Sun Belt Conference Championship Central Page
2017 Sun Belt Conference Championship Bracket.pdf
Game 52: vs. No. 5 Texas-Arlington / No. 8 Coastal Carolina - Sun Belt Conference Championship Game Notes.pdf
GAME: 52 | VS. NO. 5 TEXAS-ARLINGTON/NO. 8 COASTAL CAROLINA | 3 p.m.
May 10, 2017 | Troy, Ala. | Sun Belt Championships | Troy Softball Complex
GENERAL INFORMATION
Television: ESPN3.com
Talent: Matt Stewart (PxP) and Francesca Enea (Analyst)
Radio: 99.5 The Jag FM
Talent: JT Crabtree
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: www.ESPN3.com
Twitter: @USAJagsSoftball
-- / -- South Alabama (33-18, 15-12 SBC)
JAGUARS
Sun Belt Tournament History
Overall Record: 17-12
Appearances: (9) 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Championship Finals: (4) 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Championships: (3) 2012, 2013, 2015
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
– South Alabama (33-18, 15-12 SBC) comes into the Sun Belt Championships as one of the hostest teams in the Sun Belt.
– Over the weekend, the Jaguars swept a doubleheader at Troy (2-0, 6-4) to extend their SBC win streak to nine games and secure the fourth seed.
– Kaleigh Todd played a huge role in the doubleheader sweep as she went 5-for-8 at the plate and drove in four runs, while also scoring one and stealing a base.
– With her performance she is just shy of the .400 mark as she is hitting .399. Todd continues to rank among the conference leaders in hits (69, second), batting average (third), triples (4, tied-second), stolen bases (19, third), and runs scored (42, seventh).
– Over her last 34 games, Todd has had a hit in all but five of those and had multi-hits 16 times. The junior second baseman has a team-best 23 multi-hit outings this spring.
– Along with Todd, the Jaguars currently have five players batting over .300 in their lineup – MC Nichols (.339), Haleigh Lowe (.313), Kristian Foster (.316), Megan Harris (.302) and Todd.
– Amanda Minahan leads the team in home runs (8) and is tied for fifth in the SBC in triples (2), while she sits just outside the league's Top 10 in total bases (81), RBI (36) and home runs.
– Minahan is tied with former Jag Brittany Fowler (2010-13) for third place on the program's all-time career home runs list with 25. Minahan is just three away from the all-time mark of 28 set by Christin Crocker (2009-12) and Kaitlyn Griffith (2012-15).
– Minahan also ranks fourth on South Alabama's career RBI list with 114. She is one back of Crocker who is in third and 22 back of Fowler's all-time mark of 136.
– While she is batting just .290 this season, the senior outfielder has been the second-best hitter in Sun Belt play for the Jaguars as she is hitting at a .338 clip.
– Along with Minahan, Jag shortstop Kristian Foster has been outstanding at driving in runs over the past several games as she also has 36 RBI. Of her 36 RBI, 24 have come in Sun Belt play – the most of any player on the South roster.
– Over her last 29 games, Foster has driven in 27 runs and has recorded seven of her team-best 10 multiple-RBI games during that span. She has driven at least one run in nine of her last 12 outings.
– Foster also has 13 multiple-hit games this spring and has 48 hits and 17 runs scored.
– Devin Brown (17-6) has won each of her last eight starts going the distance in all of them. Brown holds an 0.76 earned run average, with four shutouts, 58 strikeouts and just six earned runs and nine walks, while holding opponents to a .186 batting average in those starts.
– In her 23 starts, Brown has recorded a team-best 19 complete games.
– The junior right-hander leads the Sun Belt in opposing batting average (.188) and fewest runs allowed (38). She is second in the league in ERA (1.50), while also ranking among the conference leaders in several other categories – strikeouts (180, third), strikeouts looking (44, fourth), hits allowed (108, fourth) and earned runs allowed (34, second), among other categories.
– Brown also ranks among the NCAA leaders in shutouts (11, fourth), strikeouts (34th), hits allowed (37th), strikeouts per 7 innings (7.7, 38th) and ERA (34th).
– Vicknair has been solid in the circle this season as she holds a 14-10 record and a 2.57 ERA, to go along with 16 complete games and four total shutouts. She ranks in the Top 10 of the league in several different pitching categories coming into the weekend.
