MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama softball travels to Baton Rouge on Wednesday to take on No. 5 LSU in the Jaguars' first midweek contest of the 2016 season.
 
The contest will be broadcast live on SECNetowrk+/WatchESPN. Links to live stats and play-by-play audio can be found by accessing the Jaguar softball schedule page. In-game Twitter updates are provided for each South Alabama contest @USAJagsSoftball.
 
USA (6-3) is coming off a 1-3 performance at its own 2016 Mardi Gras Invitational last weekend, where the fell to Mississippi State, Samford and SIU-Edwardsville, before recording a run-rule victory over Southern Miss to cap the event.
 
USA fell to Mississippi State, 4-2, in extra innings on Friday. The Bulldogs tied the score at 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning and went ahead, 4-2, in the top of the eighth. Samford scored five unanswered runs to beat the Jaguars, 8-5, four of the runs coming on Lexi Higgins's two-out grand slam in the fifth inning.
 
SIU-Edwardsville pitcher Baylee Douglass limited the Jags to a season-low two hits in a 1-0 Jaguar loss. South Alabama capped the weekend with a 10-2, mercy-rule win over Southern Miss. The Jaguars recorded a season-high 12 hits against the Golden Eagles and managing a season-low two hits againt SIUE the night before.
 
Emily Messer recorded multiple hits against Mississippi State and Samford, supplied one of only two USA hits against SIU-Edwardsville, and then set a new school record for hits in a game after going 5-for-5 to lead the Jaguars past Southern Miss. Messer's three multiple-hit games over the weekend run her total to seven on the year out of nine games. She currently leads the Sun Belt in batting average (.657), on-base % (.676) and hits (23).
 
Destin Vicknair earned the win against Southern Miss, improving to 3-0 on the year. She struck out six Golden Eagle batters to two walks and allowed two runs (one earned) on a complete-game effort.
 
No. 5 LSU is 8-2 on the season and brings a four-game win streak into the midweek. Last weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., the Tigers went 4-1, bouncing back from a 3-0 loss to No. 9 Arizona with consecutive wins over Bethune-Cookman, UC-Santa Barbara, No. 15 Central Florida and No. 8 UCLA.
 
Sahvannah Jaquish leads LSU with 12 hits, 11 runs and 10 RBI in 10 games. Kellsi Kloss has driven in a team-high 13 runs for a .714 slugging percentage. Bianka Bell and Bailey Landry share the team lead in runs scored with 12 apiece.
 
Carley Hoover is 4-0 in the circle with a 2.23 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched, while Baylee Corbello is 2-0 with a 2.80 ERA.
 
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).