Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama softball will take its 12-game win streak to Tuscaloosa on Thursday to face its first ranked opponent of the season in No. 1/2 Alabama before a four-game weekend in Birmingham at the Magic City Classic.
 
The Jags went 4-0 last weekend in Jacksonville, defeating Mount St. Mary’s 12-2 (5 inn.), the host-Dolphins, 7-0, Seton Hall, 8-0 (6 inn.) and Delaware, 1-0, to extend its win streak to 12 games as part of a program-best start.
 
USA batted .337 on the weekend to its opponents’ .149. Sophomore catcher Alex Breeden led the club at the plate with a .571 batting average (4-of-7) and a run scored. Brittany Fowler and Julie Moss both went yard at the tourney and Blair Johnson, the squad’s hits leader (17), drove in three runs and batted .400. Fowler scored six runs in four games in her hometown appearance.
 
USA Sophomore right-hander Farish Beard struck out 16 batters in 7.2 innings pitched last Saturday.
 
Beard allowed only a single hit against Seton Hall, which didn’t occur until the fifth inning, but, with two outs on the board, she blew one past the swinging bat of Pirate Faith Laudano to close the frame.
 
USA senior Jessica Dobson earned the start in the following matchup versus Delaware, but she initiated the contest with two walks and a hit by pitch on one out before USA head coach Becky Clark decided to reinstate Beard.
 
Beard then struck out both Tori Conrad and Lisa Stacevicz swinging to escape the jam.
 
 On the day, Beard allowed one hit, no runs, no walks and held the opposition to a .042 batting average. With the win over the Pirates, she moved to 5-0 on the year and is currently sporting a 1.58 ERA, while leading the club in strikeouts with 43.
 
Scouting Alabama  
The top-ranked Alabama softball team (16-0) will be continuing its homestand this week with six games in four days. The Tide starts with single games against Samford (6-6) on Wednesday, Feb. 27 and South Alabama (13-1) on Thursday, Feb. 28, before moving immediately into the Easton Classic on March 1-2. Iowa State (7-4) and St. John’s (3-7-1) will be participating in the 2013 Easton Classic.
 
Alabama continued its dominance during tournament play, claiming its 12th straight title, after winning the Easton Bama Bash this past weekend. Before entering the weekend to open its home schedule, Alabama defeated UAB on the road, 8-4. The Tide played a total of six games this past week, including five in Tuscaloosa at the Bama Bash. Alabama outscored its opponents, 50-6, hit .321 and sported a 0.88 ERA. Opponents hit only .151 and pitched at a 7.38 clip.
 
Scouting Murray State  
The Racers are 4-5 on the year with wins over Northwestern State, Louisiana at Monroe twice and Saint Louis. Alexa Becker leads Murray State with a .385 plate average on 10 hits, a homer and three RBI. Casey Castile has registered a team-leading 20 RBI and two home runs. CheyAnne Gaskey has a 3.00 ERA and has struck out 27 batters this year. She and Shelby Kosmecki have appeared five and six times, respectively.
 
Scouting UAB  
The Blazers are 6-4 this season and will co-host the Magic City Classic with Samford at its own complex. UAB has defeated Washington, Ole Miss, Saint Mary’s, Eastern Kentucky, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and IUPUI. The Blazer lost, 8-4, to Alabama last week in their home opener in Birmingham.
 
Amy Dennis is the team’s leader at the plate, sporting a .412 average on 7-for-17 hitting. Kristen McGrath has a team-leading 144 hits, 11 RBI and four home runs, tied with Anna Kimbrell.
UAB also features a face very familiar to the Jags in pitcher Lannah Campbell, twin sister of USA’s Hannah. Lannah currently has a 4.76 ERA, striking out 22 in 22.2 innings pitched.
 
Scouting Samford  
The Bulldogs have a 6-6 start to the 2013 season. Madison Dickey leads Samford with a .385 average putting up 10 hits with six RBI. In the circle for the Bulldogs, Mollie Hanson (4-5) sports a 1.57 ERA, striking out 70 batters in 53.2 innings. Entering her second season as the head coach at Samford, Mandy Burford, a former Crimson Tide player, will return to her alma mater with a 20-48 record.
 
Series history
Versus Alabama: Alabama heads the series against the Jaguars with a 7-0 lead. In the 2012 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional the Tide downed South Alabama, 6-0. Jennifer Fenton had two runs on two hits and two RBI. Jackie Traina took the win, striking out 10 in seven innings.
 
Versus Murray State: First meeting.
 
Versus UAB: USA leads the series with the Blazers, 5-2. Most recently, the jags defeated UAB, 1-0, in Birmingham in 2012. Former USA standouts Haley Hopkins and Christin Crocker led the visitors to victory, accompanied by Hannah Campbell’s five strikeouts.
 
Versus Samford: Samford leads the series 2-1 all-time versus South Alabama. Samford used a five-run fifth inning last season to snap USA’s seven-game win streak. The Jags held the 1-0 lead for an inning and a half after scoring in the top of the third, and outhit the Bulldogs 6-5, but couldn’t make the run stand up as Samford hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fifth to score five.
 
Campbell named College Sports Madness SBC Player of the Week
For her performances in Jacksonville over the weekend, USA leftt-hander Hannah Campbell was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week by College Sports Madness.
 
The junior out of Satsuma, Ala., went 2-0 at the tournament, carding shutout wins against Jacksonville and Delaware to improve her season ERA to a league-leading 0.71. H. Campbell has struck out 37 batters on the year and is holding opponents to a .161 batting average.
­­­
Mercy, mercy me
USA has forced the mercy rule on six opponents in 14 games this season.
• Defeated Georgia State, 8-0 (6 inn.) on 2/9
• Defeated Central Arkansas, 11-2 (6 inn.) on 2/15
• Defeated Lamar, 8-0 (5 inn.) on 2/16
• Defeated Jackson State, 10-2 (5 inn.) on 2/17
• Defeated Mount St. Mary’s, 12-2 (5 inn.) on 2/22
• Defeated Seton Hall, 8-0 (6 inn.) on 2/23
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).