-- / -- Texas-Arlington (29-24, 14-13 SBC)
MAVERICKS
Series History vs. Texas-Arlington
All-Time: USA, 10-2
In the Sun Belt Tournament: First Meeting
Last Meeting: W, 5-0 – 4/15/17
Streak: W1
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
– Texas-Arlington (29-24, 14-13 SBC) enters the SBC Championships after claiming the fifth seed.
– The Mavericks ended the regular season by taking two of three at home from second-seeded Texas State.
– After splitting the first two games of the series, UTA rallied late scoring three unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the contest and send it into extra innings and then with two outs in the 10th, Krista Rude plated the walk-off run as she slid home and avoided the tag on Reagan Wright's base hit.
– Offensively, the Mavericks rank second in doubles (64), triples (10) and stolen bases (59) and third in total bases (578), RBI (208), hits (413), runs scored (240) and batting average (.287).
– Rude leads the team and ranks ninth in batting average, hitting .372. Along with her 29 runs scored, Rude has recorded 61 hits and 12 stolen bases, ranking sixth and tied for ninth, respectively, in the SBC. Her 15 sacrifice bunts are the most by any player in the conference.
– Sandra Mendoza and Laura Curry have also turned in solid seasons as each are hitting above .300. Mendoza (.318) is tied for third in the Sun Belt in doubles with 12, while her 13 steals are tied for sixth.
– Curry (.304) is tied with Todd for second in the league in triples with four and tied for sixth with Mendoza in stolen bases.
– Freshman first baseman Aileen Garcia is hitting .326 in her first season, which is second-best on the club. She also has four home runs and 26 RBI.
– Whitney Walton leads the team in both home runs (7) and RBI (38) and has scored 36 times.
– In the circle, Sam Clakley (23-12) has carried most of the load recording 225.2 innings of work. Clakely's 23 wins are second-most among Sun Belt pitchers. She also ranks in the Top 10 of the league in strikeouts looking (53, third), ERA (2.26, fifth) and strikeouts (126, sixth) among other categories.
– As a staff, UTA's 85 strikeouts looking are third-most in the Sun Belt this spring.
THE SERIES
– South Alabama and Texas-Arlington have met 12 previous times with the Jaguars holding a 10-2 advantage in the all-time series.
– The Mavericks took the series versus the Jaguars earlier this season by taking two of the three meetings.
– UTA picked up walk-off wins 5-4 and 7-6 (8 inn.) in games 1 and 2, but USA earned a 5-0 victory in the series finale.
LAST TIME THEY MET DURING THE REGULAR SEASON
– Senior pitcher Destin Vicknair tossed a one-hit, shutout, complete game and junior shortstop Kristian Foster was 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBI as South Alabama picked up a 5-0 win over Texas-Arlington at Allan Saxe Field in the series finale.
– Kaleigh Todd, Amanda Minahan, Katelyn Gruich, Savanna Mayo and Dayla Gulledge also recorded a hit for the Jags with Gulledge driving in three on a sixth-inning pinch-hit home run.
– The three-hit game marked the 12th multi-hit game of the season and 22nd of her career for Foster, while the two RBI performance was her 10th multi-RBI game of the spring and 20th as a Jaguar.
– UTA threatened to score in the bottom of the second as the Mavs loaded the bases with a lead-off single by Garcia and a pair of two-out walks, but Vicknair was able to battle back and get Kacey Everett to fly out to right to get out of the jam. Vicknair would go on to record the next 10 batters before running into trouble in the sixth.
– South capitalized on the missed scoring opportunity the next half inning and took a 2-0 lead on Foster's one-out, two-run single to center, scoring MC Nichols and Todd. Nichols walked on five pitches to lead the inning off and Todd then reached on an infield single, before moving into scoring position on Haleigh Lowe's sacrifice bunt, setting the table for Foster.
– The Jaguars added three more runs and extended their lead to 5-0 with three runs in the top half of the sixth. With two out in the inning, Mayo lined a single to center to ignite the offense. Abby Krzywiecki followed with a pinch-hit walk, bringing Gulledge to the plate. The sophomore then drove Clakley's 2-2 pitch deep over the left field wall.
-- / -- Coastal Carolina (32-22, 10-16 SBC)
CHANTICLEERS
Series History vs. Coastal Carolina
All0Time: USA, 4-1
In the Sun Belt Tournament: First Meeting
Last Meeting: W, 6-1– 3/19/17
Streak: W1
SCOUTING THE CHANTICLEERS
– Coastal Carolina (32-22, 10-16 SBC) comes into the Sun Belt Championships after claiming the eighth seed with a three-game sweep over Appalachian State to close out the regular season.
