South Alabama Baseball Sweep Stephen F. Austin
The South Alabama Baseball team completed a three-game sweep to open the season against Stephen F. Austin State University over the weekend.
In the season opener, the Jags rallied in the ninth inning to squeak out a 7-6 win. Then back-to-back double-digit run games with a 10-0 shutout on Saturday and a nine-run eighth inning for a 13-4 win on Saturday.
In the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday night Brent Mitchell hit a two-run single down the left field line to tie the game. Then one batter later, Robby Campbell would hit a sacrifice fly to score the winning run for the 7-6 decision.
On Saturday, Jacob Noble struck out seven batters and only allowed two hits in 5 2/3rds shutout innings during this Jaguar debut. Brandon Boyle would strike out three more and only allow one hit to help lead the Jags to the 10-0 shutout on Saturday.
South Alabama broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the eighth with a nine-run explosion to earn the weekend sweep.
The Jags will face Alabama State at Eddie Stanky Field on Wednesday evening at 6:30pm. They will then host former Sun Belt Conference foe University of New Orleans for a three game series next weekend.
South Alabama Run Away With 88-64 Win Over Louisiana-Lafayette
Augustine Rubit set a new career-high with 34 points with 12 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season against ULL. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
The South Alabama Jaguar Men’s Basketball team defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 88-64 Thursday night at the Mitchell Center. The Jags cruised to their fourth win of the season behind a 34 point performance by junior Augustine Rubit.
This four-game win streak is the longest of the season and marks their seventh win in their last eight games as they improved their overall record to 15-9 and 12-4 in Sun Belt play. The Cajuns record fell to 9-17 on the season and 5-10 in Sun Belt Play.
Earlier in the season, Rubit had tied his career high of 32 points when the Jags played at Louisiana-Monroe. But he broke that career high on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor and 12-of-16 from the foul line while grabbing 12 rebounds for this 14th double-double of the season.
Mychal Ammons also earned a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and 2-of-4 from outside the three-point arc. He scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half.
The first half was close until the final four minutes before halftime when the Jags began to pull away. A 9-0 run with a three-pointer by Antoine Allen moments before halftime really put the momentum in the Jaguars favor with a 39-28 lead at intermission.
The Cajuns never really mustered a challenge in the second half as South Alabama’s lead swelled to 17 points in the first five minutes of the half. Then an 11-1 run would grow the lead to 24 points with a score of 72-48 with 8:04 left in the game.
While Rubit and Ammons were the only Jaguars in double digits, Dre Conner had a team-high of five assists with nine points and Javier Carter added eight points. Antoine Allen had eight points while four other Jaguars scored points as well.
ULL’s Elfrid Payton scored 17 points and a game-high seven assists while Kasey Shepherd added 16 points off the bench and the Conference’s leading scorer Shawn Long added 11 points for the game. Bryant Mbamalu, the conference’s seventh-leading scorer was held to four points on 1-of-6 shooting.
“It was good to see us put together what I thought was a total game for two halves,” interim head coach Jeff Price said in his post-game press conference. “The first half, I thought we played really well and the second half we built the lead some. We’ve had these leads before and allowed them to go down so it was good to see our team be able to step up a little bit and build this thing up instead of let it go down. It happened in a lot of ways. I thought we turned it up defensively in the second half.”
“We felt like this was a game where we could have some success inside with him (Augustine Rubit),” Price said. “Our game plan will be consistent. We don’t have a lot of secrets here. We need to get the ball inside.”
“I haven’t even looked at the stats, but I could tell he (Mychal Ammons) was active,” Price said noted after the game. “I talked to Mike a lot this week about how he wasn’t rebounding like he was earlier. He just wasn’t rebounding the ball and tonight, before the game, he needed to get me 10 and he got 11. It’s more of a focus with Mike and if he really puts his mind to it. I mean, he’s as athletic as anyone on the floor and as strong as anybody in the league and when he wants to he goes and gets it.”
“They shot the ball well,” Cajun head coach Bob Marlin said in his post-game conference. “I thought Rubit shot it well from the perimeter as well as from the post. (Javier) Carter had a really nice game and made some jump shots. Mychal Ammons had a nice game outside. That might be the best front line in our league from the 3, 4, and 5 positions.”
“Mychal Ammons and Antoine Allen are very good defensively,” Marlin continued. “They’re strong, they’re quick, and they’re aggressive. And when they can lean on you like they did tonight, it’s hard to get it over them. Bryant worked hard, but credit South Alabama.”
