USA Re-Enters Baseball America And Collegiate Baseball Top 25 Polls
The University of South Alabama baseball team returned to the Baseball American and Collegiate Baseball rankings on Monday after a weekend sweep of ULM to extend the Jags winning streak to seven games.
The Jags are ranked 20th by Baseball America and are ranked 25th by Collegiate Baseball and are the only Sun Belt schools to be ranked in either poll. They are also on top of the Sun Belt standings.
They do not have any midweek games between now and the end of the regular season so they can rest up for postseason play. The Jags next series will be this weekend when they host Middle Tennessee State for a three-game SBC series at Eddie Stanky Field.
Jaguar Baseball Sweeps ULM
The South Alabama Jaguar baseball team extended their winning streak with a sweep of Louisiana-Monroe on the road over the weekend.
On Friday, Jarron City allowed five runs on nine hits while striking out eight with only two walks in seven innings to earn the win over the ULM Warhawks, 10-8. Dylan Stamey struck out four and allowed two runs on three hits with two walks in 1 2/3 innings to earn his third save of the season.
Jordan Patterson went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and an RBI while scoring one run to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Jeff DeBlieux went 2-for-4 with a homerun, two RBI and two runs scored. Dustin Dalken also hit a homer for the Jaguars.
On Saturday Hunter Soleymani pitched 6 2/3 innings of relief and only allowed one run on two hits to lead the Jaguars to the 9-6 win. He struck out three and only walked two batters to earn his first career win as a Jaguar.
With the Warhawks leading 5-3, the Jags exploded for six runs in teh fifth inning to take a 9-5 lead. The Warhawks would only manage one run the rest of the way.
Then on Sunday, Jacob Noble allowed one earned run on five hits with two strikeouts and three walks in five innings of work to get his fifth win of the season as the Jags won 7-2.
Jordan Patterson threw two shutout innings and allowed only two hits while striking out three with two walks to earn his second save of the season. Cole Billingsley, a freshman, pitched two shutout innings and allowed only one hit with a walk and a strikeout in his first appearance on the mound as a Jaguar.
Eight of the Jaguar starters recorded hits in the final game of the series with Zaharion going 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, a walk and two runs scored. Patterson also finished the game going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, a walk and three runs.
After this weekends series the Jags improved their record to 34-12 on the season and 15-6 in Sun Belt play. The Jags will return to the field this weekend when they host Middle Tennessee State for a three game SBC series at Eddie Stanky Field. Game one is scheduled for 2pm on Friday.
The weekend series extends the Jaguar winning streak to seven games as they extend their lead in the Sun Belt standings to two full games. Western Kentucky was swept by Arkansas-Little Rock over the weekend and fell from second place to a tie for fifth place. The Jags (15-6 SBC) holds a two game edge on Troy (13-8 SBC) with three Conference series left in the season, including a three game regular season finale against Troy which could decide the regular season title and the #1 seed for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
2013 Rumble In The Jungle 7pm In Jaguar Gym
The 2013 edition of the Rumble in the Jungle is set for Monday, April 29th at 7pm in Jaguar Gym. Admission is free! Come out and support your Jaguars as they perform feats of strength as they continue their offseason strength and conditioning program in preparation for their first season as a full FBS member and their first time being eligible for a conference championship and a bowl berth.
GO JAGS!!
USA Baseball Travels To Monroe This Weekend
After taking two of three from Western Kentucky and sweeping Jacksonville State, the Jags head to Monroe, Louisiana to take on ULM in a three game Sun Belt series.
Jarron Cito is set to take the mound for the Jags tonight with first pitch scheduled for 6pm. Saturday’s game is scheduled for 3pm and will be broadcast on the Sun Belt Network and can be seen on ESPN3.com or WatchESPN.com.
South Alabama enters the weekend with a 31-19 record overall and a 12-6 record in Sun Belt play. They enter the weekend in first place in the conference after winning two of the three games against Western Kentucky last weekend. The Jags have a five game winning streak coming into their game against ULM and winning their last three SBC series.
ULM enters the weekend with a 16-26 record overall and 5-13 in Sun Belt play which is tied for last place in the Sun Belt. They also rank last in the conference in team batting average and ERA.
All three games can be heard on WNSP 105.5FM in Mobile and wnsp.com worldwide. Game video will be streamed online at ULMWarhawks.com for a fee.
Beard Earns First Career No-Hitter To Defeat Troy 9-0
Sophomore Farish Beard tossed her first-career no-hitter against Troy. She struck out 10 of 17 batters she faced on Wednesday. | Photo usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s Farish Beard struck out 10 of the 17 batters she faced on Wednesday with only two walks to toss her first career no-hitter as the #18 Jaguars defeated Troy at Jaguar field for her 20th win of the season.
Eight Jaguar batters recorded hits on the way to South Alabama’s 9-0 mercy-rule victory over Troy. Beard recorded her 169th strikeout of the season, currently fifth most in Jaguar single-season history.
South Alabama finishes the regular season home schedule with a 17-3 record.
Beard is holding opponent batters to a .148 average with an ERA of 1.89 on the season. She is holding opposing batters to a .109 average with two outs and runners in scoring position with 1/3 of them striking out against her.
