Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama softball welcomes No. 22/25 Louisiana at Lafayette this weekend for a three-game set at Jaguar Field to open its 2013 Sun Belt Conference slate.
 
First pitch for a Saturday doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m., with the second game following 30 minutes after. Game three is also slated for a 1 p.m. start. USA Athletic Marketing has announced the “Chill Yogurt Kids Run the Bases” promotion, in which all children 12-and-under can circle the diamond at Jaguar Field between games one and two.
 
Live streaming will be available for each game of the series through the All-Access section at USAJaguars.com. Live stats for all South Alabama baseball games are available through the multimedia section at USAJaguars.com.
 
USA enters the series with a 21-4 record, after completing the tournament portion of its schedule last weekend, going 3-2 at the Long Beach State Invitational in California, where it defeated UC-Santa Barbara, Idaho State and the host 49ers, while dropping 2-1 affairs to both UCLA and Utah.
 
The Jaguars will be immediately tested in their return home, facing a Ragin’ Cajun team that leads the Sun Belt Conference in almost every offensive statistical category; however, USA will bring a 6-0 home record and deadeye pitching to the table this weekend.
 
USA’ junior left-hander Hannah Campbell owns one of the nation’s top-10 ERAs, her 0.90 having shrunk after throwing her first career no-hitter in a 3-0 Jaguar defeat of UC-Santa Barbara last Thursday. The Satsuma, Ala., native then earned her ninth win of the season against Idaho State when she came on for two innings of relief against Idaho State, setting a USA tiebreaking victory in the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
The following day, H. Campbell gave up only one earned run to then-No. 9 UCLA, whom the Jaguars could not slip past, despite putting the tying run on third with two one away in the top of the seventh.
 
H. Campbell’s counterpart in the Jaguar circle, sophomore Farish Beard, earned the win against Long Beach State to move to 9-0 on the year. Beard has struck out 90 batters this year in 64.0 innings pitched and sports an ERA of 1.20, helping USA lead the conference in the category with a 1.38 combined.
 
Blair Johnson led the Jags at the plate last weekend, batting .375 with six hits, an RBI and three runs scored, including one that cut the Jaguar deficit to UCLA in half after she tripled to right field and a Bruin throwing error allowed her a free base. Johnson currently leads the team in hits with 24.
 
Julie Moss sports the club’s highest batting average, a .365, which includes 23 hits, seven of those sacrifices, which leads the league. Britany Campbell batted .333 last weekend to boost her average to .355. Her .565 slugging percentage leads the team, as do her three triples.
 
Senior outfielder Briana Cherry leads 18-9 ULL at the plate, batting .405 with a team-leading 32 hits and 29 runs scored. Cherry’s slugging percentage is currently .785, and she has driven in 28 runs this year.
 
As a whole, ULL has an on-base percentage of .420 and a slugging percentage of .508. Shellie Landry leads the team in RBI with 32. ULL has outscored its opponents 180-88 this season. Ragin’ Cajun ace Jordan Wallace is 10-5 with a 2.06 ERA, having struck out 115 batters in 88.1 inning pitched.
 
After run-ruling Western Kentucky, 10-0, in five innings in the premier contest of a three-game, weekend set, the Ragin’ Cajuns were defeated consecutively by the Hilltoppers, who used 12-2 and 3-2 victories to clinch the series.
 
The meeting this weekend between the SBC giants comes with a little extra salt, as the two met last season in the league tournament final, where USA defeated the Ragin’ Cajuns to earn their first NCAA Regional bid in program history. 
 
ULL swept the regular season series against USA last April before the second-seeded Jaguars dealt the five-time league champions a 3-1 defeat in the tournament finals. The defeat was only then-No. 6 Louisiana’s fourth loss of the year. USA’s Brittany Fowler provided the game-winning margin on a three-run homer.
 
Next Wednesday, the Jaguars will host UAB for a midweek matchup on Wednesday, March 20 at 4 p.m. USA defeated the Blazers, 8-2, earlier this season at the Magic City Classic.
 
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).