Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama softball travels to Baton Rouge, La., this Tuesday to take on No. 1 Louisiana State at Tiger Park in a 6 p.m. contest broadcast by SEC Network+.
 
Links to live stats, live video and ticket information can be found by accessing the Jaguar softball schedule page. In-game Twitter updates are provided via the program's official handle, @USAJagsSoftball.
 
USA (21-6, 5-3 SBC) is 0-2 all-time versus top-ranked opponents, falling, 4-0, to No. 1 Alabama in 2013 and 13-0 in five innings against No. 1 Florida in 2009. LSU owns the all-time record versus South Alabama, 6-2; however, the Jags did split two games in Baton Rouge a year ago.
 
South Alabama brings a five-game win streak to Tuesday contest after four victories last week, which included a run-rule defeat of Conference USA opponent Southern Mississippi on Wednesday, as well as a Sun Belt Conference series sweep of Appalachian State in Mobile.
 
The win over Southern Miss improved USA's record versus non-conference opponents this season to 16-3. The Jags are 3-1 on the road thus far with away wins over South Carolina, Louisiana-Monroe and Nicholls State.
 
The Jaguars are batting .303 as a team and have out hit opponents, 210-126 and outscored them, 139-70. USA is slugging .426 with a .411 overall on-base percentage.
 
Sophomore catcher Chloe Rathburn currently leads the Jags at the plate, batting .405 with a team-leading 34 hits, 28 RBI and .571 slugging percentage. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native has reached safely in each of the last 14 games and has hit safely in the last five. Rathburn also tops the club in multiple-hit and multiple-RBI games with 11 and nine, respectively.
 
Junior center fielder Stephanie Pilkington owns a team-leading .530 on-base percentage with 29 hits, second-most for the club, and a team-best 20 walks. The Lake City, Fla., native is second on the team in multiple-hit (8) and multiple-RBI (5) and reached safely in the first 18 contests of the year.
 
Senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith has recorded five RBI and three runs on a pair of homers with a team-leading .611 slugging percentage in eight SBC games thus far. Griffith has hit safely in each of the last five games. Junior third baseman Emily Messer has scored seven times and drawn four walks in eight league contests.
 
Senior right-hander Farish Beard has recorded wins in each of her last four appearances since being sidelined for over a month earlier in the year. Beard one-hit Louisiana-Monroe on March 15 to lead USA to a series-tying victory before earning a midweek win over Southern Miss and a pair of league victories against Appalachian State.
 
Over her last four appearances, Beard is 4-0 with a 0.28 ERA with 33 strikeouts to five walks and two runs (one earned) allowed on 10 hits in 25.0 innings. She has held opposing batters to a .123 average since her return.
 
LSU (30-1, 5-1 SEC) earned the top spot in the rankings for the first time in program history on March 17 after the Tigers took two of three from then-No. 1 Florida in Gainseville. LSU dropped game on versus the Gators, 4-3, before taking the next two by scores of 14-10 and 10-3, respectively.
 
The Tigers are 23-0 at home this season, most recently defeating Nicholls State, 6-1, last Wednesday before sweeping a two-game set versus No. 6 Oklahoma by a combined score of 11-2.
 
LSU is batting .365 overall and has outhit its opponents, 284-133, and outscored them, 243-48. The Tigers are slugging .593 and have recorded a .452 overall on-base percentage.
 
LSU owns the all-time series versus South Alabama, 6-2. In 2014, No. 18 South Alabama defeated No. 21 LSU, 2-1, on Feb. 15 at the Tiger Classic before the Tigers claimed a 6-1 victory over the 20^th-ranked Jags in a midweek contest on April 23. Both games took place in Baton Rouge.
 
USA's first victory over the Tigers came on March 27, 2013, when the No. 25 Jaguars topped No. 12 LSU, 12-5, in Mobile.
 
The programs first met on Feb. 29, 2008, with No. 9 LSU defeating the Jaguars, 9-0, at the LSU Purple and Gold Challenge in Baton Rouge.
 
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).