MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team will close out its 10-game road swing Wednesday night when the Jaguars travel to take on regional rival Southern Mississippi. First pitch versus the Golden Eagles is set for 6 p.m. at the USM Softball Complex.
Wednesday night's contest will be the first of two meetings this season as the two clubs are scheduled to face each other on April 3 in Mobile.
Game Notes (PDF)
GAME: 22 | AT SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
Wed., March 7 | 6 p.m.
Venue: USM Softball Complex | Hattiesburg, Miss.
GAME INFORMATION:
Television: None
Radio: None
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: www.USAJaguars.com (audio only)
Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB
South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: No. -- | USA: No. -- | RPI: --
Record: 10-11, 0-0 SBC
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP) – .224 / .268 / .319
Runs Per Game: 2.7
Runs Per Game Allowed: 3.5
Southern Mississippi GOLDEN EAGLES
NFCA: No. -- | USA: No. -- | RPI: --
Record: 9-10, 0-0 CUSA
Head Coach: Wendy Hogue (William Carey, '98)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP) – .286 / .350 / .377
Runs Per Game: 5.2
Runs Per Game Allowed: 4.6
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
– South Alabama (10-11, 0-0 SBC) comes into Wednesday's midweek road contest at Southern Mississippi after going 3-3 in its six games last week. USA picked up a pair of wins over the weekend at the Tennessee Invitational.
– Two of the Jags' three losses were by two runs or less, including a 2-0 loss to No. 4 Tennessee, but in those three contests, South left a combined 24 runners on base.
– Brittani Reid had a solid week at the plate for South batting .435 (10-for-23) in her six games. She also recorded four runs scored and three runs driven in. Of her 10 hits, four went for extra bases as she had two doubles, a triple and a home run, collecting 17 total bases. In addition to her batting average, Reid finished the week with a .739 slugging percentage and had at least one hit in five contest, recording multiple hits three times.
– B. Reid currently leads the Jaguars with a .340 batting average and her .547 slugging percentage is eighth-best in the Sun Belt entering the week. She is also 10th in the league in total bases with 29. B. Reid has six of South's 15 extra-base hits and she is tied for the team lead in doubles (3) and home runs (2).
– MC Nichols is second on the club with a .244 batting average and her four sacrifice bunts are tied for third in the SBC.
– After being limited through the first two weeks of the season, Haleigh Lowe returned to the lineup last week and her .243 average is right behind Nichols.
– Freshman designated player Kamdyn Kvistad is tied with Coastal Carolina Samantha Sack for second in the league in walks with 12.
– Senior right-hander Devin Brown (7-4) enters the week with a 2.48 earned run average and ranks second in the Sun Belt in strikeouts (79), strikeouts looking (29) and innings pitched (79.0). Her strikeout tally also ranks 20th nationally entering play this week.
– In her last outing, Brown pitched well, holding the Volunteers to just two first-inning runs and six hits, while recording her eighth complete game of the season.
– Alexis Reid holds a 3.07 ERA and comes into play this week after earning her third win of the season with a 2-0 win over Toledo in extra innings. The shutout was A. Reid's third this season and her fifth complete game effort.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
– Southern Mississippi (9-10, 0-0 CUSA) comes into the midweek contest against the Jags at the front end of a nine-game home-stand. USM is scheduled to open the home stretch on Tuesday night against Southeastern Louisiana.
– Eleven of USM's first 19 games have come on its home field where the Eagles hold a 6-5 record.
– Over the weekend, the Golden Eagles posted a 3-1 mark at the Ole Miss Classic, claiming wins over Saint Louis (15-8), Chattanooga (6-3) and nationally ranked Ole Miss (5-2), who was ranked 17th at the time.
– Offensively, Southern Miss is led by freshman Destini Brown who is batting .523 – which ranks 16th in the NCAA entering play this week – and has 23 hits. Brown has also scored a team-high 10 runs and her 11 RBI are tied for tops on the club.
– She is currently riding a four game multi-hit streak – eight so far this season – and she has a .625 on-base percentage, which is 12th-best nationally.
– Brown was 9-for-15 (.600) over the weekend at the Rebel tournament.
