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MOBILE, Ala. – No. 11 University of South Alabama softball travels to Tuscaloosa on Wednesday for a midweek clash with the No. 4 Crimson Tide at Rhoads Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
 
Links to live stats and play-by-play audio, provided free-of-charge by Braden Cheek as part of Jaguar All-Access, are listed above. Ticket information is also listed above.
 
With it, USA (29-3) carries a 13-game win streak, 17-game road win streak, the best overall ERA in the nation and the highest ranking in program history, all proper billing for what could be a first Jaguar victory over UA, as the Tide leads the all-time series, 8-0.
 
South Alabama is 2-0 versus Southeastern Conference opponents this year, after defeating LSU, ranked No. 21 at the time, and Georgia, ranked 17^th then. Alabama's sweep of the Tigers last weekend saw the Tied roll to an 11-1 SEC start.
 
The Jaguars went 4-0 last week after a 9-1, midweek victory at Troy and sweeping of Louisiana-Monroe at home to extend their current win streak to 13 games, best of the season. Sophomore Stephanie Pilkington led the club in batting after hitting at a .545 (6-for-11) clip and scoring six runs en route to securing her first-ever SBC Player-of-the-Week honor, which marked USA's fifth weekly league award winner in eight total voting periods this year.
 
Hannah Campbell, selected third overall in the 2014 NPF Draft by the Akron Racers last night, was 2-0 in the circle last week, striking out 11 in 13 shutout innings to shrink her overall ERA to 0.61, fourth-best in the NCAA. Her counterpart, 16-1 Farish Beard, boasts the country's lowest ERA (0.43) for the third straight week after striking out 15 last week in 13 1/3 and allowing only one run (earned).
 
Beard is also tops in the nation in hits allowed per seven innings, giving up a measly 2.27 per contest, while Campbell is equally as stingy in the walks department, ranking fourth overall after allowing just 0.61 of those per seven innings.
 
On Tuesday, USA earned its best-ever poll position, coming in at No. 11 in both the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association and ESPN.com/USA Softball ranking systems. The Jaguars fell from seventh to 10^th in the NCAA RPI poll. Alabama is atop the RPI poll at No. 1 this week.
 
Last Wednesday, USA collected its 17^th straight road victory, the last loss in another team's backyard coming on Feb. 28, 2013 versus Alabama, ranked No. 1 at the time.
 
The Tide is three spots back to No. 4 this go-around – its highest placement of the year – and, while that isn't to say the squad is much weaker, it has proven susceptible to defeat.
 
After cruising to four wins in its own Easton Bama Bash in late February by a combined score of 31-8, the Tide dropped a 5-3 decision to McNeese State, out of the Southland Conference, on the final day of the tournament. The Cowgirls led by as as much as four runs to one and held off a late rally by the Tide to secure the upset, which marked UA's first non-conference loss at home in just under two years.
 
The Tide left 11 base runners stranded in that contest. USA defeated McNeese State, 4-1, at home on Feb. 8 this year at the 2014 Mardi Gras Invitational, powered by Kaitlyn Griffith's three-run home run.
 
That loss was one of only a pair for the Tide at home this year, the other coming to No. 9 Florida State, 5-1, following UA's 1-0 win over the Seminoles one day prior.
 
After dropping one contest in a series-clinching weekend against top-ranked Florida in Gainesville on March 22, Alabama has reeled off five straight wins and welcomes South Alabama amidst an eight-game homestand.
 
Last year, UA defeated the Jaguars, 4-0, to move to 18-0 and snap USA's 12-game win streak. Jackie Traina earned her ninth win of the season after striking out nine USA batters to six walks and giving up only three hits. Campbell gave up three earned runs, five hits, five walks and struck out one for USA.
 
Molly Fichtner led UA at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double in the third inning that scored three 'Bama runs. Kaila Hunt scored a run for UA as well. Two of the Jaguars' three hits came in the top of the seventh, as USA threatened to knot scoring by loading the bases with one out, but Traina locked in and forced a fly out and struck out the final Jaguar batter to end the visitors' comeback chance.
 
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).