MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team will head back out on the road for a three games series this weekend at Sun Belt Conference leader and 25th-ranked Texas State.  The series will open with a doubleheader on Saturday and then close out with a single game on Sunday at the Bobcat Softball Stadium.

Series Game Notes (PDF)

GAMES: 37-39 | AT TEXAS STATE
Venue: Bobcat Softball Stadium | San Marcos, Texas

SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: Sat., April 7 | 1 p.m.
Game 2: Sat., April 7 | 3 p.m.
Game 3: Sun., April 8 | 12 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: RV | USA: RV | RPI: 48
Record: 19-17, 5-6 SBC
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP) –.258 / .346 / .343
Runs Per Game: 3.6
Runs Per Game Allowed: 3.3

Texas State BOBCATS
NFCA: No. 25 | USA: RV | RPI: 30
Record: 26-8, 8-0 SBC
Head Coach: Ricci Woodard (New Mexico St., '91)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP) – .292 / .428 / .377
Runs Per Game: 4.6
Runs Per Game Allowed: 2.3

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (19-17, 5-6 SBC) comes into the weekend series versus the Bobcats after picking up a 7-1 win over Southern Mississippi Tuesday night in Mobile.
– Devin Brown tossed a two-hitter and picked up her 12th win of the season.  The Jaguars scored three runs on three hits and two USM errors in the first inning, and extended their lead on home runs in the third and fourth innings.
– South now has 14 home runs on the season with seven coming over the last five games.  Hannah Smith recorded the first of her career with a solo shot in the bottom of the third and Kamdyn Kvistad launched a three-run blast to left center in the fourth.
– Kvistad was 2-for-4 with a season high 4 RBI in the win and the home run was her fourth of the season, tying her for top honors in the category with Brittani Reid.  The freshman is second on the Jag roster in runs driven in as she now has 17 on the season, and her 16 walks are tied for seventh in the conference.
– Kvistad is batting .375 in Sun Belt Conference play and three of her four home runs have come against league competition.
– B. Reid ranks second on the club with a .320 average.  Along with her four home runs, B. Reid paces the club with 13 extra-base hits and ranks 10th in the SBC in total bases with 56.  B. Reid also has 10 multi-hit games on the year.
– Senior shortstop Kristian Foster's 20 RBI lead the club and her eight doubles are tied for sixth-most in the Sun Belt.  She has driven in at least one run in eight of her last 11 games.
– Kaleigh Todd also finished with two hits in the win against Southern Miss, extending her hit streak to a career-best 10 games and her reached base safely streak to 12.  Like B. Reid, she has 10 multi-hit games this season with seven of those coming over her last nine contests.  Todd has 54 career multi-hit performances during her career entering the series.
– After getting off to a slow start, Todd has been outstanding at the plate as of late, especially in Sun Belt play.  Of her 40 hits, which are tied for eighth in the SBC, 18 have come in league play.  She is hitting .500 in her 11 conference games, and .364 overall – 10th in the SBC.
– Brown (12-9) leads the Jaguars in the circle as she holds a 2.11 earned run average to go along with her 140 strikeouts.  
– The Jag right-hander ranks second in the Sun Belt in strikeouts, strikeouts looking (39) and innings pitched (136.1), while ranking third in ERA and opposing batting average.
– Brown ranks 23rd in the NCAA in strikeouts and has gone the distance in 15 of her 18 starts.  She leads the team in five total shutouts – four solo and one combined.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS    
– Texas State (26-8, 8-0 SBC) comes into Sun Belt series winners of 12 of its last 13.  The Bobcats defeated Lamar, 6-1 in their last outing on Wednesday night improving their home record to 11-3.
– Texas State – which is ranked No. 25 in this week's USAToday / NFCA Top 25 Poll – has picked up SBC series wins over Georgia State, Coastal Carolina and Georgia Southern this season.
– Pitching has been the story for Texas State this season as the Bobcats are led by the league's reigning and preseason pitcher of the year Randi Rupp.
– As a staff, Texas State leads the league in ERA, strikeouts, runs allowed, walks allowed and strikeouts looking, among other statistical categories.  Their ERA is 18th-best in the NCAA.
– Rupp – who picked up her third pitcher of the week accolade on Tuesday – has been dominant in the circle this season as she is 16-6 with a 1.32 ERA and 200 strikeouts.  Opponents hold a .184 average against the senior this season.
– Rupp leads the SBC in ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts, strikeouts looking (59) and wins, while her opposing batting average is second lowest in the league.  Rupp's strikeouts are second in the NCAA and she is averaging 9.4 strikeouts per seven this season, which is 15th nationally.  She has five shutouts this season.
– In league play, Rupp holds a 6-0 record and a 0.51 ERA, while she has also struck out 74 and walked just two.  Rupp's 9.09 strikes-to-walk ratio is seventh in the NCAA.
– At the plate, Arkansas transfer Hailey MacKay (.398) has made an immediate impact in the Bobcat lineup.  MacKay is fourth in the Sun Belt in batting average.  She is also third in the league in slugging percentage (.684), fourth in on-base percentage (.504), RBI (25) and total bases (67).  Her seven home runs are tied for fourth-most this season in the conference.
– Ariel Ortiz, who was named the Preseason SBC Player of the Year, is batting .333 this season and she has four home runs and 28 RBI.  Her 28 runs driven in are third in the conference, while she is also tied for sixth in slugging percentage (.600) and eighth in on-base percentage (.453).
– As a team, the Bobcats have recorded nine triples this season, which is three more than ULM.  Tara Oltamn (.286) leads the team and is tied for the SBC lead in that category with three.
– Haleigh Davis is second on the club with a .341 batting average.  She has 10 extra-base hits and has scored 15 runs, while driving in 11 runs.  Like Ortiz, she has four home runs entering play this weekend.

THE SERIES VS. TEXAS STATE    
– The meeting between South Alabama and Texas State in the series opener will mark the 11th in the all-time series between the two clubs.
– The Jaguars won the first meeting between the two clubs, defeating the Bobcats 8-0 in San Marcos, but since the Bobcats have won nine-straight in the all-time series coming into the weekend, including sweeping last season's three games in Mobile.
– Texas State has recorded six straight shutouts in the series.
– The two teams have met six times on the Bobcats' home field, with Texas State taking five of those six meetings.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. TEXAS STATE    
Series: 1-9 (H: 0-4 / A: 1-5 / N: 0-0)
Sun Belt Conference Games: 1-8 (H: 0-3 / A: 1-5 / N: 0-0)
Sun Belt Tournament Games: 0-1 (H: 0-1 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
Run-Rule Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 4/5/14
Last Meeting: 4/9/17
Longest South Alabama Streak: 1 ('14)
Longest Texas State Streak: 9 ('14-'17)
Current Streak: 9 by Texas State
Last 5 – 0-5
Last 10 – 1-9

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
-On mindset going into this weekend's series versus Texas State: "I think we have to stay aggressive in the zone going into the series against Texas State and that's what we talked about after the game against Southern Miss.  You have to compete for every single pitch.  It the ball is in the zone, you're competing for it, if it's out of the zone, let them have it.  We don't want to give away strikes or pitches.  In series like this weekend's, every pitch means something, so we need to make sure we are dialed into that. "

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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