Mobile Courant

No. 5-seed South Alabama Jaguars (31-22)

at Sun Belt Conference Championship

Wed., May 25 | 4 pm - No. 5 South Alabama Jaguars vs. No. 4 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

May 24-29 | Riverwalk Stadium | Montgomery, Ala.

Media Information

Live Stream:  Each game of the SBC Championship will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and will be available through the WatchESPN app as well as via links on the Championships page at SunBeltSports.org. Matt Stewart will handle play-by-play duties, and Ty Harrington will provide color commentary.

On the Radio:  South Alabama baseball games are broadcast live on Sports Talk 99.5 FM in Mobile, and also available through the iHeartRadio app. J.T. Crabtree handles play-by-play duties.

Live Stats:  Live stats for every Jaguar baseball game can be accessed through the multimedia page at USAJaguars.com, in addition to the Jaguar baseball schedule page.

Twitter:  Follow the official Twitter account of South Alabama baseball — @WeAreSouth_BSB — for news and updates.

Probable Starting Pitchers

Wed., May 25 | 4 p.m.

USA - RHP Matt Boswell (6-4, 4.67 ERA)

UL - LHP Brandon Talley (3-3, 3.92 ERA)

Thu., May 26 | TBD

USA - TBA

TBD - TBA

 All-Time Series

South Alabama owns a 69-52 all-time lead over Louisiana in a series that dates back to 1975. The Cajuns took two of three games from the Jaguars March 25-27 in Lafayette, La., clinching the series with a 6-3 rubber-match win. UL won the series opener 5-4 in 11 innings, while the Jags evened the series with a 6-5 win in game two.

JAGS ALL-TIME IN SBC CHAMPIONSHIP

South Alabama has won 13 SBC Tournament titles, with the most recent coming in 2021. The Jags are 93-60 (.608) all-time in the SBC postseason tournament, and have won two (2017, '21) under head coach Mark Calvi, who enters the SBC Championship 18-11 all-time in the Sun Belt tournament at USA.

STOKES CLIMBING CAREER RECORDS LIST

First baseman Hunter Stokes enters the SBC Championship tied with Brett Parker for the career games played record at South Alabama with 233, which ranks tied for sixth in Sun Belt Conference history with Parker and UNO's Jim Cueto (1994-97). Stokes ranks fifth in career at-bats (775), and needs three ABs to pass Josh Touchstone (777) for fourth all time at USA. He also ranks tied for sixth in career walks (128) with Tyrone Dixon entering the tournament, and needs four to pass Wells Davis (131) for fifth all-time.

ALL-SBC SELECTIONS

Outfielder Miles Simington was named first-team all-Sun Belt Conference this season, and right-handed pitcher Matt Boswell and second baseman Erick Orbeta earned second-team all-SBC honors.  Simington's selection marked the 10th straight season in which a Jaguar outfielder earned all-conference honors.

SIMINGTON IN NATIONAL, SBC RANKINGS

Right fielder Miles Simington ranks 17th nationally in hits per game (1.59), which leads the Sun Belt Conference, and 31st in hits (81), which ranks second in the league. Simington ended the regular season ranked second in the SBC in batting average (.386) and hits, sixth in on-base percentage (.456) and RBIs (53), seventh in total bases (123), and ninth in OPS (1.042). He hit safely in 25 of 30 league games, and recorded 14 multi-hit and five multi-RBI games in league contests.

TISSUE AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS

Third baseman Cameron Tissue ranks second nationally in sacrifice bunts per game (0.34), which leads the SBC, and ranks third in the nation in sacrifice bunts (15), which ranks second in the league. Pat Murphy (1992) owns the single-season record at USA for sacrifice bunts with 18.

BOSWELL LEADING SBC

Right-hander Matt Boswell ended the regular season as the Sun Belt Conference leader in strikeouts (89), and ranked tied for fourth in the league in wins (6), tied for seventh in walks allowed (19) and 10th in opponent batting average (.241).

ALTAMIRANO 4TH IN OBP

Catcher Diego Altamirano ended the regular season ranked fourth in the SBC in on-base percentage (.470). Altamirano has reached base safely in 31 of 32 games after not reaching safely in the regular-season finale at Coastal Carolina last Sunday.

185 AND COUNTING

Shortstop Santi Montiel has started 185 consecutive games - every game since he joined the program in 2019 - with his 150th coming in the series finale with UT Arlington on March 20.

BOSWELL LAST TIME OUT VERSUS CAJUNS

Right-hander Matt Boswell tossed a complete game with eight strikeouts and one walk, and allowed five runs on four hits in nine innings in a 6-5 win over Louisiana on March 26 in Lafayette.