The Jags will have a week off to prepare for a trip to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to take on the Sun Belt Eastern Division and overall Conference leader Middle Tennessee State (22-4 overall, 14-1 SBC) on Thursday with tip-off scheduled for 7:00pm.
“We know that’s going to be a really tough game on Thursday and we didn’t want to talk about it until we got this one out of the way,” Price said. “We’ll talk about it a lot this week and see if our guys can answer the challenge on the road. We’ve played well on the road, 5-2 on the road against some really good teams.”
Jags Host ULL Tonight Looking For Fourth Consecutive Win
The South Alabama men’s basketball team will try to get their fourth consecutive win Thursday night when they host Louisiana-Lafayette at the Mitchell Center for a 7:05pm tip-off.
The Jags have equaled their season-high three-game win streak and have won six of their last seven games. The Jags enter the game with a 14-9 record overall and an 11-4 record in Sun Belt play, which is good for second place in the Conference and the most by the school since the 2007-08 season.
Louisiana-Lafayette will enter the game with a record of 9-15 (5-9 SBC) and leads the conference in scoring with 71.3 points per game and three-point field goals with 7.1 per game. Also in their last two games they are averaged 97.5 points per game.
The Jaguars defense, currently ranked second in the conference in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage in conference games will definitely be tested tonight.
The Ragin’ Cajuns has three players in the top seven in scoring in the conference. Shawn Long is third with an average of 15.8 points per game, Elfrid Payton is sixth with an average of 15.2 points per game and Bryant Mbamalu is seventh with an average of 14.8 points per game. Long also leads the conference in double-doubles with 15. Payton put up 26 points against the Jags in Lafayette earlier this season in a double-overtime thriller win by the Jags.
In the game back on January 10, Augustine Rubit also scored 26 points, Dre Conner and Antoine Allen both had 19 points and Mychal Ammons came off the bench to earn a double-double.
Jaguar interim head coach Jeff Price has the team playing well despite having a player dismissed from the program and another out due to a broken collarbone. In the last few games they have become quite adept at grinding out wins the largest margin of victory being four points in the last four wins.
Go Jags!
USA Baseball Chosen To Finish 3rd In Conference, Put Three On All-SBC Team
In a vote by the Conference head baseball coaches, South Alabama was selected to finish third in the 2013 Sun Belt Conference preseason poll. USA finished one spot ahead of in-state rival Troy.
The Jags and the Trojans were the only schools with three players each selected to the preseason All-Conference team. Logan Kirkland, Whitt Dorsey and Jordan Patterson represent South Alabama on the preseason All-Conference team.
Florida Atlantic was voted to finish first with five first-place votes and 89 total points, while their in-state rival Florida International was voted to finish second in the conference with one first-place vote and 85 points overall. South Alabama finished with 67 points.
Florida Atlantic won the conference regular season title last season with a 32-22 record overall and a 19-8 record in Sun Belt play. They return six starters, four of them pitchers, from last year’s team.
Kirkland is a redshirt sophomore from Grand Bay, Alabama. This is his second consecutive preseason All-Confernece honor. He was also named a Freshman All-American after the 2011 season while playing in six games and hitting .333 with a double and two RBI last season before an injury ended his season early.
Dorsey, an Auburn, Alabama native, was named to the team as a designated hitter after batting .337 with 12 doubles, two home runs and 31 RBI’s last season as a Junior. He was selected first-team All-SBC honor as a designated hitter after last season.
Patterson was named to the preseason All-Conference team as a utility player. He also earned a selection to the second-team All-SBC as an outfielder, but will move to first base this season as well as contributing as a pitcher. He batted .323 with 15 doubles, a team-leading eight home runs and tied for a team-leading 44 RBI.
All Sun Belt Conference teams will open up the season on Friday with all 10 schools in action. The Jags will open up at 6:30pm when they host Stephen F. Austin at Stanky Field for a three game series.
Rubit Earns Third SBC Player Of The Week Honor
Augustine Rubit scored 18 points to move into the Top 10 career scorers in South Alabama history. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
Augustine Rubit was honored as the Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the third time this season as announced by the Conference on Monday.
Rubit averaged 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while leading the Jaguars to their two wins this past week. In the two games he shot over 46 percent from the floor, 75 percent from the foul line, blocked two shots and had the game-winning put-back against Florida Atlantic on Saturday.
