Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – No. 25 University of South Alabama softball faces its fourth ranked opponent in No. 12/13 LSU this Wednesday at Jaguar Field.
 
First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Live streaming will be available through the All-Access section found by visiting USAJaguars.com. Live stats for all South Alabama softball games are available through the multimedia section at USAJaguars.com.

USA Athletic Marketing has announced that the first 50 fans through the gate will receive a softball senior trading card. The softball team will also be signing autographs under the USA Campus Bookstore tent post-game.
 
USA is 9-1 at Jaguar Field this year and 3-1 in midweek matchups. South Alabama is looking for its first-ever win over LSU, as the Tigers hold the all-time advantage 5-0. The Jaguars are batting .316 with 15 home runs and a .588 slugging percentage at home this year, outscoring visiting opponents, 67-19.
 
Fresh off clinching its second Sun Belt Conference series last weekend, USA will look to avenge two one-run losses to the Tigers in Baton Rouge, La., in the third week of competition in 2012. Despite outhitting LSU 15-11, in two meetings at the Tiger Classic last season, the Jaguars were unable to produce the final punch that would propel them past the then-No. 25 club.
 
With a month-and-a-half’s worth of playing time and three contests versus top-25 teams behind it, USA looks poised for a challenge, having currently reeled off seven victories in its last eight affairs since dropping consecutive contests for the only time all season to then-No. 9 UCLA and Utah in California.
 
Since the back-to-back losses, the Jaguars have produced 52 runs in eight games, an average of 6.5 per contest, and the USA pitching duo of Hannah Campbell and Farish Beard has limited opponents to a .195 batting average.

The NCAA gave USA a rank of 13th in its first RPI (Rating Percentage Index) poll of the season on Monday. 
 
At the Plate
USA is 9-1 and batting .316 with 15 home runs and a .588 slugging percentage at Jaguar Field this year, outscoring visiting opponents, 67-19. Last weekend, the Jaguar offense posted 29 runs to FIU’s 10, peppering the Panther defense with 28 hits in three games.
 
Junior Julie Moss was named SBC Player of the Week on Monday for her weekend performance, in which she batted in 11 runs on four hits, including two home runs and two doubles. Her grand slam and an RBI double on Sunday gave her a career-high five RBIs in the 8-5 USA series-sweeping victory.
 
Moss is second on the team behind Brittany Fowler at the bats with a .337 clip.
 
Fowler was likewise gigantic in the series, hitting .583 (7-for-12) with six RBIs and five runs scored and a homer. She should’ve one more, but her grand slam in game two on Saturday was ruled a three-RBI single, as the umpire accused her of a misstep across second base on her roundabout.
 
The senior now leads the club in hits (34,), runs scored (30), home runs (7), RI (25), slugging percentage (.709) and on-base percentage (.523). She also lies amongst the league’s top-five in all aforementioned categories, except for RBI, in which she is tied for sixth. She has been hit by more pitches than anyone in the conference: 14 times.
 
Kaitlyn Griffith went 6-for-12 on the weekend with two homers and five runs scored, and Britany Campbell hit her second homer in as many games in the opening contest in Miami on Saturday. The pair combined for eight hits, seven runs and three RBIs on the weekend.
 
Blair Johnson managed only one hit in the series, after ripping a two-run shot against UAB last Wednesday, but did score five runs and extend her reached-base streak to 11 games. Emily Messer scored four runs on four hits last weekend and Haley Fagan knocked in two runs and scored three of her own.
 
In the circle
H. Campbell (13-5) recorded three victories this week in three complete-game efforts, allowing no earned runs in the 21 innings pitched and shrinking her season ERA to a 0.87, while carding her fourth and fifth shutouts.
 
She struck out 16 batters in the three appearances, giving up five runs, all unearned, on 15 hits. H. Campbell lowered her Sun Belt Conference-leading ERA mark and has now pitched more innings than any other in the league. The league’s wins leader is tied for third in total runs allowed (24) and is second in earned runs allowed (14).
 
Beard struck out seven and gave up only three hits to FIU in game one, moving to a perfect 11-0 on the year. The sophomore retained her runner-up position in ERA amongst Sun Belt pitchers, despite giving up five earned runs in her only series appearance after throwing five-and-a-half innings of hitless ball.
 
USA leads the league in pitching and is ninth in the NCAA with a 1.49 ERA and only 55 total runs given up in 32 games. H. Campbell’s 0.87 is the fourth-best ERA in the NCAA, and her three saves are enough to rank ninth. Beard is also listed as ninth in the nation in hits allowed per seven innings (3.50).
 
In the Field
Despite four errors this weekend, USA’s 0.978 fielding percentage is ninth-best in the country and tops in the SBC. The Jaguars pulled four double plays in the FIU series to move to a tie for second in the SBC in the category with 13 total. South Alabama has only erred 20 times on the season, fewest in the league by five.
 
First baseman Meghan Collins remains perfect on the year 228 putouts, and Fagan is runner-up in assists with 81 from the hot corner.
 
Latest on the Tigers
The No. 12/13 LSU softball team will step out of SEC play for a pair of mid-week matchups versus Southeastern Louisiana and South Alabama.
 
LSU (27-6) has picked up wins in nine of its last 10 outings since March 10. The Tigers also have posted a combined 22-1 all-time mark versus Southeastern Louisiana and South Alabama.
 
LSU’s offense continues to have six of its regular starters with over a .300 batting average. A.J. Andrews and Jacee Blades have tallied a team-leading 38 hits apiece along with 10 multi-hit performances from the top of the lineup.
 
Blades has boosted her average up to a team-high .373 clip and has hit safely in 10 of her last 12 outings, while Andrews has led the Tigers with 23 runs scored and is a perfect 10-for-10 in the stolen base department.
 
Bianka Bell and Tammy Wray share the team lead with six home runs and 20 RBIs apiece. Rikki Alcaraz has secured hits in 13 of her last 16 outings en route to a .435 batting average. All three players connected for multiple homers last week.
 
Sandra Simmons enters this week’s action on a career-long five game hitting streak. She has a .291 average, three home runs and 17 RBIs. Her batting average is at its highest point since the UNLV game back on Feb. 22. 
 
LSU’s pitching continue to show its depth and versatility as all three hurlers collected wins, and the staff posted a 0.85 ERA last week.
 
Rachele Fico notched a pair of wins to bring her season record to 16-4 with a 1.66 ERA. The senior right-hander brought her career win total to 70 and eclipsed Ashley Lewis (1999-2001) for fourth place on LSU’s all-time list.
 
Meghan Patterson secured her fourth win of the season with a complete game effort during game two of the Georgia Southern doubleheader on March 19. She is now up to a 4-2 mark flanked by a 1.70 ERA.
 
Ashley Czechner tossed her second one-hit shutout over her last three appearances to secure the series win over South Carolina. She has garnered a 7-0 record with a 1.97 ERA.
 
USA vs. The SEC
The Jaguars are 2-1 against Southeastern Conference opponents this season, with wins over Mississippi State (3-2, Feb. 7) and Ole Miss (4-2, Feb. 16) and a loss to then-No. 1 Alabama (0-4, Feb. 28).
 
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).