– Three other regulars in the Golden Eagle lineup are batting .300 or better. Chase Nelson ranks second on the team hitting at a .366 clip. Nelson has scored nine runs and driven in nine.
– Ciara Cherry is currently hitting .318 and her 13 runs scored are most on the Southern Miss roster. Alyssa Davis is also hitting .300.
– Samantha Papp and Sarah Van Schaik are tied with Brown with 11 RBI, Rebekah DiLavore is right behind them with 10 runs driven in.
– The Golden Eagles have driven in 83 runs as a team this season and scored 98 runs.
– As a team, USM is 28-for-35 in the stolen base department.
– In the circle, Kim Crowson (4-2) is sporting a 2.87 ERA with 31 2/3 innings pitched along with two complete games. Of the 23 runs allowed this season by Crowson only 13 have been earned.
– Samantha Robles leads the squad with 55 1/3 innings pitched with 30 strikeouts and three complete games.
THE SERIES VS. SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
– The meeting between South Alabama and Southern Mississippi will mark the 19th in the all-time series between the two clubs.
– The two teams have met at least one each season with the exception of the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
– Last season, the two clubs met twice during the regular season, with each holding home field. Southern Miss won the first meeting 2-1 in Hattiesburg and South Alabama then defeated the Golden Eagles 4-3 in Mobile in the second meeting of the season.
– The first meeting in the series in Hattiesburg during the 2007 season marked the first game in program history for South Alabama.
– The two clubs are scheduled to meet on each other's home field during the 2018 season. The Golden Eagles will make the return trip to Mobile on April 3.
– USM holds a narrow advantage in the previous eight meetings (4-3-1).
– The lone tie in program history came on Feb. 21, 2009 in Hattiesburg, in which the game ended in a 6-6 tie.
INSIDE THE SERIES VS. SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
Series: 12-5-1 (H: 8-1 / A: 3-4-1 / N: 1-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 1-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 1-0)
Run-Rule Games: 2-0 (H: 2-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 2/14/07
Last Meeting: 4/5/17
Longest South Alabama Streak: 4, 2x, last ('11-'15)
Longest Southern Mississippi Streak: 2 ('16-'17)
Current Streak: 1 by South Alabama
Last 5 – 3-2
Last 10 – 7-3
THE JAGUARS VS. CONFERENCE USA
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 92-59-1 (.607) against current Conference USA members.
– The 18 meetings versus Southern Mississippi are the fifth-most by the Jaguars against any CUSA member. The five other conference members with more meetings versus the Jags are former Sun Belt members Western Kentucky (25,), Florida International (24), Florida Atlantic (24) and Middle Tennessee (23).
– Charlotte and Texas-El Paso are the only two teams from the league that the Jags have yet to face in program history.
–South Alabama has already faced a team from the league, defeating UAB 6-4 in Birmingham last Wednesday.
– Along with the two meetings this season with the Golden Eagles, the Jaguars are scheduled to face Western Kentucky in Mobile on March 14.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
-On the focus going into Wednesday's game: "Our focus is simply building on the positives we have worked to build as a team and continue to move those areas forward. We know the areas we need to improve and I feel like we are incredibly close to bringing those things together. We will continue to put an emphasis on pitching and defending well and stringing together quality at-bats. We have to continue to have an aggressive mindset and compete every pitch.""
-On what the team got out of this current 10-game road swing: "The travel has been a grind for all of us, but I think it has been great to be in it together and have to grind it out together. Ultimately, I think the first part of our schedule will pay off for us in the long run. The travel, plus the quality of competition has made us mentally tougher and battle tested. Our hitters have consistently faced great pitching and our pitchers have seen quality line ups week after week. Those two things in themselves make you a better team."
-On the adjustments the pitchers made over the weekend: "Like I said before both of them have faced quality Top 25 type lineups week after week so they have had to grind and battle. Both of them have used the competition to grow and have both taken big steps forward. They have consistently looked for ways to get better and have made the adjustments we have identified for them over the past week or two. This game is about making adjustments and having the maturity to look at areas where you can improve and both of them have done that and it is paying off for them. I am proud of them for the professional approach they take to their game and their desire to be the best they can be for their team."
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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