On Thursday against Troy, Rubit earned his 13th double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds while making his last 10 shots from the foul line to help the Jags down the Trojans 65-62.
He then followed up that performance with 18 points against Florida Atlantic, including the game-winning put-back with 35.2 seconds left in the game for a 72-71 victory. He did that on a sore ankle as well.
His five rebounds against the Owls put Rubit into 14th place in Sun Belt History for career rebounding with 820. Also his 18 points moved him into the Top 10 of career scorers for South Alabama with 1,245.
South Alabama will host Louisiana-Lafayette for the third and final game of a three-game home-stand on Thursday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05pm at the Mitchell Center.
Jaguar’s Beard Named SBC Pitcher Of The Week
The Sun Belt Conference announced Monday that Jaguar Sophomore pitcher Farish Beard was named the Pitcher of the Week for the opening-week of the season. She is the first Jaguar pitcher to earn this honor since Beth Pilgrim back on May 10, 2010.
Beard went 2-0 in three appearances in South Alabama’s opening weekend at the Bulldog Kickoff Classic in Starkville, Mississippi. She notched 16 strikeouts and only allowed two runs to earn an ERA of 1.02 in 13.2 innings pitched.
She pitched over five innings of hitless ball in six innings against Georgia State. She pitched 3 2/3rds innings in relief for the Jags against Tennessee State, holding them to no hits and struck out five as the Jags rallied to score eight successive runs following her entry into the game. She was also voted a member of the All-Tournament team for her effort over the weekend.
With her help, the Jags have started the season 3-1, the Jags final game of the Classic against Mississippi State, that was scheduled for Sunday, was cancelled due to weather.
Beard hails from Fairhope, Alabama.
The Jags were scheduled to play the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa today, but the game has been postponed due to weather. The next game the Jags are scheduled to play is on Friday, February 15 against Central Arkansas in the Mardi Gras Invitational here in Mobile, Alabama. The Invitational runs through Sunday.
Jags Hold On To Defeat FAU 72-71
Augustine Rubit scored 18 points to move into the Top 10 career scorers in South Alabama history. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
The South Alabama Jaguars needed a key putback by Augustine Rubit to hold on for a 72-71 win over Florida Atlantic at the Mitchell Center Saturday night in front of the largest crowd in two seasons. Rubit missed his shot with 35.2 seconds left in the game but fought for the rebound and putback.
The win improves the Jags record to 14-9 overall and 11-4 in Sun Belt play, the Jags first 11 win conference record since the 2007-2008 season. Florida Atlantic falls to 11-15 on the season and 6-9 in Sun Belt play.
“It was just another really hard-fought game,” interim head coach Jeff Price said in his post-game press conference. “I keep telling people our games are going to be battles. With our depth and the way we’re limited, we just have to grind out games. I don’t know that we’re going to blow anybody out. I sure would love to, but I think this is something we’re going to see the rest of the year. Our guys know how to play in close games. If you go back and look at our win margins, they’re really close, but we’re finding a way to get it done. We’re doing what we need to do at the end of the game, which is impressive to our credit.”
Rubit finished the game with a team-high 18 points and five rebounds. He accounted for the Jags final seven points of the contest but missed several minutes in the second half due to an ankle injury. He was able to play down the stretch but was visibly limping at times.
“He (Rubit) really wasn’t anywhere near 100 percent, but if he’s in the game, we’re going to go to him, hurt or not hurt,” Price explained. “We went to him, and he found a way to get it done. He had a late basket, and the last one he missed, he tipped it back in. He did what he had to do, and he did a nice job on the last defensive possession before the timeout.”
It was another game that kept the fans engaged and excited as neither team led by more than two points in the final 6:16 of the game. Actually there were 12 ties and 12 lead changes.
Jordan McCoy tied the game at 63-63 with a three-point play at the 6:16 mark then both teams traded scores on the next six possessions, which was capped off with two foul shots by Stefan Moody with 4:04 left in the game to tie it back up at 69-69.
Defenses on both ends of the court would tighten up only allowing five total points in the final four minutes of the game. Rubit broke a tie making one field goal before McCoy hit two to take the lead with 1:02 left in the game. Rubit’s key tip-in came with :35 seconds left in the game to give the Jags the final margin of 72-71.
South Alabama went into the locker room at halftime thanks to free throw shooting. They made 11 of 12 attempts while only shooting 34.6 percent from the floor.
