MOBILE, Ala. – After returning home for just their second home date on Wednesday, the University of South Alabama softball team will have back out on the road this weekend and begin a 10-game road stretch when the Jaguars compete at the Diamond 9 Citrus I Classic held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

USA (6-5) will open up with No. 22/22 Minnesota (Fri, 4:30 p.m.), and then face RV/RV Louisville (2 p.m.) and T24/RV South Carolina (4:30 p.m.) on Sat., and Bradley on Sunday at 10:30 a.m.  All listed times are Central.

Game Notes (PDF)

GAMES: 12-15 | DIAMOND 9 CITRUS I CLASSIC
Feb. 23-25, 2018 | Kissimmee, Fla. | ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
Friday - South Alabama vs. Minnesota* - 4:30 p.m.
Saturday - South Alabama* vs. Louisville - 2 p.m.
Saturday - South Alabama vs. South Carolina* - 4:30 p.m.
Sunday - South Alabama vs. Bradley* - 10:30 a.m.
* Designates the home team     
ALL Times Central

Game Information
Television: None
Radio: None
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: www.FloSoftball.com
Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB

South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: No. -- | USA: No. --
Record: 6-5, 0-0 SBC
Team Slash (AVG / SLG / OBP) - .230 / .270 / .326

Minnesota GOLDEN GOPHERS
NFCA: No. 22 | USA: No. 22
Record: 5-4, 0-0 Big 10
Team Slash (AVG / SLG / OBP) - .254 / .403 / .354
Series History: First Meeting

Louisville CARDINALS
NFCA: No. RV | USA: No. RV
Record: 6-3, 0-0 ACC
Team Slash (AVG / SLG / OBP) - .268 / .355 / .343
Series History: First Meeting

South Carolina GAMECOCKS
NFCA: No. T24 | USA: No. RV
Record: 10-1, 0-0 SEC
Team Slash (AVG / SLG / OBP) - .255 / .445 / .359
Series History: USA leads 1-0
Last Meeting: USA, 4-1
Current Streak: USA 1

Bradley BRAVES
NFCA: No. -- | USA: No. --
Record: 3-2, 0-0 MVC
Team Slash (AVG / SLG / OBP) - .298 / .377 / .357
Series History: First Meeting

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (6-4, 0-0 SBC) comes into the Diamond 9 Citrus I Classic after splitting a midweek doubleheader with No. 9/7 Florida State in Mobile Wednesday night.  The Jaguars defeated the Seminoles 3-1 in game one, but fell 14-1 in five innings in the second contest.
– The win over FSU snapped a 14-game skid against ranked opponents and the first over a ranked non-conference foe since the 2014 season.
– Devin Brown was outstanding in the circle in the win as she did not allow an earned run.  FSU entered the week ranked among the nation's leaders in scoring averaging over seven runs an outing.  Brown picked up her fourth win of the season and in her seven innings of work struck out nine Seminole batters.
– Brown has struck out 46 batters this season and is holding opponents to a .216 batting average.
– Kaleigh Todd's two-run third-inning single put the Jaguars out in front and Abby Krzywiecki added an insurance run an inning later with her first home run of the season to help give South the two-run victory.
– Todd is currently second on the club with a .281 batting average and her nine hits lead the team.  She has now hit safely in each of her last seven outings.
– The Seminoles picked up a 14-1 five-inning victory in game two as their 14 runs came on 13 hits.  FSU used a seven-run second and a four-run third to break open the contest.
– Katelyn Gruich continues to lead the club with a .292 average and a .485 on-base percentage.  In addition to her seven hits, Gruich has also walked six times and been hit three times.
– True freshman Lyric Cabral has driven in a team-high seven and her eight hits rank second on the club.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GOPHERS    
– Minnesota (5-4, 0-0 Big 10) comes into the tournament after dropping all four of its games last weekend at the ACC/Big 10 Challenge.  
– The Golden Gophers – ranked 22nd in both of the latest national polls – fell twice to both No. 9/7 Florida State (3-2 and 9-3) and RV/No. 25 Notre Dame (6-5 and 3-0).
– The Gophers will take on No. 23/24 Kentucky prior to facing the Jaguars on Friday.
– At the plate, Minnesota is led by MaKenna Partain who holds a .421 batting average a .478 on-base percentage and a .789 slugging percentage.  Partain has a pair of triples, a home run and has driven in seven this season.
– Three other players are hitting over .300 – Ellee Jensen (.375), Dani Wagner (.364) and Sydney Dwyer (.308).  Wagner has a pair of home runs and leads the club with 8 RBI.
– Kendyl Lindaman's three home runs lead the team.
– Amber Fisher (3-2) has five shut outs and a save, and has struck out 34 batters in 34 innings of work.
– The Golden Gophers – who won both the regular-season and Big 10 tournament titles last season – recorded 56 wins last season.

THE SERIES VS. MINNESOTA    
– The meeting between South Alabama and Minnesota will mark the first in the all-time series between the two clubs.

