Game 15: at McNeese State game notes.pdf

GAME: 15 | AT MCNEESE STATE
Feb. 28, 2017 | Lake Charles, La. | Cowgirl Diamond

RV / RV South Alabama (13-1, 0-0 SBC)
JAGUARS
Batting Avg.: .302
Runs: 62
Runs Per Game: 4.4
Hits: 103
Home Runs: 6
Stolen Bases: 9
ERA: 0.41
Strikeouts: 108

-- / --  McNeese State (7-9, 0-0 SLC)
COWGIRLS
McNeese State
Batting Avg.: .265
Runs: 76
Runs Per Game: 4.8
Hits: 114
Home Runs: 12
Stolen Bases: 36
ERA: 3.23
Strikeouts: 62

Television: None
Radio: 99.5 The Jag FM
    Talent: J.T. Crabtree
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: USAJaguars.com
Twitter: @USAJagsSoftball

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (13-1) comes into the midweek contest after recording four shutouts at the South Alabama Invitational over the weekend to extend its win streak to eight games.
– The 13-1 start is currently tied with the 2014 and 2013 clubs for best start to a season after the first 14 games of the season.
– Pitching has been the strength of the club thus far this season as USA leads both the Sun Belt and NCAA in team earned run average as the Jags hold a 0.45 ERA.  In the four shutouts over the weekend, which included a no-hitter by Devin Brown against Tennessee Tech, USA allowed just 15 hits and six walks, while striking out 38 and held the opposition to a .150 batting average.
– Brown (6-1) leads the Sun Belt in ERA (0.41), opposing batting average (.112), strike outs (77), hits allowed (19) and runs allowed (3).
– As a staff, South leads the league in those same categories.
– Senior right-hander Destin Vicknair has been just as good as she is second in the league in ERA at 0.53 and holds a 7-0 record.  Both Brown and Vicknair have recorded 11 complete games and nine shutouts this season.
– Both Brown and Vicknair were named to the all-tournament team for their performances over the weekend, along with MC Nichols, Kristian Foster and Haleigh Lane.
– Nichols paces the club at the plate as she has a .514 batting average - which leads the Sun Belt, .600 slugging percentage and .538 on-base percentage.  The redshirt freshman enters the game with an eight-game hit streak and a 12-game reached base streak.
– In her four games at the South Alabama Invitational, Nichols batted .636 and scored the winning run in the 1-0 victory over Middle Tennessee and delivered a two-run, two-out triple against Stephen F. Austin in the nightcap on Saturday to break a scoreless tie against the Ladyjacks.
– Foster has been just as solid at the plate as she enters the week second on the team with a .421 batting average.
– Kaleigh Todd and Lane are hitting .381 and .348, respectively.  Todd's eight stolen bases are tied for second in the SBC and Lane is tied for second also in doubles.

SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS    
– McNeese State (7-9) comes into the midweek contest versus the Jaguars after snapping a five-game skid on Sunday with a pair of wins at the Louisiana Tech Classic.  The Cowgirls defeated Norther Iowa 6-2 in the opener and then the host Techsters 13-7.
– Morgan Catron leads the team with a .365 average, while also pacing the team in home runs (4), along with Tori Yanitor,  and RBI (17)/
- Since playing the Jaguars, Catron is batting .474 as she is 9-for-19 at the plate over her last six games.
– Erika Piancastelli sits just below .300 as she is batting 295.  Piancastelli leads the team with 10 steals and 17 walks.
– Piancastelli earned numerous national preseason honors as she was a preseason All-American by FastPitch News and named to the organization's Top 50 Hitters List.  She was also selected to the D1SoftballNews.com Player of the Year "watch list" and USASoftball's Top 50 Player of the Year "Watch List", along with first-team all-Southland Conference selection.
– As a sophomore, Piancastelli earned NFCA second team All-American honors, and was named the Southland Conference Player and Hitter of the Year as well as the 2016 SLC Tournament MVP.
– Rachel Smith (2-3), who went the distance in the first meeting with South, has a 2.49 ERA and 26 strikeouts.

THE SERIES    
– The meeting between South Alabama and McNeese State will mark the seventh in the all-time series between the two clubs and the second this season.
- The Jaguars won the first meeting this season, a 1-0 eight-inning win in Mobile at the Mardi Gras Invitational.
– USA is 0-1 in the series in games played in Lake Charles.

Last 5 – 4-1

LAST TIME THEY MET    
– For the second-straight meeting in the series, the first meeting of 2017 between the two clubs would need to go into extras to have a winner decided.
– Both teams were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities in the seventh and McNeese twice had a runner at third with one out, but the Cowgirls would leave the runner stranded.
– Savanna Mayo delivered the big hit in the eighth with a walk-off bases loaded single to right for the 1-0 win.
– Devin Brown was outstanding in the circle as she went the distance.  In her 8.0 innings of work, Brown allowed just three hits and struck out 12 for the second-straight game and third time this season.  McNeese's Rachel Smith suffered the loss as she also went the distance, allowing four Jag hits and eight walks.

THE JAGUARS VS. THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE    
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 41-10 (.804) against current Southland Conference members.  
– Tuesday night's meeting will be the seventh and final this season against the SLC as they faced Central Arkansas twice and Houston Baptist once during the opening weekend of the season at the Sand Dollar Classic, McNeese State at the Mardi Gras Invitational and Stephen F. Austin this past weekend at the South Alabama Invitational.
– USA is 6-0 this season in those six contests, defeating UCA twice (9-3 and 2-0), HBU (6-1), McNeese State (1-0 [8 inn.]), Texas A&M - Corpus Christi (7-0) and SFA (3-0).
– Last season, the Jaguars were 1-1 against the SLC, defeating Central Arkansas (12-0, 5 inn.) and losing to McNeese State (1-2, 8 inn.).

UP NEXT FOR SOUTH ALABAMA
South Alabama will compete at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic II at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.  USA will take on James Madison (2:30 p.m.) and Boston College (4:45 p.m.) on Friday, Bryant (11:30 a.m.) and Kansas (1:45 p.m.) on Saturday and Purdue (9 am.) on Sunday.
 
at the Diamond 9 Tournament | ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex | Orlando, Fla. | Friday - Sunday, March 3-5