Florida Atlantic’s Greg Gantt is the eighth-leading scorer in the nation and had a game-high 23 points on 4-of-8 shooting from outside the arc. However the Jaguar defense was held scoreless for almost the final 14 minutes of the game.
“I think we were very dysfunctional in the first half,” Price observed. “We were lethargic again, and we were standing around too much. They crushed us on the offensive glass in the first half. We gave up 13 points in the paint and nine offensive rebounds, which can’t happen with our team.”
“Gantt’s just a great player, and you have to know where he is at all times,” Price said. “If you let up off the ball for a second, he’s going to find a way to get open. They screen for him, and he doesn’t need a lot of space to get a shot off. He’s a good player. He cut loose a couple times, but I thought our effort was pretty good on him for the most part.”
The Jags shot 18-of-20 from the free throw line in the game. Rubit moved into South Alabama’s top 10 in career scoring and into 14th place in the Sun Belt in career rebounds.
The Jags close out their three-game homestand on Thursday when they host Louisiana-Lafayette for a 7:05 tipoff at the Mitchell Center.
SBC Officials Choose New Orleans To Host Future Basketball Championships
Almost lost lead-up to National Signing Day, the Sun Belt Conference office announced on Tuesday where the future Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments will be held starting in 2014.
Conference officials announced that Lakefront Arena in New Orleans will be the new host site of the SBC Tournament through 2016. Previously, Lakefront Arena hosted the Sun Belt Championships in 2002 when the University of New Orleans was a member of the conference. However this time it will be a neutral site for the tournament, making it the third such arena to host the Sun Belt Tournament as a neutral site.
Recently Lakefront Arena has undergone renovations that include $3.5 million eterior metal facade and sloped roof panels, a $1.5 million state-of-the-art bitumen roof system, $2.5 million in new seating with 8,700 total seats, $1.2 million in ramp renovations, new flooring through out the second level concourse, new tiles and restroom fixtures throughout the building, lighting upgrades, a new sound system and the addition of two new lounges.
This announcement about the relocation of the tournament comes with a year left on the existing agreement with the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Both parties mutually agreed to split ways after the fifth consecutive year of hosting the Tournament after this year’s tournament on March 8-11.
“All of the characteristics that make New Orleans one of the greatest tourist destinations in the world will guarantee that the Sun Belt Conference’s student-athletes, fans, coaches and administrators will love coming to the ‘Big Easy’ every March,” Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation CEO Jay Cicero said in a statement with the Sun Belt Conference. “We look forward to playing an important role in making this one of the NCAA’s best conference tournaments.”
“New Orleans is a great destination for our basketball championships and the recent renovations to Lakefront Arena make it an excellent venue to showcase our league,” Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson said in a statement on Tuesday. “In addition to being a great geographical fit for our membership, New Orleans has an incredible track record of hosting great sporting events – including the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl which has had a Sun Belt participant since the inaugural game in 2001. The city’s great restaurants, shopping, entertainment and accommodations, provide Sun Belt fans numerous things to do when away from the arena.”
“New Orleans is a great destination for Sun Belt fans, as those who have attended the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl can attest,” said Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., Chancellor of Troy University and President of the Sun Belt Conference Executive Committee in the statement. “It provides an excellent geographical fit for our league and is easily reachable for our fans. As we make this announcement, however, I would be remiss if I did not thank the City of Hot Springs for four and soon to be five memorable tournaments, starting in 2009.”
“The city of Hot Springs and the Hot Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau have been terrific for the Sun Belt Conference,” said Commissioner Benson. “When Hot Springs began hosting the tournament in 2009 it was the first neutral site that the Sun Belt had used in over twenty years. The leadership of Steve Arrison and his staff made the existence of a neutral site basketball tournament for the Sun Belt possible.”
“We have had a great partnership with the Sun Belt Conference over the past five years and are looking forward to a great tournament come March,” said Hot Spring Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Steve Arrison in the statement released by the Sun Belt Conference. “We originally had only a three year deal with the Sun Belt and are fortunate that next month we will have had five outstanding Sun Belt tournaments here in Hot Springs.”
Dates for the 2014 tournament will be released at a later date. But it is very exciting that New Orleans will be the host for the next three years. It’s a much easier location to reach for fans and has virtually unlimited sites and activities for fans to enjoy outside of the Arena. The city definitely had the upper hand as that is where the Conference headquarters are still located.
