Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama softball takes a break from Sun Belt Conference play this Wednesday when it takes on Southern Mississippi in a midweek contest scheduled for 6 p.m. at Jaguar Field.
 
Links to live stats, ticket information and live video streaming can be found by accessing the Jaguar softball schedule page. In-game Twitter updates are provided via the program's official handle, @USAJagsSoftball.
 
The teams meet for the first time since the 2012 season. South Alabama owns the all-time record versus the Golden Eagles, 8-3-1. USA is 5-2 all-time versus Southern Miss (15-10, 1-5 CUSA) in Mobile, 2-1-1 in Hattiesburg, Miss., and 1-0 at neutral sites.
 
USA (17-6, 2-3 SBC) most recently split a league doubleheader at Louisiana-Monroe, including a 2-0 win in game two behind Farish Beard's 12 strikeouts in her first appearance since Feb. 7. The loss in game one, an 8-0, run-rule defeat, dropped the Jaguars out of the Top 25 for the first time in 29 voting periods in both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA)/USA Today and ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate polls.
 
The Jaguars are currently the highest vote-getters in the former poll and two votes behind in-state rival UAB in the latter. South Alabama had been ranked since March 19, 2013, reaching as high as No. 11 on April 1, 2014.
 
USA is 15-3 versus non-conference opponents this year and 8-4 at Jaguar Field. The Jags are batting .315 at home, while limiting opponents to a .211 clip.
 
The Jaguars are batting .292 overall with a .416 slugging percentage and .410 on-base percentage. USA is 15-3 is non-conference play and 8-4 at home this season. South Alabama's offense has done the majority of its damage in the first inning, outscoring opponents 22-7 in the opening frame, and the Jags are 10-2 when scoring in the first. USA is 5-4 when allowing the opponent to score first.
 
South Alabama has outhit its opponents, 172-110, this year and outscored them, 113-66.
 
The Jaguars are batting .315 at home this season, while opponents are hitting only .211. The USA pitching staff has allowed only 37 earned runs in 81 total innings at Jaguar Field this season.
 
Junior center fielder Stephanie Pilkington leads the Jaguars at the plate with a .403 batting average and .570 on-base percentage. The Lake City, Fla., native has drawn 20 walks and stolen three bases in as many attempts this year. She hit a solo home run, her first since Feb. 16, 2013, to put USA ahead by two runs versus Louisiana-Monroe last Sunday.
 
Sophomore catcher Chloe Rathburn has recorded a team-leading 27 hits this season and owns the club's highest slugging percentage, a .571. She has tallied a team-high 23 RBI and seven doubles. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native tops the club in multiple-hit (8) and multiple-RBI (7) games. Rathburn has currently reached base in 10 straight games.
 
Junior third baseman Emily Messer has scored a team-high 19 runs this year, including four in USA's five Sun Belt Conference contests. Senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith has recorded two hits, both home runs, in league play thus far, for four RBI with two runs, walks and hit by pitches. She is currently slugging .800 against SBC opponents with a team-high .429 on-base percentage.
 
In her first appearance in over a month, senior right-hander Farish Beard fanned 12 Louisiana-Monroe batters to shut out the Warhawks, as USA evened the league doubleheader on Sunday with a 2-0 victory. Beard walked one and dealt one hit by pitch in the contest, which marked her first win this season, evening her record to 1-1.
 
The Golden Eagles are 15-10 this year and 1-5 in Conference USA play. Southern Mississippi is 5-5 in its last 10 games, recently being swept by North Texas in league play last weekend. Prior to that series, USM defeated Texas-San Antonio in a series finale after dropping both games of a double header a day before and downed Alcorn State twice.
 
Junior Morgan McKeever leads the Eagles at the plate with a .447 batting average and 34 hits. Sophomore catcher Bailey Stokes is slugging .684 and has recorded a .578 on-base percentage, both team-leading figures. Junior Katie Cleary leads the club in RBI with 28 on the year, and junior Sarah Evans is tops in runs scored (23), doubles (7) and triples (2).
 
Sophomore Samantha Robles is 5-1 in the circle with a 2.65 ERA and 29 strikeouts to only nine walks in a staff-low 34 1/3 innings. Danielle Block and Shelbee Rodgers are each 4-3 on the year with ERAs of 3.08 and 5.40, respectively. Jillian Johnson is 2-3 with a 2.98 ERA. Rodgers has pitched the most innings this season for the Eagles, turning in 46 2/3.
 
In terms of common opponents, Southern Miss lost to Houston and McNeese State, 4-1 and 2-0, respectively, while the Jags defeated both, 3-2 and 5-1. The Eagles took 11 innings to beat Nicholls State, while USA dropped the Colonels, 7-2.
 
USA and Southern Miss last met in 2012, with South Alabama defeating the Eagles at home and away, 6-0 and 8-0, respectively. In 2011, the teams split with USM defeating the Jags, 5-4, in Hattiesburg before USA dropped the Eagles 10-2 in five innings in Mobile.
 
The first meeting between the clubs took place on Feb. 14, 2007, which marked USA's first-ever competitive contest resulting in a 1-0 loss to the Eagles in Hattiesburg.
 
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).