Take your pick as to which statistic is most impressive for South Alabama closer Zach Greene this season.
Would you be interested in a 0.61 ERA? How about a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 63-to-4?
Greene has allowed just 27 hits and 33 baserunners in 44 innings, with only six of the hits for extra bases (all of them doubles). The senior right-hander is as big a reason as any that the Jaguars (29-23, 15-12 Sun Belt Conference) are still in contention for the Sun Belt East Division title heading into this weekend’s final regular-season series against Troy at Stanky Field.
“We’ve had some good relievers here over the years, but Zach’s been phenomenal,” South Alabama coach Mark Calvi said. “His numbers are off-the-charts. He’s coming out of the pen with strike one. He’s one of the best strike-throwers I’ve ever seen and his fastball has got some cut to it and it’s hard for the hitters to pick up. He’s got the kind of pitch mix that is not only good at the college level, but will carry him into pro ball.”
But Greene — whose cut fastball sits at 90-94 mph, and is complemented by a slider and change-up — has been far from your standard one-inning closer. Seven of his school-record 13 saves have encompassed at least four outs, including scoreless appearances of 3 1/3 innings in victories over Clemson on Feb. 16 and Coastal Carolina on April 6, and three innings vs. Louisiana on April 12 and Appalachian State last Friday.
The biggest challenge for Calvi this season has been deciding when to NOT call on Greene. Use him for too many innings on a given Friday night and he might not be available the remainder of the weekend, wait too long to put him in and the game might already be lost.
“From the sixth inning on, especially if we’ve got the lead, I’m probably bringing him in,” Calvi said. “We’ve had some other guys in the bullpen step up, like Nick DeSantis, who has done well lately. Do I want to go to Zach in the sixth? No. I would want someone to bridge between him and the starter. But on Friday night, if you have a chance to win that ballgame, you go get it. It’s all about winning that game in front of you.”
Greene allowed a run in the ninth inning of a 5-4 victory over Appalachian State last Friday, but still nailed down the save. That snapped a span of eight straight scoreless appearances for Greene, who has surrendered just three earned runs (six total) this season.
That Greene is even with the Jaguars this season is somewhat surprising, as he was drafted by his home-state Miami Marlins in the 15th round last June. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Greene — who began his college career at UNC-Asheville before spending the 2017 season at St. Johns River Community College in his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla. — considered turning pro before ultimately deciding to return to South Alabama for his senior year.
“I talked with my parents, talked with my coaches,” Greene said. “I had my mind set ‘if I get drafted before a certain point, I’ll go.’ And it was right on the borderline. I was kind of iffy about it, but I figured the best place I can come back and get better is South Alabama. I stayed in Mobile all summer. I really put an emphasis on working out and getting stronger.
“The Marlins’ Double-A team is in Jacksonville, and that would have been awesome. But maybe they’ll draft me again this year.”
South Alabama has been the hottest team in the Sun Belt of late, having won eight straight games before an 11-1 loss at Tulane on Tuesday night. The Jaguars have won 10 of their last 12 in conference play, 14 of 17 overall and seven in a row at home.
It’s been a stunning turnaround for the Jaguars, who looked dead in the water after falling to 5-10 in Sun Belt play on April 14. But USA has swept three of its last four conference series, and is a game out of first place in the Sun Belt East heading into the final weekend.
“A month ago, six weeks ago, I said ‘this is not a bad team,” Calvi said. “This is not a sub-.500 team. We’ve just needed some guys — not everyone — to be a little bit better, pitching and offensively. And we’ve gotten that the last few weeks, and we’re getting better results.”
Troy comes in at 27-26 overall and 14-13 in conference play, also still mathematically alive to win the Sun Belt East. Georgia Southern tops the division at 16-11, followed by South Alabama a game back and Coastal Carolina at 13-12 (the Chanticleers have had two conference games rained out this year), then the Trojans.
South Alabama will send right-hander Drake Nightengale (5-2, 3.66 ERA) to the mound on Thursday night vs. right-hander Cory Gill (7-2, 3.86) for Troy, with right-hander Patrick McBride (3-2, 3.78) set to go Friday for the Jaguars vs. right-hander Levi Thomas (6-2, 4.59) for the Trojans. Troy will start left-hander Max Newton (2-4, 5.75) in the series finale Saturday, with South Alabama’s starter still to-be-determined.
“We want to do everything we can to win all three games, especially being at home,” Greene said. “We lost the series up there last year and that left a bad taste in the mouth of a lot of the guys who are back this year. We realize there’s a lot on the line, but I don’t think it does any good to think about what Georgia Southern’s doing. We just need to keep our heads down, play hard and stay hot, and try and win as many games as we can.”
Game times this weekend are set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 3 p.m. on Saturday. The Sun Belt Conference tournament begins Tuesday at Coastal Carolina.