USA Softball Down Mississippi State To Open Season
The South Alabama Softball team earned a big season-opening win over Mississippi State Thursday night in Starkville, Mississippi. The Jags gave up two first-inning runs but battled back to earn a 3-2 win over the bulldogs.
MSU’s third batter to the plate knocked a two-run shot over left center to take the early 2-0 lead over the Jags. The Jaguars could not manage a hit against MSU’s Alison Owen until the fourth inning, but back-to-back doubles by Brittany Fowler and Kaitlyn Griffith followed by a sacrifice fly by Meghan Collins would tie the game at 2-2.
Then the Jaguars designated player Blair Johnson would hit her first collegiate home run over right center to give South Alabama their final score of the game.
Hannah Campbell earned the win for the Jags by pitching three shut-out innings and striking out four of the 10 batters she faced and only allowing one hit.
The Jags, 1-0 on the season, will face Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at 4:00pm and Tennessee State at 7:30pm as play continues in the Bulldog Kickoff Classic continues.
Jags Second Half Rally Downs Troy 65-62
Rubit earned his 12th double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds against in-state foe Troy. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
The South Alabama Men’s basketball team fought their selves back from an eight point deficit in the second half to defeat Troy 65-52 Thursday night at the Mitchell Center. The Jags had a 20-5 run in the second half and 20 consecutive free throws to end the game as they improve their overall record to 13-9 (10-4 SBC). Troy’s record falls to 10-14 on the season and 5-8 in Sun Belt play. This was the first win by the Jags after trailing at halftime.
Augustine Rubit notched his 13th double-double this season with a team-high 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Dre Conner added 11 points and a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line.
The Jags dug themselves a hole early in the game by going 4-of-13 from the foul line. But once they warmed up they made 20 in a row down the stretch to help retake the lead. Trey Anderson got it started when he made two shots with 10:25 left in the game then Rubit and Conner would combine for the next 18 shots, including the final 16 points of the game.
All through the first half the Jags and Trojans traded the lead back and forth until Troy took a five point lead into halftime. But the Trojans would take control in the second half with a 10-3 run to pull out to their largest lead of the game, 43-35 with 12:40 left in the game.
Rubit and Javier Carter would combine for eight points as the Jags answered with their own 10-3 run. But after two free throws by the Trojans, the Jags would take the lead for the final time with a 10-0 run.
Troy would work themselves within two points on three different occasions and would pull within one point, 61-60, with 18.1 seconds left when Hunter Williams hit a three pointer. However Rubit would draw a foul and sink both shots for a 63-60.
On the other end, Carter would get his fifth block of the game when he rejected a three-point attempt with eight seconds left in the game. Then Barrington Stevens III would foul Emil Jones as he was trying to pass the ball to send him to the line to shoot a one-and-one with 3.6 seconds left in the game.
Jones would make both shots to pull within one point again. But Rubit would seal the game with two free throws forcing Troy to take a desperation half-court shot at the buzzer. But the shot missed it’s mark.
Carter finished the game with eight rebounds and five of the Jaguars nine blocks in the game. He went a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor.
“That was a really hard-fought game,” interim head coach Jeff Price said after the game. “I don’t think anything is going to be easy for us at this point and it’s just a really hard-fought game. To their credit, I thought that they did a great job of making things difficult for us on the offensive end. They play a zone, they play a switching soft man to man and it really had us back on our heels in the first half, really the first thirty minutes of the game. That’s to their credit.”
“We have to do a better job of attacking,” Price continued. “Finally, towards the end of the game ,I thought we took over the game. In the last seven or eight minutes I thought we got really aggressive. We got the ball inside and we got to the free throw line. And like I keep saying that’s going to be the key to our team is to keep defending and keep getting to the free throw line.”
“Our free throw shooting was tremendous down the stretch,” Price observed. “We had 20 consecutive free throws which is outstanding. That won the game for us.”
“I thought Javier ,defensively, was really great,” Price said. “That’s why I always put him in late. He got a block on a three late in the game because of his length. And we were switching everyone one through five.”
The Jag will continue their three-game homestand against Florida Atlantic on Saturday in a Women’s and Men’s doubleheader at the Mitchell Center. The Lady Jaguars tip-off at 5:00 with the Men set to tip-off at 7:30pm (or 30 minutes after the Women’s game if it goes long). The game will be available on the Sun Belt Network (CSS/Cox).