Date: 1/18
Position: Infielders
Position Coach: Kristina McCain

Returning Letterwinners (Key stats): Kamdyn Kvistad, So. (55-54 GP-GS, .264 avg, 42 hits, 23 BB, 14 runs 5 2Bs, 8 HRs, 27 RBI, 71 total bases), Katelyn Gruich, Jr. (39-31 GP-GS, .221 avg, 19 hits, 7 runs, 4 2Bs, 2 HRs, 11 RBI, 29 total bases), Abby Krzywiecki, Jr. (35-27 GP-GS, .159 avg, 13 hits, 8 runs, 1 2B, 2 HRs, 6 RBI, 20 total bases), Savanna Mayo, Sr. (28-22 GP-GS, .197 avg, 12 hits, 7 runs, 3 2Bs, 5 RBI, 15 total bases), Morgan Lutticken Jr. (11-0 GP-GS, .100, 3 RBI)

Letterwinners lost (Key stats): Kaleigh Todd (56-56 GP-GS, .388 avg, 69 hits, 32 runs, 4 2Bs, 1 3B, 13 RBI, 75 total bases, .421 SLG%, .432 OB%, 18-22 SB att.), Kristian Foster (56-56 GP-GS, 41 hits, 19 runs, 10 2Bs, 2 HRs, 28 RBI, 57 total bases), Hannah Smith (32-26 GP-GS, 11 hits, 6 runs, 3 2Bs, 3 HRs, 6 RBI, 23 total bases).

Newcomers (Yr., Previous school): Cayleen Ryan (So., University of Wisconsin-Platteville), Jordan Calderon (R-Fr., Jackson Memorial High School), Kennedy Cronan, (Fr., Daphne High School), Caroline "Pepper" Nichols (Fr., Hoover High School), Samantha Yarbrough (Fr., Fairhope High School) and Holly Stewart (Fr., Pensacola State College).

Miscellaneous Notes
- Kamdyn Kvistad enters the 2019 season as one of the top returning offensive weapons for South Alabama as she hit .264 and tied for the team lead in home runs (8). Her 28 runs batted in were also tied for second on the club.
- Kvistad was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week March 27.
- Kvistad also became the first player in program history to hit three home runs in the same game, doing so at Coastal Carolina on April 28.
- Along with Kvistad, junior first baseman Katelyn Gruich also joined the multi-home run club as she blasted two homers against Southern on April 11.
- One key area for the infielders will be replacing the duo of shortstop Kristian Foster and second baseman Kaleigh Todd who had started 158 straight games up the middle for the Jaguars.
- Todd, who was drafted 33rd overall by Moh-BEEL! USA of the Inaugural American Softball Association Draft, left holding the program marks in both season (25) and career (63) multi-hit games, as well as the career standards in batting average (.374), hits (231) and stolen bases (75).
- Foster ended her Jaguar career tied as the sacrifice flies (12) leader, while also ranking in the top 10 at South in hit by pitch, sacrifice hits, walks, RBI, doubles, hits and at-bats.
- South Alabama added a pair of infielders at the start of the spring semester – sophomore Cayleen Ryan (Univ. of Wisconsin-Platteville) and freshman Holly Stewart (Pensacola State Colege).
- Stewart is the daughter of Jaguar defensive coordinator Greg Stewart.

Assistant Coach Kristina McCain
-On replacing Kaleigh Todd and Kristian Foster up the middle of the infield defensively: "It's hard to replace the duo of Todd and Foster when you have that much on-field experience, understanding of the system and overall athletic ability. We knew we were going to have to replace graduating seniors and are confident we have the people in place to get the job done. Kennedy Cronan is a freshman with tremendous athletic ability and a compete mentality. She has a really high ceiling and will continue to grow as she gets game experience. Savanna Mayo has done a great job of transitioning over to second base and has had a solid fall and preseason so far. Brittani Reid came in with experience in the middle of the infield as well and played most of the fall there. Her bat and athleticism give her the opportunity to contribute in a big way. Jordan Calderon and Pepper Nichols give us additional depth in the middle of the infield and have worked hard to prepare themselves for our season. Both of them bring a competitive mindset and great work ethic."

-On the development of Kamdyn Kvistad since the end of last season: "Kam is a natural competitor who brings that mindset to the field day in and day out. She had some ups and downs her freshman year that all freshmen experience, but the most rewarding thing is that she worked through them and grew as a player. Ultimately, we knew her potential and wanted to get her as much experience as possible her freshman year. I think you will see that all pay off for her this season. She has the ability and opportunity to lead our team offensively and produce tremendous numbers in her career. Defensively, we have moved her across the diamond to third base. With her competitive mindset she has accepted this challenge and worked hard to prepare herself for spring play."

-On the progression of both Katelyn Gruich and Abby Krzywiecki: "KK and Abby have both matured as ball players throughout this fall season. They have really progressed with taking the information they have been given and using that to improving their game on a consistent basis. They come to work on a daily basis and their work ethic and leadership has really shown through to the team. I am excited for them and expect big things from the two of them this spring season."

-On the newcomers: "This group of freshmen is special and we feel like they are one of our better incoming freshman classes. They bring a competitive mentality to the field every single day and work hard to get better every day. This alone will help each one of them step in and compete and help their team. They are all extremely talented and are all tough, hard-nosed ballplayers. It is hard to single one out because they all bring something great to the table. I think all of them have the talent and drive to compete for playing time right away. All of that will start to work itself out as we get closer to opening day but at the present time they all are in a position to contribute early."

Sophomore Kamdyn Kvistad
-On her freshman season: "Last season, I was played a bunch of different positions starting out at catcher and then moving to the corner infielder spots. That was a little bit of a transition for me because I've caught most of my life. I thought I handled the transition to the college level well, especially with how hard that transition can be for players. It definitely was a hard adjustment, but I felt like I was able to have a small impact on the lineup even though it wasn't as much as I had hoped it would be. I'm excited about this upcoming season, especially with the way the team is looking and how I feel I've progressed as a player throughout this past fall and in the early spring. We are all working hard."

-On what she's worked on offensively to make herself an even stronger player: "I would say that I've worked on my mental game on the offensive side. I've worked on not getting frustrated at the plate or down on myself. Competition at this level is harder than I've faced to this point in my career, so working on the mental aspect has been important. I've just tried to get back to playing ball the way I know how to play and the way I've played my whole life. The game hasn't changed, pace has just quickened a bit. I feel that I've gotten stronger. Practice has helped with that area; I'm working on my hitting every day."

-On the transition to third: "I love playing third. I played third base more than I did first throughout travel ball. It's definitely the "hot corner" for a reason and it isn't a joke. I feel like I'm prepared for the position.  The coaches have been teaching me the little things that I need to know about playing the position at the college level. I feel like the adjustment has gone well, we will just have to see how it goes once we get into actual game play."

-On the infield unit having to replace Kaleigh Todd and Kristian Foster: "Both upperclassmen and freshmen have come in this season really grinding things out with the goal of going out with a bang. Everyone has worked hard learning the new positions. Some people have had to be switched around to some new positions, but you can't even really tell that they haven't really played there. The mindset of our whole team is different. Everyone knows that no one is guaranteed a spot, and you can tell that everyone is really working hard to earn a position. The freshmen have done a really good job of stepping up, especially at shortstop where we have two freshmen working right now. We also have a couple of upperclassmen that have been moved to second that have played other positions, but everyone is making both the diving plays and the routine plays. I'm very excited to see how everything goes at those two spots."

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