The Lady Jaguars will travel to Troy on May 4th for a series-deciding doubleheader ahead of the Sun Belt Conference tournament being hosted at the Troy Softball Complex.
The Jags continue to hold onto first place in the Conference with a 17-3 league record ahead of 15-3 record of Western Kentucky. The Jags overall record this season is 41-7 with two games to go before the conference tournament.
Jag Baseball Sweep Two Game Series From Jacksonville State
South Alabama swept two games from Jacksonville State on Tuesday and Wednesday at Eddie Stanky Field.
The Jags trailed in the first game on Tuesday 6-2 through 5 1/2 innings before the Jags began their comeback. In the bottom half of the inning they cut the lead in half, then in the bottom of the seventh the Jags plated five runs to take the lead by a score of 8-6.
In the bottom of the eighth inning the Jags scored an insurance run for the final score of 9-6.
Jaime Dennis threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings with only two hits and a pair of strikeouts to get his first win of the season. Kyle Bartsch got the final two outs in the game to earn his 11th save of the season.
Jeff DeBlieux went 4-for-6 with a double, an RBI and a run scored to lead the Jags at the plate.
On Wednesday the Jags defeated the Gamecocks again by a score of 6-5 to sweep the two game series.
South Alabama used a six-run first inning to take the early lead, then held on for the win.
In the top of the second inning, JSU scored two runs to cut the Jaguar lead to 6-2. They added another run in the top of the third inning on a Sac fly to cut the lead in half.
JSU would push two more runs across in the top of the fourth inning but the Jags fought hard to preserve the one run victory.
Tripp Cecil threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief and allowed only three hits while striking out three and issuing one walk.
NCAA Football ’14 Preview Now With More Jaguars
Image by EASports.com
We covered the controversy last year when EA Sports failed to include South Alabama in the 2013 edition of their yearly NCAA Football franchise. Many Jaguar fans were annoyed and mad about being overlooked and they took to social media and email to let EA know about their displeasure.
EA responded with an initial, “oops, sorry we’ll get you next time.” But that was not enough for the fans. They continued to contact EA and they finally relented and gave the school their “first class treatment.”
Last season EA sent a crew to do detailed stadium scans, fan and tailgating photos and audio recordings to be included in the 2014 edition. They spent the week leading up to the game to collect data on the stadium and information about the team’s playbook. They also experienced gameday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and have been using it to digitially recreate it “in the game,” as they say. This oversight may have worked out in South Alabama’s favor after all.
This was posted by EA Sports on their website previewing the 2014 game. “This year, South Alabama makes its long-awaited debut in NCAA Football along with Old Dominion and Georgia State. The Jaguars stadium has been accurately recreated, as has Texas State’s. That’s right, Jim Wacker Field at Bobcat Stadium will be in the game. Both big and small schools received attention, with TCU’s stadium updated to reflect their recent renovations. Horned Frogs fans should feel right at home.”
You can read the entire EA article here.
Our previous articles covering this topic can be viewed below:
https://www.thunderjags.com/2012/06/06/south-alabama-being-left-out-of-eas-ncaa-football-13/
https://www.thunderjags.com/2012/06/14/south-alabama-gets-lots-of-press-over-ea-fumble/
https://www.thunderjags.com/2012/06/22/ea-fesses-up-and-pledges-extras-for-south-alabama/
https://www.thunderjags.com/2012/09/07/ea-sports-to-be-at-stadium-on-saturday/
https://www.thunderjags.com/2012/09/08/ea-sports-is-making-good-on-their-promise/
Haley Fagan Named SBC Player Of The Week
Fagan became the first Freshman in Jaguar history to be named Player of the Week by SBC officials. | usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s Haley Fagan was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Monday. Fagan, the first freshman to earn a weekly conference honor, went 8-for-11 over the weekend against Louisiana-Monroe with six RBI and two home runs in game two of the doubleheader on Saturday. She ended the weekend with a slugging percentage of 1.273 with an on-base percentage of .727.
The two home runs in game two tied the program record for home runs in a single game by a Jaguar student-athlete. She is also two home runs away from tying the school’s single-season record as well.
Also, Fagan is eight RBI away from the all-time single-season record for the program. She currently has 44.
She joins Farish Beard, Julie Moss and Brittany Fowler as Jaguars who have been selected for Player of the Week honors. Moss has been chosen twice.
South Alabama Sports Weekend Update
Baseball
After a setback in the first game against Western Kentucky, South Alabama rebounded to win the next two to clinch the series.
On Friday night, the Hilltoppers used a five run sixth inning to defeat the Jags 10-8. Tanner Perkins allowed two runs on six hits while striking out four with only one walk in six innings of work for the ‘toppers.
Jarron Cito took the loss in five innings of work by allowing seven runs on six hits with one strikeout and three walks.
On Saturday, the Jags used a four-run sixth inning to defeat the ‘toppers by a score of 6-3 to even the series and set up the rubber match on Sunday.
After five-and-a-half innings, the Jags and ‘toppers were tied at 1-1, but three hits and four runs later the Jags were in control at 5-1.
