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.
NBC Sports Writer Covers Graves’ First Recruit
Head basketball coach Matt Graves. | Photo by butler.edu.
After Jaguar Basketball head coach Matt Graves signed his first recruit at South Alabama, NBC Sports College Basketball Talk’s Kevin Doyle wrote about the first recruit of the Graves era.
Austin Karazsia played two sports in high school and stood out in both. Along with his basketball play, as quarterback for his football team he passed for 3,328 yards and 42 touchdowns at Linton-Stockton High School.
He asked if Graves could be transforming USA into Butler south, but admitted it was too soon to make such a bold statement. You can read the entire article by clicking here.
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.
USA Honors Turning 50 With Celebration This Evening
It was 50 years ago today that the University of South Alabama was founded. This evening the University will mark the momentous occasion.
As well as celebrating the school, they will also pay tribute to President Gordon Moulton, whose career spans most of that period. He has overseen the phenomenal growth of the university during his 15 years as president.
The celebration will begin at 6:30pm at The Mitchell Center and will feature food and music. They will also have memories of the University’s early ears, recognition of faculty and their teaching, research, scholarly activity and creative works. They will also have a video presentation of USA’s first half-century.
Each person who attends will be given a copy of a new book that features nearly 200 pages of historic and modern photographs as well as first-hand accounts of the University’s beginnings and it’s growth.
Also in attendance will be Alabama Governor Robert Bentley with several other local, state and federal leaders who will speak.
The event is free and open to the public. The dress is business casual.
When USA was established there was no other public, four-year degree granting institution in the region. Civic and business leaders recognized the importance of a university to the region’s success and pushed for it’s creation.
The single-building campus in west Mobile quickly expanded, established a medical school and is recognized today as a vibrant, competitive teaching and research institution.
Over it’s 50 years it has awarded 75,000 degrees; 15,000 currently enrolled students; 250,000 patients treated annually; 5,500 employees; $400 million in annual payroll, one of the area’s largest; $2 billion in economic impact each year.
Gordon Moulton arrived at the University when it was only three years old as he joined the business faculty in 1966. He has served as director of the USA computer center, founding dean of the School of Computer and Information Sciences (now named the School of Computing) and vice president for services and planning.
Then, most notably, he was selected as the University’s second president in 1998.
He led the development of the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute, the largest research endeavor in the school’s history. The USA Health System which consists of the USA College of Medicine, physician practice, USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital, the USA Medical Center.
He also led the creation of the USA Research and Technology Park which is now home to 16 technology based firms and 600 private sector employees.
He has also led the construction of multiple new facilities on campus including Shelby Hall, Meisler Hall, a new Student Center, and the Football Fieldhouse when the University began a NCAA football program and marching band program.
USA-SLU Game Rescheduled
The University of South Alabama baseball team has rescheduled their game against Southeastern Louisiana which was rained out on April 3 due to heavy rain and thunderstorms.
The game has been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 7 with first pitch set for 6:30pm at Eddie Stanky Field.
South Alabama Vying To Be Regional Host
South Alabama’s baseball and softball teams are having a very good season so far this year. With their regular season games dwindling the postseason is looming large both teams could potentially host regional tournaments over the next several weeks.
Athletic Director Joel Erdmann announced on WNSP that the University has put in a bid to host a regional tournament for softball and he said that they would also put in a bid for a baseball regional tournament. He indicated that, if the Jags can finish in the top 16, USA should be able to host a regional.
SouthEasternBaseball.com is projecting South Alabama to host a regional. They also project South Florida, Mississippi State and Southern Miss to be in this regional.
The website also has three other Sun Belt schools in the postseason. They have Troy as a #2 seed at the regional at Florida State, Florida Atlantic as a #3 seed in Nashville for the Vanderbilt regional and Louisiana-Lafayette as a #2 seed at the LSU regional.
South Alabama Honored Their Student-Athletes Tuesday Night
On Tuesday evening the University of South Alabama honored their student-athletes at the fourth annual Pete Tolbert Night of Champions at the Mitchell Center.
Augustine Rubit was named Jaguar Male Student-Athlete of the year. Rubit earned All-American honors from CollegeInsider.com and was a National Basketball Coaches Association first-team All-District selection. Along with several other accolades.
Hannah Campbell was named the Jaguar Female Student-Athlete of the Year. She is ranked in the top five nationally in ERA and saves and leads the Sun Belt in both categories while ranking in the top five in wins and strikeouts as well. In 33 appearances she has a record of 18-7 with six saves, a 0.94 ERA and 132 strikeouts over 164 2/3 innings of work. She aslo recorded her first career no-hitter in March versus UC-Santa Barbara. Some notable appearances include wins over nationally ranked ULL and Mississippi State and saves against then #25 ranked Florida State and Ole Miss.
The event recognized the achievements of South Alabama nearly 400 student-athletes both in the classroom and in competition.
Brittany Fowler is USA’s NCAA Woman of the Year nominee. To be eligible for the honor a student-athlete must be a varsity letterwinner who will complete her intercollegiate eligibility by the end of spring sports season. They must have excelled in academics, athletics, service and leadership with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5. She is batting a team-leading .406 with 52 hits, eight home runs, 31 RBI and 48 runs scored. She rankes among the conference leaders in each of those categories.
Julie Moss earned the Tom and Barbara Corcoran Scholar-Athlete Endowed Scholarship Award which is presented to a Junior who most excels in sports while maintaining at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
Brittany Campbell earned the Denny-Gottfried Athletic Scholarship Award that goes to a student-athlete who holds a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA, has completed their NCAA eligibility and with the assistance of the fund will graduate from USA within two consecutive semesters. The Senior’s total of seven home runs this spring are more than her previous three seasons combined while she is batting .328 with 11 stolen bases and 33 runs scored.
