Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – Just over a month outside the start of the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Championship, No. 23/24 University of South Alabama softball will get a taste of tournament atmosphere this week, as the team will take part in six games over a five-day period, featuring three-game sets versus Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee.
 
USA (29-7, 6-3), which moved up in both collegiate polls this weekend, as well as in NCAA RPI, will first welcome the Owls (24-20, 7-5 SBC) to Jaguar Field on Wednesday, where South Alabama recently thrashed then-No. 12 LSU before dropping its first league series of the year to Western Kentucky. Now 11-3 in Mobile, USA will look to bounce back from lackluster performances versus the Lady ‘Toppers catalyzed by career outings from WKU right-hander Emily Rousseau, reigning SBC Pitcher of the Week.
 
Game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader is scheduled for 4 p.m., with game two following approximately 20 minutes after. Thrusday’s game three is slated for a 6 p.m. start.  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.
 
The Jags will travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn., this weekend for a three-game set at Blue Raider Softball Complex. A Saturday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. will precede Sunday’s game three, scheduled for a noon first pitch.
 
Last Time Out for USA
After racking up 15 hits in a 12-5 thrashing of then-No. 12 LSU last Wednesday, USA managed only 20 hits total through a three-game Sun Belt Conference series versus Western Kentucky, which the Lady ‘Toppers clinched 2-1 with game one and three victories.
 
WKU junior right-hander Emily Rousseau proved a thorn in the Jaguars’ paw, striking out 20 in the two visitor wins and pitching out of several bases-loaded jams in both contests to hand USA 4-3 and 3-2 defeats. For her efforts, Rousseau was named SBC Pitcher of the Week, while Player-of-the-Week honors went to Lady ‘Topper sophomore Preslie Cruce, who led her club with five hits, including three doubles and two home runs, four runs scored and five RBI on the weekend.
 
Kaitlyn Griffith paced the Jaguars at the plate, batting .500 on the weekend with a double, a home run, two runs scored and four RBI. Julie Moss was 3-for-8 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. Blair Johnson and Britany Campbell each added home runs. Freshman Clara Bowen made two starts behind the plate, and batted big in USA’s lone series victory, raking a double to left field that scored three runs, the winning margin in an 8-5 game-two contest.
 
The series loss was USA’s first this season after clinching three-game sets versus then-No. 17 ULL and FIU. The Jaguars fell to 11-3 at home. WKU took the lead in SBC standings with the series win, also leapfrogging USA in the teams’ all-time meetings, 11-10.
 
Scouting Florida Atlantic
The Florida Atlantic softball team will head to Alabama for a six game road trip this week. This will be the final regular season trip to both schools before the Owls depart for Conference USA this summer.
 
FAU (24-20, 7-5 Sun Belt) lost its series to North Texas, dropping a doubleheader to the Mean Green after winning the series opener. Those losses snapped what had been a 10-game winning streak for the Owls.
 
After facing the Jaguars, the Owls will move on to Troy to face the Trojans (14-19, 4-4) Troy leads the Sun Belt with a .336 team batting average in conference play. The Trojans won last year’s season series, winning twice in Boca Raton.
 
The Owls lead the conference in hits with 284. FAU freshman outfielder Christina Martinez paces the Owls at the plate with a .331 average and league-leading 43 hits.
 
Stephanie Call sports a team-leading 2.56 ERA and has struck out 99, while Taylor Fawbush leads in wins with 11.
 
Jags Versus Owls in 2012
USA was 2-1 against FAU last season, bookending a 4-3, game-two loss with 3-1 and 8-3 victories to clinch the regular-season series.
 
Despite being outhit by the Owls, 19-16, USA outscored them, 14-8. Hannah Campbell earned two wins over FAU, striking out 18 total to only one walk and allowing four runs, all earned.
 
FAU owns the all-time series advantage over the Jaguars, 6-15.
 
Scouting Middle Tennessee
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are currently 2-27 on the year and 1-7 in the SBC. MTSU’s lone conference victory came in the match of a doubleheader versus Troy, a 7-5 victory. Since then, the Blue Raiders have dropped seven consecutively.
 
MTSU has been outscored by its opponents, 218-60, this year. The Blue Raider pitching staff currently sports a 6.65 ERA. Leading the Blue Raiders offensively is Laura Dukes, who is hitting .308 (24-for-78) with a team-best seven home runs and 21 walks. She has 14 RBI on the season and a .628 slugging percentage.
 
Samantha Nieves is second on the team with a .293 batting average, but has 27 hits, including seven doubles and four home runs. Her 14 RBI is tied with Dukes for the team-lead.
 
Jordyn Fisherback leads the team in nearly every pitching category, including wins (three), innings pitched (99) and strikeouts (60), while Caitlin McClure has found her rhythm in the circle over the past six games, leading the team with a 2.95 ERA in 21.1 innings pitched in that span. Additionally, she has struck out eight batters and allowed just nine runs in five appearances (four starts).
 
Jags Versus Blue Raiders in 2012
USA was 3-0 versus Middle Tennessee last season, outscoring the Blue Raiders, 15-5, in a three-game series sweep. USA followed two one-run wins over MTSU with an 8-0 run-rule victory in game three, moving to 12-5 all-time versus the Blue Raiders.
 
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).