– The Chanticleers will open up tournament play against Texas-Arlington – the fifth seed.
– CCU's pitching staff ended the regular season ranked first in strikeouts looking (118) and second in strikeouts (366), while on the offensive side the Chants' 70 steal attempts were the second-most among league teams.
– Coastal also ranked third in stolen bases with 58, one behind UTA, and fourth in both earned run average (2.78) and opponent's batting average (.230).
– Individually, Taty Forbes has been the leader at the top of the CCU lineup all season. Forbes leads the Sun Belt in batting average (.411) and stolen bases (35), while her 67 hits are tied for third in the conference. Forbes is 35-for-39 this spring in stolen base attempts.
– The sophomore outfielder also ranks among the NCAA leaders in three different categories; stolen bases (15th), hits (35th) and batting average (46th).
– Kailey Mellen is the only other regular in the Coastal lineup hitting over .300 coming into the tourney at a .314 clip. Mellen has been hit-by-pitch 12 times this spring which is tied for fifth-most in the SBC. She is also tied for third in doubles with 12, while she also has seven home runs and a team-best 37 RBI.
– Freshman Kassidy Smith's 11 home runs lead the team and rank ninth in the SBC, while she has walked 27 times; tied for eighth most in the conference.
– Coastal Carolina boast two of the top pitchers in the Sun Belt this season – sophomores Ashley Guillette and Taylor Rahach who are both 13-9 in the circle this season.
– In her 136.2 innings of work, Guillette has recorded 11 complete games and four saves. She also ranks second in the Sun Belt in opponent's batting average (.190), strikeouts (182) and strikeouts looking (73), while her 2.45 earned run average is seventh.
– Guillette also ranks 18th in strikeouts per seven innings (8.8) and 29th in strikeouts in the NCAA.
– Rahach has 11 complete games and also ranks in the Top 10 of the league in several categories, including strikeouts (119, seventh), opponent's batting average (.246, eighth), strikeouts looking (28, eighth) and ERA (2.77, tied-ninth).
THE SERIES
– South Alabama and Coastal Carolina have met five previous times with the Jaguars holding a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series.
– The two clubs met during the second week of conference play with the Jaguars taking two of the three games (6-0, 0-2, 6-1) in the series in Mobile.
LAST TIME THEY MET DURING THE REGULAR SEASON
– Devin Brown recorded her 11th compete game of the season and South Alabama scored four runs over the final two innings to help clinch the series win over Coastal Carolina, 6-1 at Jaguar Field.
– Brown scattered seven hits and had CCU leave nine runners on base, while striking out three.
– The top of the Jaguar line up was solid in the finale as they combined for six of South's 11 hits and also walked four times. Leading the way was Kaleigh Todd who was 3-for-4 at the plate – her third three-hit performance and 12th multi-hit outing of the season – with two runs scored. MC Nichols was also 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, while Kristian Foster had a hit and drove in three.
– Todd and Savanna Mayo ended the weekend a combined 10-for-14.
– Haleigh Lowe reached all four of her plate appearances, recording a double and three walks, while Aly Smith had two RBI and Mayo recorded once.
– Coastal's Taty Forbes was 4-for-4 on the day and scored the Chants' lone run, finishing the series with seven hits.
– After the Chants pulled within one (2-1) USA was able regain the momentum and gain some breathing room over its final two at-bats, recording a pair of two-run innings in the fifth and sixth.
– With one away in the fifth, Megan Harris reached on a pinch-hit infield single and Todd then followed with a chopper of her own to place a pair of runners on for Nichols. The Jag right fielder then walked on four-straight setting the table for Foster who lined a single down the left field line to bring in Harris and Todd and make it 4-1.
– In the sixth, the Jaguars came up with another big two-out hit as Smith tripled to the gap in right-center, scoring Lowe and Destin Vicknair. Lowe dropped in a double in left-center to lead off the inning and Vicknair walked on four consecutive balls from Taylor Rahach.
– Two got on in the seventh for Coastal, but Brown was able to get Timi Tooley to fly out to Amanda Minahan in center to end the game.
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).
Join the Bullpen Club, the softball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members have access to purchase parking passes and receive Jaguar Softball gear. All donations to the Bullpen Club go directly to support the South Alabama softball program. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/bullpenclub
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