MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team will officially open the 2018 season Thursday night as they welcome No. 10/11 Alabama to Jaguar Field in front of a sold out crowd.  First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.

Game Notes.pdf

GAME: 1 | VS. ALABAMA
Feb. 8, 2018 | 6 p.m. | Jaguar Field | Mobile, Ala.

South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: No. -- | USA: No. -- | RPI: --
Record: 0-0 (0-0 SBC)
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP) - .273 / .382 / .353
Runs Per Game: 3.8 | Runs Per Game Allowed: 2.6
(2017 Stats)

Alabama CRIMSON TIDE
NFCA: No. 11 | USA: No. 10 | RPI: --
Record: 0-0 (0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Patrick Murphy (Northern Iowa, '88)

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP) - .273 / .390 / .377
Runs Per Game: 4.2 | Runs Per Game Allowed: 1.8
(2017 Stats)

SERIES INFORMATION
Series vs. Alabama: UA, 13-0
In Mobile: UA, 2-0
In Tuscaloosa: UA, 10-0
At Neutral Site: UA, 1-0
Last Meeting: UA, 3-1 (2/15/17)
Current Streak: UA, 13

GAME DAY INFORMATION
Television: None
Radio: None
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: www.USAJaguars.com (JagNation TV)
Twitter: @USAJagsSoftball
Tickets: General Admission SOLD OUT.  Current South Alabama students with proper student ID will be allowed admission into the contest.

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (0-0, 0-0 SBC) enters the season picked to finish fourth in the Sun Belt and returns 13 letterwinners from last year's 35-win team, while also welcoming 12 newcomers, which include eight true freshmen and four transfers.
– Offensively, South is led by the middle infielder all-conference duo of Kaleigh Todd and Kristian Foster.
– Last season, Todd was selected first-team all-Sun Belt l for the second-straight year after leading the club in batting average (.398), runs scored (41), hits (74), triples (4), total bases (88), stolen bases (19) and on-base percentage (.454).  She ranked among the Sun Belt leaders in batting average (second), triples (third), hits (third), stolen bases (third), runs scored (seventh) and on-base percentage (10th).  Her 74 hits also ranked 35th in the NCAA and was the second-highest in a single season at USA.  
– Todd also led the club with 25 multiple-hit outings, which set a new program best for a season.
– Foster earned all-league accolades for the first time in her career a year ago picking up second-team honors, where she led the club with 38 RBI with 24 of those runs driven in coming against Sun Belt competition.  
– Foster was a run producer over South's final 29 games as she drove in 27 runs.  Foster finished second on the club in walks with and ranked third on the team with 63 total bases.  She led the team with 10 multi-RBI outings and her 13 multi-hit games were second-most on the roster.
– The Jaguars will once again be led in the circle by senior right-hander Devin Brown.  Brown was a first-team all-league selection for the second consecutive season and ranked second in the Sun Belt in earned run average (1.51) and strikeouts (194), while her .184 opposing batting average was lowest in the league a year ago.  She also ranked among the NCAA leaders in fewest hits allowed (28th), ERA (30th), strikeouts (34th) and strikeouts per seven innings (44th).  Her 12 shutouts were fourth-most in the NCAA and also set a new single-season program mark.
– Brown – who was named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year "Watch List" last month – enters the 2018 season ranked first at South in most strikeouts per seven innings (9.71), second in lowest opponent's batting average (.174), strikeouts (701) and shutouts (26), while she is third in complete games (52) and innings pitched (505.1).
– Brown is just 34 strike outs behind former Jag Beth Pilgrim for the program's all-time mark.
– Also expected to help Brown in the circle is Kansas transfer Alexis Reid.  Reid is another quality arm for the staff where as the No. 1 pitcher for the Jayhawks, she recorded 14 wins, 121 strikeouts, 22 complete games and five shutouts.
– As a freshman during the 2016 season, Reid was named to the inaugural all-Big 12 Freshman Team and recorded her first-career victory at eventual national champion Oklahoma, which was KU's first win in Norman in over 20 years.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE    
– Alabama (0-0, 0-0 SEC) comes into the season ranked No. 10 in the preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and No. 11 in the USA Today/NFCA poll.
– Last season, Alabama finished last season ranked 11th and 12th in the national polls, extending their streak of seasons ranked in the top-25 in at least one poll every year since 2000.
– UA returns 13 letterwinners and nine starters from last year's team that qualified for the program's 19th-straight NCAA Tournament and made its NCAA-best 13th-straight Super Regional appearance.
– The Crimson Tide is led in the circle by senior Alexis Osorio.  Like USA's Brown, Osorio was named to USA Softball's Top-50 Collegiate Player of the Year "Watch List".
– The selection marks Osorio's third-straight appearance on the preseason watch list, one in which Alabama has had at least one player on the list every year since 2003.  Osorio was one of 34 finalists for the award last season.
– Osorio was also named preseason all-SEC last month after earning her second All-America nod after leading the Crimson Tide with 23 wins, a 1.21 ERA and 334 strikeouts, averaging 1.65 strikeouts per inning in 2017.  Her 334 strikeouts led the SEC, ranked fifth nationally and were the fourth-highest single season total in program history.  Her 1.21 ERA also ranked fourth in program history.
– Offensively, the Tide returns its top three hitters from a year ago – Demi Turner, Bailey Hemphill and Merris Schroder – all of which hit over .300.
– Turner led the club with a .378 average, while also tying for top honors with 48 hits.  Turner was also 19-for-23 in the stolen base department.  
– Hemphill batted .309 a year ago and started all 63 in which she competed.  The junior infielder also paced the club with nine home runs, 41 runs driven in and 83 total bases.
– Schroder (.303) was third on the club with six doubles and also posted four home runs and 24 RBI.
– Senior infielder Peyton Grantham led the team with 10 doubles and was second on the team in both home runs (7) and RBI (39).