THE JAGUARS VS. THE BIG 10    
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 6-2 (.750) against current Big 10 Conference members.
– The Jaguars last faced a team from the league last season when they defeated Purdue 5-2 at the Diamond 9 Citrus II Classic.
– Along with the Boilermakers, USA has faced Big 10 foes Illinois, Penn State, Ohio State and Northwestern.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS    
– Louisville (6-3, 0-0 ACC) comes into the tourney after falling 4-0 to No. 21/21 Ohio State in the final game of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge last weekend at NC State's Dail Stadium.
– The Cardinals won their first two games of the weekend defeating Northwestern twice, but also fell 6-5 to the Buckeyes.
– Louisville is receiving votes in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Polls.
– UL has faced three opponents that the Jaguars have faced this season, defeating Illinois, Butler and North Florida at the Friends of Jaclyn Invitational during the opening weekend of play.
– The Cardinals will face Lehigh, South Carolina and Morgan State before taking on South.
– Alison Szydlowski and Caitlin Ferguson are each hitting .364 after the first two weeks of the season to lead the Cardinals.  Ferguson also leads the club with four doubles.
– Nicole Pufahl and Celene Funke are also hitting over .300 coming in at .308.
– Jenna Jordan lead the club with two home runs and eight runs driven in.
– The Cardinals are led in the circle by Danielle Watson who paces the club with a 1.43 earned run average.  Watson also holds a 4-2 record and is holding opponents to a 1.62 batting average.

THE SERIES VS. LOUISVILLE    
– The meeting between South Alabama and Louisville will mark the first in the all-time series between the two clubs.

THE JAGUARS VS. THE ACC    
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 11-10 (.524) against current Atlantic Coast Conference members.
– The 10 meetings versus Florida State are the most by the Jaguars against any ACC member.
– South has already faced a team from the league this season splitting a double header with Florida State (W, 3-1 and L, 1-14 [5 inn.]).

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS    
– South Carolina (10-1, 0-0 SEC) comes into the weekend after picking up a 5-0 midweek victory over North Carolina.  Jana Johns went 3-for-3 in the contest with 3 RBI and her two-run double in the sixth capped off a three-run inning for the Gamecocks that broke the game open.
– With the win over the Tar Heels, USC extended its current win streak to seven games.  The Gamecocks will take on Louisville, Bradley and Miami (Ohio) before facing the Jaguars.
– South Carolina moved into the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll earlier this week, tying with Kentucky for No. 24.  USC is also receiving votes in ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll.
– Kenzi Maguire (.433) and Mackenzie Boesel (.406) led the way offensively for the Gamecocks.  Boesel enters the weekend with a .813 slugging percentage and has three home runs and 11 RBI.
– Kamryn Watts is batting .318.  Cayla Drotar (.300) and Alyssa Kumiyama each have two home runs on the year, while the latter is also tied with Johns with nine runs driven in.
– In the circle, USC is led by Dixie Raley.  Raley, who transferred from fellow Sun Belt member Georgia Southern and was a second-team all-league selection a year ago, is 3-0 this season with a 0.37 ERA.  
– Most of Raley's work has come out of the bullpen as she has only started two of her five appearances.  In 19.0 innings of work, Raley has struck out 21, held opponents to a .127 batting average and allowed just one run thus far this season.
– Drotar is 5-0 this season and holds a 1.17 ERA.  She has gone the distance in four of her five starts and recorded three total shutouts.  
– As a staff, the Gamecocks have a 1.31 earned run average, struck out 60 and held opponents to a .170 batting average.

THE SERIES VS. SOUTH CAROLINA    
– The meeting between South Alabama and South Carolina will mark just the second in the all-time series between the two clubs.
– The lone other meeting between the two clubs came back during the 2015 season when the Jaguars defeated the Gamecocks 4-1 in Columbia at the Carolina Classic.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. SOUTH CAROLINA    
Series: 1-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-1 / N: 0-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
Run-Rule Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 3/1/15
Last Meeting: 3/1/15
Longest South Alabama Streak: 1 ('15)
Longest South Carolina Streak: --
Current Streak: 1 by South Carolina

THE JAGUARS VS. THE SEC    
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 12-36 (.250) against current Southeastern Conference members.
– Of the eight teams from the SEC, Alabama and Florida are the lone two teams from the league that South Alabama has yet to pick up a win against as the Jaguars hold at least one victory over the other six schools that they have faced.
– South Alabama dropped its season opener 1-0 to Alabama on Feb. 8 and then fell 6-3 at Mississippi State last weekend at the February Freezer in Starkville, Miss.
– Along with the Gamecocks, the Jaguars are scheduled to play two other teams from the league – at Tennessee (3/3) and at LSU (4/24).
– The 14 meetings against Alabama are the most against any SEC member, while USA has also faced LSU 11 times and MSU 9.

SCOUTING THE BRAVES    
– Bradley (3-2, 0-0 MVC) comes into the weekend not having played since the opening week of the season.
– The Braves were originally supposed to have traveled out to Las Vegas last weekend for the Marucci Desert Classic, but had to withdraw when their travel plans were altered due to weather.
– BU then scheduled a home doubleheader versus Illinois-Chicago on Sunday, but weather conditions forced that to be canceled as well.
– Bradley won three of its five games during the opening weekend at its home tournament with the lone losses coming to Washington, which is ranked No. 1 nationally in this week's USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll.
– The Braves are scheduled to face South Carolina, Purdue, Minnesota and Kentucky before closing out their portion of tournament play with the Jaguars.
– Five players are batting .300 or better for the Braves led by Maria Schroeder's .400 average.  Schroeder also has a pair of doubles and has driven in four.
– Katie Habryle is second on the roster with a .357 average while Stacia Seeton is close behind her at 333.
– Elizabeth Leonard and Kealia Wysocki are hitting .308.
– As a team, Bradley holds a 6.77 earned run average, however of the 30 runs allowed by the staff 26 came against the top-ranked Huskies.

THE SERIES VS. BRADLEY    
– The meeting between South Alabama and Bradley will mark the first in the all-time series between the two clubs.

THE JAGUARS VS. THE MVC    
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 4-2 (.667) against current Missouri Valley Conference members.
– The Jaguars have faced Evansville and Illinois State twice and Drake and Southern Illinois once.
– South Alabama was shutout 4-0 by Drake last weekend at the February Freezer.

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

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