MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama will continue its current 10-game road swing Wednesday night as the Jaguars travel to take on in-state rival UAB. First pitch versus the Blazers is set for 6 p.m. at Mary Bowers Field.
Game Notes (PDF)
GAME: 16 | AT UAB
Venue: Mary Bowers Field | Birmingham, Ala.
Series Schedule | Wed., Feb. 28 | 6 p.m.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Television: None
Radio: None
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: www.USAJaguars.com
Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB
South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: No. -- | USA: No. -- | RPI: --
Record: 7-8, 0-0 SBC
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP) – .214 / .253 / .316
Runs Per Game: 2.7
Runs Per Game Allowed: 3.7
UAB BLAZERS
NFCA: No. -- | USA: No. -- | RPI: --
Record: 6-9, 0-0 CUSA
Head Coach: Amanda Ellis (UAB, '05)
Team Slash Line (AVG / OBP / SLG) – .265 / .378 / .351
Runs Per Game: 3.5
Runs Per Game Allowed: 5.2
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
– South Alabama (7-8, 0-0 SBC) comes into Wednesday's game against the in-state foe after defeating Bradley, 2-0 Sunday to close out the Diamond 9 Citrus I Classic.
– After going 4-1 during the opening weekend of the season, South has dropped seven of its last 10, including three of four over the weekend at the Diamond 9.
– South has faced tough competition during the early going as seven of its first 13 opponents have either been ranked nationally or been receiving votes in one of the national polls, including three of the four opponents this past weekend.
– Five of the Jaguars' previous opponents currently sit in this week's ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25.
– Last week, South Alabama split a doubleheader with Florida State, which was ranked in the Top 10.
– The Jags scored single runs in the second and third innings and Alexis Reid and Devin Brown combined to toss a two-hit shutout. Brittani Reid was 2-for-3 at the plate for her third multi-hit game of the season. B. Reid was responsible for both Jaguar runs in the win as she scored the first and drove in the second.
– B. Reid currently leads the club with a .267 batting average, while Katelyn Gruich (.259) is second.
– Gruich leads the team with a .474 on-base percentage as she has walked eight times and been hit by three pitches in addition to her seven hits.
– Lyric Cabral has driven in a team best seven runs, while Abby Krzywiecki has two of South's three home runs and leads the club with nine walks.
– Brown (5-4) holds a 2.38 earned run average and has struck out 52 batters in her 56.0 innings of work.
– The senior right-hander is tied for third in the Sun Belt in strikeouts and her 18 strikeouts looking are second-most in the league. Brown also holds a 6.5 strikeouts per seven innings tally.
– Both Brown and A. Reid have complete-game shutouts under their belt in addition to the combined shutout recorded against the Braves.
SCOUTING THE BLAZERS
– UAB (6-9, 0-0 CUSA) comes into the midweek contest after winning three of its five games over the weekend at the Troy Classic hosted by Sun Belt member Troy.
– The Blazers defeated the Trojans 1-0 and also picked up a win over Tennessee Tech (8-1). Like the Jags had done the previous weekend, UAB split its two contests with Murray State (L, 2-4 and W, 6-2). Southern Illinois-Edwardsville handed UAB its other loss during the weekend, 5-2.
– UAB will host No. 11/11 Alabama on Tuesday before hosting the Jaguars. The game against the Crimson Tide begins a stretch this week in which the Blazers will play seven games in five straight days. UAB will travel to Louisville, Ky., to compete at the Red and Black Classic over the weekend.
– Freshman Blazer pitcher Emily Kachel was selected as the Conference USA Pitcher of the Week on Monday after going 2-0 with an 0.39 ERA last week. Kachel tossed her first career complete game against Troy holding the Trojans to two hits and striking out nine.
– Kachel is 4-3 on the year with a 2.07 earned run average. She has struck out a team-high 37 in 50.2 innings of work.
– As a staff, the Blazers hold a 3.39 ERA with the opposition batting .288.
– Four batters are batting over .300 with Madison Millsaps leading the club at a .419 clip. Millsaps has 18 hits with five extra-base hits and leads the team with 11 RBI.
– Destini England is hitting .380 and her 19 hits are the most of any Blazer. Natalie Erwin (.303) and Analyse Petree (.302) has also had solid showings at the plate. Petree (3) and Erwin (2) have been the long-ball threats for the Blazers and have driven in six and seven runs, respectively.
– Megan Smith paces the club in RBI with eight.
– Erwin is also 4-for-4 in her stolen base attempts.
THE SERIES VS. UAB
– The meeting between South Alabama and UAB will mark the 15th in the all-time series between the two clubs.
– The two teams have met at least once during the regular season since South Alabama started its program with the exception of the 2015 and 2009 seasons.
– The Jaguars have won five of the seven meetings on the Blazer's home field.
– UAB snapped a nine-game skid in the series last year with a 8-3 win in Birmingham.
– Prior to the loss, USA had not only won the last nine meetings in the series, but the last five on the Blazers' home field.
INSIDE THE SERIES VS. UAB
Series: 11-3 (H: 5-1 / A: 5-2 / N: 1-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 1-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 1-0 / N: 0-0)
Run-Rule Games: 1-0 (H: 1-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 3/13/07
Last Meeting: 3/14/17
Longest South Alabama Streak: 9 ('10-'16)
Longest UAB Streak: 1, 3x last ('17)
Current Streak: 1 by UAB
Last 5 – 4-1
Last 10 – 9-1
THE JAGUARS VS. CUSA
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 91-59-1(.605) against current Conference USA members.
– The 14 meetings versus UAB are the sixth-most by the Jaguars against any CUSA member. The five other conference members with more meetings versus the Jags are former Sun Belt members Western Kentucky (25,), Florida International (24), Florida Atlantic (24) and Middle Tennessee (23), and Southern Mississippi (18).
– Charlotte and Texas-El Paso are the only two teams from the league that Jags have yet to face in program history.
– Along with the Blazers, the Jaguars are scheduled to have a home-and-home series against Southern Mississippi (March 7 and April 3), and Western Kentucky in Mobile on March 14.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
-On what steps forward her team took over the weekend: "I thought we were able to string together some hard-nosed quality at-bats in the inning we scored against Bradley. Now, we just have to get consistent with those at-bats. Overall, we started playing better and more together as a team. Up to this point we have seen pockets of what it can be when we put it all together and now the challenge is to get more consistent with that part of it."
-On where she feels her is as you now enter week four of the season: "I knew going in that February was going to be a challenging month for us because of the scheduling, but I think that is actually a good thing. It is always a positive when you are tested because that is where you actually figure out who you are both individually and as a team. We have had adversity, but as long as we allow that to make us tougher then it is worth it. I'm looking forward to this week and think we are about to put it all together."
-On UAB's program: "UAB's coaching staff has always placed a premium on physical and mental toughness and competing every pitch. I know Wednesday night we will face a team who is well prepared and wants to win, so we have to step on the field to compete."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_Jags. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Bullpen Club, the softball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members have access to purchase parking passes and receive Jaguar Softball gear. All donations to the Bullpen Club go directly to support the South Alabama softball program. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/bullpenclub
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