Matt Bell went 5 1/3 innings while only giving up two hits, one run, three walks and five strikeouts but got a no decision in the game. James Traylor came in and pitched 2/3rds of an inning of shutout, no hit ball while picking up the win. Dylan Stamey pitched two innings and allowed six hits, two runs, two walks and two strikeouts.
But Kyle Bartsch pitched a perfect ninth inning to pick up the 19th save of his career and to become the school’s all-time saves leader.
On Sunday, the Jags clinched the series with a 7-5 win over the Hilltoppers at Eddie Stanky Field. After the weekend series the Jaguars improved their overall record to 29-12 (12-6 SBC) while Western Kentucky fell to 21-19 overall for the season and 11-7 in Sun Belt play.
After WKU scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game up at 5-5. But the Jags responded in the bottom of the inning to plate two runs for the final margin of 7-5.
Jacob Noble pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks. James Traylor picked up his second win on 2/3rds of an inning of work with one hit and one walk. Kyle Bartsch pitched two shutout innings with two walks and two strikeouts to earn his 10th save of the season and 20th save of his career.
With the series win, the Jags take a one game lead in the Sun Belt Conference standings. Troy, FAU and Western Kentucky are all tied for second place one game behind the Jags in the standings.
The Jags will host a two-game midweek series against Jacksonville State University on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Softball
The lady Jaguar softball team swept another conference opponent as the Jags earned two run-rule decisions against Louisiana-Monroe in Louisiana.
On Saturday, the Jags won both games of the doubleheader by a combined score of 25-1. The Jags combined the for 21 hits with six home runs to win the games by scores of 11-1 and 14-0.
Haley Fagan led the Jags on Saturday by going 6-for-7 with two home runs, four runs scored and five RBI. Her slugging percentage was 1.714 and had a on-base percentage of .857. Plus the freshman extended her team-leading RBI stat to 43 and now takes the team lead in home runs.
Brittany Fowler extended her on-base streak to 23 consecutive games to tie her career high for this mark. She went 4-for-5 with two RBI and four runs scored.
Hannah Campbell and Farish Beard both earned their 18th win of the season on Saturday. Hannah struck out four with only three hits, no walks and one earned run. Beard pitched three shutout innings in the second game while striking out five with only one hit and a walk.
On Sunday, the Jags blanked the Warhawks in a run-rule shorted finale to the weekend series by a score of 8-0. This was the first time in school history that the Jags swept a weekend series all by mercy-rule wins.
The lady Jags scored four runs in the top of the first inning with three consecutive singles by Fowler, Blair Johnson and Fagan. Fowler would score on Fagan’s base hit while the other two baserunners would score on a wild pitch and throwing error. Alex Breeden would get an RBI single to push Griffith across the plate.
Farish Beard pitched four innings to earn her 19th win of the season. She struck out seven and only allowed one hit and one walk. Hannah Campbell pitched two innings while striking out four with only one hit herself.
The Jags will round out the regular season when they play Troy three times this week. The first will be on Wednesday at Jaguar Field in Mobile then the final two games will be in Troy, Alabama in a doubleheader on Saturday on May 4th.
The Sun Belt Championship will begin on May 8th and will be hosted in Troy, Alabama. South Alabama continues to hold onto the top spot in the Sun Belt Conference with a 16-3 record ahead of Western Kentucky who has a 15-3 record in Sun Belt play. The Jags run their overall record to 40-7 on the season.
The Lady Jaguars are #17 in RPI, is ranked #20 in the USA Today coaches poll and is ranked #21 in ESPN.com poll.
Graves Adds Final Assistant To Staff
South Alabama’s head basketball coach Matt Graves announced the addition of Dan Matic to finish his staff. | Photo usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s head basketball coach Matt Graves completed his staff on Thursday when he announced the addition of former Eastern Illinois assistant Dan Matic to his staff.
Matic is a native of Brooklyn, New York and spent the 2012-13 season at Eastern Illinois as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. One of his recruits led all of the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring as a freshmen as the Panthers qualified for the conference tournament for the first time in three seasons.
Prior to EIU, he was an assistant at Olney Central College in Olney, Ill. In his lone season at OCC, they won 27 games and won the Great Rivers Athletic Conference championship for the first time in 14 years. Under his tutalige, Trivante Bloodman earned player of the year honors in the GRAC and the team finished second in the NJCAA region 24 Tournament, the best finish by the school since 1994. Five players, including Bloodman who signed with Mississippi State, went on to play at NCAA Division I schools.
Matic also worked as a video coordinator for the USA National Basketball team in 2009 in the 2009 World University Games in Serbia. The team led by Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan brought home the bronze medal. Matic then served two seasons as a graduate assistant and academic mentor at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Matic began his coaching career in 2001 with AAU Team Takeover of New York City. During his six seasons as head coach he led the squad to a sixth-place finish at AAU nationals and had 16 player earn scholarships to Division I schools. Devin Eubanks, who went to West Virginia and is now with the L.A. Lakers, and Ed Davis, who went to North Carolina and now the Toronto Raptors, were two who earned scholarships.