THE SERIES    
– The meeting between South Alabama and Alabama will mark the 14th in the all-time series between the two clubs.
– The Crimson Tide holds a 13-0 advantage in the all-time series, including both meetings in Mobile.
– UA and USA have faced each other three times in the NCAA postseason.
– Each of the last five meetings have been decided by three runs or less, including a 3-1 decision last season in Tuscaloosa.

THE JAGUARS VS. THE SEC    
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 12-34 (.261) against current Southeastern Conference members.
– The 13 previous meetings against Alabama mark the most of any other programs from the SEC by the Jags.
– Of the eight teams from the SEC, Alabama and Florida are the lone two teams from the league that South Alabama has yet to pick up a win against as the Jaguars hold at least one victory over the other six schools that they have faced.
– Along with the Crimson Tide, the Jaguars are scheduled to play four other teams from the league – at Mississippi State (2/17), vs. South Carolina (2/24), at Tennessee (3/3) and at LSU (4/24).

SEASON OPENERS
– South Alabama holds a 7-4 mark all-time in its previous 11 season openers.
– USA has also won its last two season openers, defeating Central Arkansas last season 9-3 in Mobile.
– In those 11 previous season openers, the Jaguars have scored a total of 63 runs (5.7 per game), while allowing 26 (2.4 per game) runs to the opposition for a +37 run differential.
– USA has recorded three shutouts in its season openers, while being shutout just one time during its first season of competition in the program's very first game.
– The Jags and Alabama last faced each other to begin the season back in 2015 when the No. 3/4 Crimson Tide picked up a 2-1 late-inning victory.

HOME OPENERS
– In its 11 previous home openers, the Jaguars hold an 8-3 record and have one four of their last five, including last season's over UCA.
– In South's 11 previous home openers, USA has scored a total of 68 runs (6.2 per game), while allowing 30 (2.7 per game) runs to the opposition for a +38 run differential.
– USA has recorded two shutouts in its home openers, while never being shutout in its first home game of the season.
– South Alabama is also 2-2 in home openers against ranked competition.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
-On the success of the program throughout the years: "We've been incredibly blessed throughout the years to have some very talented athletes come through our program.  I feel that anytime a coach or a team has had success it's because of the players wearing the uniform.  That's no different with this program and hopefully with this year.  I have a lot of confidence in the people that we have on our roster.  I believe we not only have capable people, but great teammates that work really hard.  I feel good about where we are right now and that we have the personnel to have a hopefully have a successful season."
-On playing a traditional power like Alabama: "Every time you hit the field, you want to compete.  Winning at a high level is about competing and execution.  That doesn't change no matter who you are playing or what's on their jersey.  We know we have a good team in Alabama coming into play us.  We scheduled a hard schedule this season.  We want to be the best, so you have to beat the best.  If you want to be able to do that, you have to compete at a high level against good teams."
-On the possible impact of the fans with the sold out crowd: "The energy that they can provide and just knowing you have the home-town support means a lot.  For us as a program, our goal is to be a postseason team, so to be able to play in this type of atmosphere on our home field is huge.  That to me is the biggest factor.  We always want play in front of large crowds and have that type of environment; you can't build that into your practices as much as you want to as a coach.  To have that atmosphere and energy and be able to perform under that pressure is what you want, because ultimately your goal is to win a College World Series.  If you want to do that, then you're going to have millions watching, not just a couple thousand."
-On bond this team has: "They are a mature group.  I feel that they know what they want.  They work really hard and do what you ask them to do.  They are a focused group.  If you want to be a championship team and win at a high level, your players have to take ownership in the program, it can't be about the coach, it has to be about the players.  We've had a lot more leadership and ownership with this group than we've had in the past few years.  They are a little reminiscent of our 2013 team when we hosted the NCAA Regional.  I've seen a lot of similarities early on in this team to that team.  Early on in the season, you're trying to find out who you are and what role to fill, but we have a lot of talent on our roster and I'm confident in what they are capable of doing."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. 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

—USA—