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s Jarron Cito was named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week by conference officials on Monday.
City struck out a career high 11 batters while only allowing one unearned run on one hit in a seven inning complete game effort. He retired eight of the first nine batters he faced then retired the final 11 batters of the game. It was his second complete game of his career and the first by a Jaguar pitcher this season.
This is Cito’s second time to be named Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week. The first was on April 30 of last season. He is the second Jaguar pitcher to be named Pitcher of the Week this season after Jacob Noble earned the honor on March 4.
The Jags swept Conference foe Arkansas-Little Rock in a three game series at Eddie Stanky Field. The Jags return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Southern Miss for a midweek contest.
South Alabama Sports Weekend Update
Baseball
The #25 ranked South Alabama Jaguar baseball team completed a three game sweep of conference foe Arkansas-Little Rock over the weekend. Brandon Boyle pitched seven shutout innings in his first career win at Eddie Stanky Field.
Boyle struck out seven and allowed only three hits and one walk while retiring 10 of the final 11 batters he faced. Dylan Stamey struck out four and allowed one run on one hit in 1 1/3 innings for his first career save in the 4-3 victory Friday night.
On Saturday, the Jags had to rally for two runs in the bottom of the 11th inning in order to secure the 6-5 win over UALR.
The Jags Cole Billingsley got a one out single to push a run over the plate in the bottom of the ninth and send the game to extra innings. In the top of the 11th, a two out solo home run by UALR would put them in the lead 5-4 going into the bottom of the 11th.
USA’s Robby Campbell would get on base on a error at shortstop with one out. He would then steal second base. Brent Mitchell would draw a walk to put runners on first and second. Graham Odom would reach on an infield single to first base to load the bases for the Jags. Cole Billingsley would be hit by a pitch to even the score at 5-5. Then Bud Collura would single to shortstop, but UALR’s shortstop’s only play was to second base but his throw would sail wide of the bag allowing Mitchell to score the game winning run.
Jarron Cito would strike out a career high 11 batters in seven innings as the Jags won 11-1 on Sunday at Eddie Stanky Field. Cito allowed on unearned run on just one hit and one walk to post the Jags first complete game of the season and the second of his career. He retired the finall 11 batters he faced.
The Jags improved to 21-4 overall on the season and 5-1 in Sun Belt play with the series sweep. UALR fell to 10-14 overall and 0-6 in the Sun Belt.
The Jags are tied with Western Kentucky atop the Sun Belt standings with a 5-1 record.
The Jags will travel to Hattiesburg to face Southern Miss on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6pm.
Softball
The #25 ranked Jaguar softball team swept Florida International over the weekend to improve their overall record _______.
The Jags opened the weekend with a doubleheader with wins of 11-5 and 10-0 to clinch the series on Saturday. The Jags outhit FIU 20-6 on Saturday alone and had four home runs.
Five Jaguars recorded multiple hits on Saturday. Brittany Fowler, Kaitlyn Griffith and Emily Messer led with four hits each. Julie Moss had three hits and Britany Campbell had two.
Moss had seven RBI’s on Saturday with Fowler knocking in six runs including three that came on a grand slam that was ruled a single as an appeal revealed that she failed to touch second base.
Farish Beard gave up five earned runs in the bottom of the sixth and now has an ERA of 1.79 after giving up the five runs in game one as she pitched a complete game victory.
Hannah Campbell’s league-leading ERA went down to 0.93 as the junior threw her 12th complete game of the season and her fifth shutout as she improved her record to 12-5.
The Jags then capped off the sweep with an 8-5 win on Sunday to earn their first sweep of the season. After two and a half innings, the Jags led 6-0 before adding two insurance runs in the top of the fifth. The Jags then weathered a late two run push to preserve the win.
Hannah Campbell tossed her 13th complete game of the season and lowered her ERA to 0.87 to continue to lead the league. She is 13-5 on the season.
The Lady Jags will host LSU on Wednesday at Jaguar Field. First pitch is set for 7pm.