Trey Clark earned the Jimmy Taylor Scholarship Award which is given to a student-athlete who has exhausted their eligibility, maintained an outstanding GAP and achieved significant Athletic accomplishments. Clark not only played every snap at center last season for the Jags, but he also started every game for the Jags since the teams inception in 2009. Clark also earned second-team Capital One Academic All-America honors off the field.
Romelle Jones earned the Male Perseverance Award while Scott Garber earned the Male Jaguar Athletic Fund Award for the second year in a row.
Mychal Ammons earned the Wilson Durgin Memorial Scholarship Award which is presented to a deserving minority student-athlete.
COle Billingsley earned the Auralia Crowell Freshman Scholar-Athlete Award for the most outstanding freshman based on excellence in academics and athletics. In his first season with the Jaguar baseball team he is batting .295, scored 26 runs and 19 RBI.
Kristyn Thacker earned the Female Perseverance Award while Amber Wyatt earned the Female Jaguar Athletic Fund Award.
Brent Mitchell earned the Forrest W. and Beverly B. Crowder Endowed Scholarship for Baseball. Jacob Noble earned the Clifton Inge Endowed Baseball Award. Garrett Schumacher earned the McKinney Family Endowed Scholarship for Track and Field Award. Ross Metheny was named the Mayer Mitchell Quarterback Endowment Fund Award winner while Daniel Ballard was named the George Smith Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund Award winner.
Travis Toth was named the Matt Smith Award Winner. This is presented to a member of the athletic staff who consistently goes the extra mile, has the spirit of commitment, strong work ethic and a deep sense of pride in their job. It is named for former USA Sports Information Director Matt Smith who passed away in December of 2004.
Each sports program also presents awards. The winners of those honors were: Eddie Stanky Award (baseball), Brent Mitchell; Goldie Ungar Heart of Gold Award (men’s basketball), Javier Carter; Lady Jag Basketball TEDs Award (women’s basketball), Ronneka Robertson; Female Distance Award (women’s cross country), Salom Lecoq; Male Distance Award (men’s cross country), Patrick Rohr; Jim Yance Heart of a Jaguar Award (football), B.J. Scott; Heath Slocum Award (men’s golf), Jared Burleson; Beth Barry Award (women’s golf), Kristen Golightly; Lindsay Rogers Award (soccer), Jess Oram; Extra Mile Award (softball), Meghan Collins; Lubel Family Award (men’s tennis), Daniel Leitner; Marilyn Lubel Award (women’s tennis), Mary Angela Martin; Female Field Events Award (women’s track and field), Briana Aiken; Male Field Events Award (men’s track and field), Nick Farrell; Female Track Events Award (women’s track and field), Leah Hixon; Male Track Events Award (men’s track and field), Tyler Agee; and, Jaguar Volleyball Award (volleyball), Olivia Mohler.
USA has 45 student-athletes set to receive their degree in two weeks at commencement. They were given Sun Belt Conference Graduation Medallions to honor their accomplishement both through competition and academics culiminating in their graduation.
Congratulations to all of the Jaguar Student-Athletes and good luck to the soon-to-be alumni. Thank you for your hard work both on and off the field and for representing the University in a distinguished manner.
GO Jags!!
Demetre Baker Dismissed From Team
Running back Demetre Baker is asking for his release from South Alabama according to his Social Media accounts and WNSP.
Coach Jones told WNSP that Baker had over 20 rules infractions against team rules. He missed games last season due to breaking team rules as well. Jones also said that, after a meeting and a vote of the seniors on the team, they voted to kick him off the football team.
Baker has taken to Social Media and said that all he wants is his transfer papers, but that post has since been taken down.
He participated in spring drills and practices after being named ineligible after failing two classes in the fall. According to Baker’s interview with SunBeltInsider.com, he has been banned from “…offices and campus facilities” which I assume means sports offices and facilities and not academic facilities.
When more information comes out about this situation, we will cover it. But as of now, all we know is that Baker has been dismissed from the team and is looking to get his release to transfer to another school.
B.J. Scott Heading To Bears’ Rookie Minicamp
B.J. Scott, along with Romelle Jones, Alex Page and Greg Hollinger serve as Game Captains for South Alabama in the Jaguars game against Troy in the two schools’ first meeting and the Jaguars first Sun Belt Conference game.
B.J. Scott is heading to Chicago. While he was not selected in the NFL Draft last weekend, he has been asked to attend the Chicago Bears’ rookie minicamp on May 10-12.
Scott, a 5’11” 205-pound defensive back, ranked third on the team with 84 tackles, 49 of them solo, with six tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, three pass breakups, two quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and two forced fumbles. He was also selected as an honorable mention selection to last season’s All-Sun Belt Conference team.
Prior to landing at South Alabama, Scott played for Vigor High School before signing with the University of Alabama. He spent three years in Tuscaloosa with one of them being a redshirt season. He was part of the team for the 2009 BCS National Championship and a record of 36-5.
After an ankle injury and being tried out at different positions, Scott transferred to South Alabama. He started the first seven games of the 2011 season before a knee injury sufferred against Georgia State forced him to miss the remaining games of the season. But he still finished fifth in tackles with 48 and a team-high four passes defended.
Prior to the injury, he set a single-game school record with 180 yards in kick returns against Georgia State, including a 71-yard return on the game’s opening play. The Jags would eventually lose the game in overtime unfortunately.
He was a late addition to the South team’s roster for the Senior Bowl in January.