Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – No. 24 University of South Alabama softball begins Sun Belt Conference play this weekend when it hosts No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette at Jaguar Field on March 7-8.
 
A Saturday doubleheader beginning at noon precedes Sunday's game three, which is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
 
Links to live stats, ticket information and video streaming can be found by visiting the Jaguar softball schedule page. In-game Twitter updates are provided via the official softball handle, @USAJagsSoftball.
 
JAGUAR RUNDOWN
South Alabama (15-3) owns a .319 overall batting average, .440 slugging percentage and .435 on-base percentage. USA has outhit its opponents, 150-76, and outscored them, 98-41, in 18 games. The Jaguars own a .958 fielding percentage and have stolen 18 bases in 22 attempts thus far.
 
The Jag pitching staff owns 1.92 overall ERA with 33 earned runs and 58 walks allowed in 120 innings. Opponents are batting .176 versus USA hurlers.
 
USA is batting .350 at home this year with .504 and .463 slugging and on-base percentages, respectively. At Jaguar Field, South Alabama is 7-2 and has outhit its opponents, 84-40, and outscored them, 57-26.
 
Junior center fielder Stephanie Pilkington currently leads USA in batting average (.457) and on-base percentage (.627). The Lake City, Fla., native has reached safely in all 18 games this season, aided by 18 walks. Pilkington has also successfully stolen three bases. She and classmate Emily Messer top the club in runs scored with 15 apiece. Pilkington is also second among Jaguars in slugging percentage, having recorded a .587 thus far.
 
Sophomore Chloe Rathburn, currently riding a five-game hitting streak, leads South Alabama in hits (23), doubles (7), RBI (19) and slugging percentage (.589). Over one-third of the Mission Viejo, Calif., native's 24 hits were for extra bases (7 doubles, 1 home run). Her best work this season has come with runners in scoring position, a situation in which she's hitting .500 (14-for-28). She also leads USA in multiple-hit games (8) and multiple RBI games (6).
 
Freshmen Devin Brown (7-2) and Kalen McGill (7-0) have combined to share the load in the circle this season, together throwing 101 of the club's 120 total innings. Brown was named Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season on Monday after she went 2-0  at the 2015 Carolina Classic in Columbia, S.C., with wins over Tennessee State and South Carolina.
 
The right-hander allowed only four earned runs on eight hits in four appearances at the event and recorded back-to-back eight-strikeout performances on the final day versus Marshall and the Gamecocks, the latter which is receiving votes in both national Division I polls.
 
Brown currently owns a 1.88 ERA with 123 strikeouts and 18 earned runs allowed in 67 innings. She has two saves and as many shutouts in 16 total appearances and has held opposing batters to a .145 average. She is tied for the league lead in strikeouts and is among the Sun Belt's top three in ERA, opposing batting average and wins.
 
McGill boasts a 1.85 ERA with 23 strikeouts, six walks and only nine earned runs and six walks allowed and in 34 innings with a save.  The Gainesville, Fla., native is among the SBC top five in ERA, strikeouts looking, wins and saves.
 
SCOUTING LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
The Ragin' Cajuns (15-2) began the 2015 campaign 14-0 with sweeps at the Louisiana Classics (Feb. 6-8), Mardi Gras Classic (Feb. 13-15) and Ragin' Cajuns Invitational (Feb. 20-22) in Lafayette, La., before splitting a doubleheader with No. 4 Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 28, losing the rubber match, 3-2, on the following day.
 
Louisiana-Lafayette is batting .324 as a team with a .581 slugging percentage and .431 on-base percentage. The Ragin' Cajuns have outhit their opponents, 146-54, and outscored them, 126-16. The ULL pitching staff owns a 0.79 ERA with only 12 earned runs allowed in 106 2/3 innings. ULL pitchers have combined for 11 shutouts and 139 strikeouts and are holding opposing batters to a .147 average.
 
Redshirt-freshman outfielder Aleah Craighton leads the club with a .418 batting average and 23 hits. Craighton owns an .818 slugging percentage with four doubles, three triples and four home runs. She's also stolen four bases in five attempts. Junior Shellie Landry has hit eight home runs this year, while Haley Hayden has hit seven and Lexie Elkins, six. Landy also leads the club in RBI with 21.
 
Senior Jordan Wallace is 6-1 in the circle with a league-leading 0.66 ERA, five shutouts, five earned runs and 81 strikeouts to 12 walks in 52 2/3 innings. The 2012 and '13 SBC first-teamer is holding opposing batters to a .114 average. Alex Stewart is 4-0 with a 0.72 ERA, while 2014 SBC Pitcher of the Year Christina Hamilton is 3-1 with a 1.29 ERA.
 
SOUTH ALABAMA VERSUS LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE - SERIES HISTORY
ULL leads the all-time series with South Alabama, 19-9. The Ragin' Cajuns are 13-2 versus the Jaguars in Lafayette and 6-5 against them in Mobile, while USA is 2-0 versus Louisiana-Lafayette at neutral sites.
 
USA has won six of the last 10 meetings between the clubs, dating back to the 2012 SBC Tournament title game, which USA won, 3-1, in Boca Raton, Fla., to claim its first-ever league tournament crown.
 
The last meeting between the pair saw Louisiana-Lafayette end South Alabama's two-year reign as SBC Tournament champions when the Ragin' Cajuns defeated the Jaguars, 4-1, in the 2014 SBC Tournament championship game in Lafayette, La., on May 10, 2014. USA defeated ULL, 4-2, in eight innings a day prior to earn a spot in the NCAA Regional play-in. Louisiana-Lafayette clinched the regular-season series with South Alabama last year, 2-1, at Lamson Park on April 12-13.
 
In 2013, USA opened Sun Belt Conference play versus Louisiana-Lafayette in Mobile and took the series, 2-1, with a doubleheader sweep, 7-3, and 8-4. The Ragin' Cajuns took game three, 2-1, the following day. Later that season, the teams met in the second round of the SBC Tournament in Troy, Ala., where former Jaguar standout Hannah Campbell pitched a no-hitter to lead USA past the Ragin' Cajuns, 1-0. The Jaguars claimed their second SBC Tournament title that year.
 
SOUTH ALABAMA LEAGUE-OPENING HISTORY
The Jaguars are 13-9 all-time in opening series of Sun Belt play. In eight seasons, USA has clinched five of its league-opening series, sweeping in 2012 and '14. South Alabama has clinched a league-opening series in each of the last four years.
 
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).