MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama will return home for the first time in two weeks Wednesday when the Jaguars welcome No. 9/7 Florida State for a midweek doubleheader.  First pitch for game one versus the Seminoles is set for 4 p.m., while game two will begin at 6 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of game one.

Game Notes (PDF)

GAMES: 10-11 | VS. NO. 9/7 FLORIDA STATE
Venue: Jaguar Field | Mobile, Ala.
Game 1: Wednesday | 4 p.m.
Game 2: Wednesday | 6 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION:
Television: None
Radio: 99.5 The Jag FM
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: www.USAJaguars.com
Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB

Tickets: General admission tickets can be purchase for $5, while chair back reserved seating is available for $8.  Current South Alabama students with proper student ID will be allowed admission into the contest.
Promos: Car Flag giveaway and Community Coffee red rally towels.

South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: No. -- | USA: No. -- | RPI: --
Record: 5-4, 0-0 SBC
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)
Team Slash Line (AVG / OBP / SLG) - .245 / .278 / .343
Runs Per Game: 3.1
Runs Per Game Allowed: 2.4

Florida State SEMINOLES
NFCA: No. 9 | USA: No. 7 | RPI: --
Record: 8-1, 0-0 ACC
Head Coach: Lonni Alameda (Oklahoma, '93)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP) - .357 / .652 / .421
Runs Per Game: 7.1
Runs Per Game Allowed: 1.1

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (5-4, 0-0 SBC) comes into doubleheader versus Florida State after going 1-3 over the weekend at the February Freezer hosted by Mississippi State.
– The Jaguars dropped their first three games of the weekend, but bounced back with a 3-1 win over Murray State on Sunday.
– Devin Brown (3-2) held the Racers to just three hits and the one run she allowed was unearned, while she struck out eight and became the program's career strikeout leader.
– Brown tied the mark with her strikeout of Lillie Goetz to end the top of the fourth inning and surpassed Beth Pilgrim's previous mark of 735 the next inning with her strikeout of pinch-hitter Jenny Homann.
– She enters the week with 738 career strikeouts.  The win also moved Brown into third on the Jags' all-time list in that category as she now has 54 for her career.
– This season, Brown has a 1.89 earned run average and leads the team with 37 strikeouts – third in the SBC – and her 13 strikeouts looking are second-most in the league.
– Alexis Reid has also been good in the circle this season for South as she holds a 1.84 ERA and has three complete games.
– Offensively, sophomore Katelyn Gruich is batting .316 and holds a .536 on-base percentage.  In addition to her six hits, Gruich has been hit three times and earned six walks.
– Brittani Reid is second on the club with a .300 average and recorded the first home run of the season for the Jags with her solo shot to left to lead off the fifth inning against the Racers and give USA a 2-0 advantage.
– Freshman catcher Lyric Cabral has driven in a team-best seven runs this season.

SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES    
– Florida State (8-1, 0-0 ACC) comes into the game against the Jaguars after posting a 3-1 record at the ACC/Big 10 Challenge in Tallahassee, Fla., over the weekend recording a pair of wins over the Jags' next opponent No. 22/22 Minnesota (3-2 and 9-3) and a win over No. 20/20 Michigan (2-0).  The lone loss on the weekend came 1-0 to the Wolverines who carried a perfect game into the seventh.
– The Seminoles are ranked among the top of both major polls entering play this week ranked No. 9 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll and No. 7 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches poll.
– FSU will host McNeese State Tuesday night before traveling to Mobile.
– Florida State has been outstanding through the first two weeks of the 2018 season both offensively and in the circle.
– Cali Harrod (.480), Sydney Sherrill (.440), Jessie Warren (.429) and Carsyn Gordon (.429) are each hitting over .400 through the first nine games, while Anna Shelnutt comes in hitting at a .350 clip.  As a team FSU is hitting .357 with 82 hits and 64 runs scored.
– The Seminoles have already recorded 38 extra-base hits – 19 doubles, 8 triples and 11 home runs – and are 21-for-24 in their stolen base attempts.  
– Warren and Gordon lead the team with three home runs each, while Warren has driven in a team-high 13.  Harrod (9) and Gordon (8) are right behind Warren in RBI production.
– Florida State entered the week ranked among the national leaders in earned run average (12th), batting average (13th), scoring (7.11 – 18th) and on-base percentage (.421 – 23rd).
– In the circle, FSU is led by the duo of Kylee Hanson and Meghan King who both hold an ERA under 1.00.  Hanson is 5-0 this season with an earned run average of 0.55.  In her 25.2 innings of work this season, she has struck out 33 and walked just five while holding opponents to a .112 batting average.
– Hanson received a pair of national player of the week honors on Tuesday as she was selected as the Week 2 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week by USA Softball, and the Louisville/Slugger NFCA Division I National Pitcher of the Week.
– King (3-1) has gone the distance in three of her four starts and holds a 0.86 ERA.  She has struck out 19 and has an opponent batting average of .145 in 24.1 innings.
– In nine games this season, FSU has given up just seven earned runs.

THE SERIES VS. FLORIDA STATE    
– The meeting between South Alabama and Florida State will mark the ninth in the all-time series between the two clubs and the first since the 2013 NCAA Regional in Mobile.
– FSU picked up the first three meetings in the series, but South Alabama has won three of the last five.
– Five of the eight previous meetings – including the last four – have come in Mobile with USA holding a 2-3 record against the Noles on its home field.
– Five of the eight meetings have also been decided by three runs or less.
– Both clubs hold a pair of shutouts in the series, while FSU holds the lone extra-inning win.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. FLORIDA STATE    
Series: 3-5 (H: 2-3 / A: 1-2 / N: 0-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 0-1 (H: 0-1 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
Run-Rule Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 1-2 (H: 1-2 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 2/18/09
Last Meeting: 5/19/13
Longest South Alabama Streak: 2 ('10-'12)
Longest Florida State Streak: 3 ('09-'11)
Current Streak: 1 by Florida State
Last 5 – 3-2

THE JAGUARS VS. THE ACC    
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 10-9 (.526) against current Atlantic Coast Conference members.
– The eight meetings versus Florida State are the most by the Jaguars against any ACC member.
– South last faced a team from the league last season when the Jaguars defeated Boston College 3-2 on March 3 at the Diamond 9 Citrus II Classic.
– Along with the Seminoles, the Jaguars are scheduled to play Louisville on Feb. 24 at the Diamond 9 Citrus I Classic.

PREVIEWING FLORIDA STATE
Head coach Becky Clark
-On being on the road and what her team has learned from it: "We are usually hosting tournaments in February so being on the road this much is not normal for us, but I did it for a reason.  I think it is a great challenge for us and a chance for us to find out who we are as a team.  We have had to work through some adversity and that is always an opportunity for you to grow and become stronger as a unit.  This entire week will be a challenge for us and I look forward to taking steps forward as a team."
-On Florida State: "I think Coach [Lonnie] Alameda and her staff have done a great job.  We know they will be well-coached and athletic.  It is great to play these types of games early in the season because they do nothing but make you better.  We look forward to hosting them at home and welcome the competition."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_Jags. 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

—USA—