SIMINGTON IN DAY GAMES

In 23 day games this season, Miles Simington is batting .451 (41-for-91) with six doubles, two triples, three home runs, 27 RBIs, 20 runs scored, two stolen bases and a .495 on-base percentage. He has reached base safely in 22 straight day games entering the SBC Championship.

RUNNERS IN SCORING POSITION

South Alabama is batting .301 (193-for-641) with runners in scoring position this season. Miles Simington leads the team with a .391 batting average (25-for-64), and Will Turner ranks second with a .379 average (22-for-58).

ORBETA AT NIGHT

Second baseman Erick Orbeta is batting a team-best .353 (42-for-119) with six doubles, 18 RBIs, 29 runs scored, one stolen base and .455 on-base percentage in 30 night games this season. Orbeta has reached base safely in 23 straight night games entering the SBC Championship.

LAST 6 OUTS

The Jaguars are 27-1 when leading after seven innings this season, but are 0-15 when trailing after seven frames and 3-5 when the score is tied through seven. USA suffered its first loss of the season when leading after seven innings in a 6-4 loss to No. 5 Southern Miss on May 3 at Stanky Field after allowing three runs in the top of the ninth inning.

SCORE 6 OR MORE

South Alabama is 25-7 when scoring six or more runs this season, but 6-15 when scoring five or fewer.

OUTHITTING THE OPPOSITION

South Alabama is 27-3 when outhitting opponents this season, but is 2-16 when being out-hit and 2-3 when hits are tied. The Jags tied their season high in hits (16) in their series finale with Arkansas State on May 8, matching their previous highs against Alabama State (April 5) and Texas State (May 1).

5 RUNS OR LESS

The Jags are 26-5 when holding opponents to five or less runs this season, but are 5-17 when allowing six or more.

2022 First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference

Reid VanScoter, Coastal Carolina (RS Sr., P – Livonia, N.Y.)

Levi Wells, Texas State (So., P – La Porte, Texas)

Zeke Wood, Texas State (Jr., P – Paris, Texas)

Tristan Stivors, Texas State (Sr., RP – Castroville, Texas)

Julian Brock, Louisiana (So., C – Fulshear, Texas)

Carson Roccaforte, Louisiana (So., 1B – Port Neches, Texas)

Jesse Sherrill, Georgia Southern (Jr., 2B – Pensacola, Fla.)

Dalton Shuffield, Texas State (Sr., SS – San Antonio, Texas)

Justin Thompson, Texas State (Sr., 3B – Frisco, Texas)

Max Ryerson, Georgia State (Jr., OF – Conway, S.C.)

Mason Holt, ULM (Sr., OF – Coppell, Texas)

Miles Simington, South Alabama (Sr., OF – Bourbonnais, Ill.)

Cameron Jones, Georgia State (So., UT – Kathleen, Ga.)

Noah Ledford, Georgia Southern (RS Jr., DH – Buford, Ga.)

Player of the Year

Dalton Shuffield, Texas State (Sr., SS – San Antonio, Texas)

 

Pitcher of the Year

Reid VanScoter, Coastal Carolina (RS Sr., P – Livonia, N.Y.)

2022 Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference

Hayden Arnold, Little Rock (5th, P – Rison, Ark.)

Michael Knorr, Coastal Carolina (Sr., P – Carlsbad, Calif.)

Matt Boswell, South Alabama (Sr., P – Destin, Fla.)

Jay Thompson, Georgia Southern (Jr., RP – Cumming, Ga.)

Hayden Cross, App State (Jr., C – Sanford, N.C.)

Jason Swan, Georgia Southern (5th, 1B – Jacksonville, Fla.)

Erick Orbeta, South Alabama (RS So., 2B – Miami, Fla.)

Griffin Cheney, Georgia State (Gr., SS – Johns Creek, Ga.)

Dale Thomas, Coastal Carolina (Jr., 3B – De Leon Springs, Fla.)

Noah Dickerson, Little Rock (RS Jr., OF – Windermere, Fla.)

Jose Gonzalez, Texas State (Jr., OF – Spring, Texas)

John Wuthrich, Texas State (Sr., OF – Midland, Texas)

Rigsby Mosley, Troy (Sr., UT – Maitland, Fla.)

Tyler Johnson, Coastal Carolina (Sr., DH – Bentonville, Ark.)

Newcomer of the Year

Max Ryerson, Georgia State (Jr., OF – Conway, S.C.)

 

Freshman of the Year

Austin St. Laurent, App State (RS Fr., UT – Elon, N.C.)

 

Ron Maestri Coach of the Year

Steven Trout, Texas State

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Dugout Club - the baseball-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members enjoy all games from inside the Stadium Club with climate control, private restrooms, private concessions and access to listen to the radio broadcast. All donations to the Dugout Club go directly to support the South Alabama baseball program. For more information on how you can join visit JaguarAthleticFund.com. 

Original source can be found here.