Even the best baseball programs in the country are susceptible to a rebuilding year from time to time and South Alabama knows exactly what that feels like this season. The Jaguars (3-4) are coming off of an incredible 2013 season in which they won 43 games, finished for a tie for first place in the Sun Belt Conference and received a No. 2 seed in an NCAA tournament regional. Times have certainly changed this season, however, as USA looks to find players to fill some big shoes vacated by the heady veterans that littered their lineup just one year ago. The Jaguars have just 3 starters returning from 2013 and must replace 9 position players who earned significant playing time as well as 9 pitchers who had at least 10 appearances last season. Not to mention, they are welcoming 20 newcomers to the squad. Keeping all of these things in mind, no one really knows what to expect from this season’s USA ball club.
The offensive philosophy for the USA Jaguars this season may be just to score runs by any means possible. They simply do not have much talent in the form of returning players. Bud Collura (.266/24 RBI) and Hayden Jones (.271) are the two best hitters coming back from last season. So far this year Jones is carrying the second best batting average on the team at .310 and Collura leads the Jaguars with 6 RBI. The likely offense leader though is junior catcher Matt Wojciechowski. A transfer from Faulkner State Community College, Wojeciechowski sits in the heart of the Jaguars lineup and so far this season has a .346 average with 3 doubles, 1 triple and 4 runs batted in. It is difficult to say at this point who else can be relied upon to contribute for USA over the course of this series and the entire season but there will be plenty of time and opportunities for players to prove themselves.
The strength of this year’s USA team will likely be their starting pitchers. The key returnee from last season’s staff is righty Matt Bell. The pre-season all-SBC selection will take the mound on Friday for his third start of the young season. Bell (1-0, 2.03 ERA) finished last season with a 3.70 ERA and a 6-2 record over 14 starts. He carried a 2.35 strikeout to walk ratio in 2013 and held opponents to a .239 batting average. After Bell it is difficult to know what to expect from the remaining starters for this weekend’s series. Junior lefty Jared Gates is 1-1 in two starts this season with a 1.46 ERA over 12.1 innings. Fellow classmate Locke St. John has also started two games but has yet to record a decision. The Hogs best opportunity for scoring runs—much like last weekend—will be if they can get to the Jaguars bullpen. The top two contributors from last season are James Traylor, who threw 45 innings over 21 appearances, and Hunter Soleymani, who held opponents to a .220 average in 14 appearances. Brandon Hallford and Tripp Hobbs will also be counted on heavily this during the weekend matchup with the Razorbacks.
There are simply too many unknown variables this year when trying to figure out the South Alabama baseball team. They lost a number of key contributors from last season’s squad, both in their every-day lineup and on their pitching staff. With only 3 starters returning there are position battles still to be won and a weekend rotation that has still not been settled. Still, Arkansas cannot afford to let its guard down this weekend. USA is a dangerous team that will be looking for an early season marquee win to hang its hat on. The Jaguars will be hungry for a victory over a ranked opponent from the SEC. As usual, the Hogs need to be focused and ready to play ball in order to beat a very determined foe.
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