MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team head out on the road for its final non-conference regular-season tournament this weekend when the Jaguars compete at the Diamond 9 Citrus II Classic. USA will open up with two games on Friday (vs. Bradley - 12:30 p.m. [CT] and vs. Purdue - 3 p.m. [CT]) and then close out the tournament with two games on Saturday (vs. Savannah State - 11 a.m. [CT] and vs. Bradley - 1:30 p.m. [CT] at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
GAMES: 15 – 18 | DIAMOND 9 CITRUS II CLASSIC
March 1-2, 2019 | Kissimmee, Fla. | ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
South Alabama – Diamond 9 Citrus II Classic Schedule
Friday – South Alabama vs. Bradley – 12:30 p.m. (CT)
Friday – South Alabama vs. Purdue – 3 p.m. (CT)
Saturday – South Alabama vs. Savannah State – 11 a.m. (CT)
Saturday – South Alabama vs. Bradley – 1:30 p.m. (CT)
* All Times Central
Diamond 9 Citrus II Classic Notes
Game Info
Television: None
Radio: Purdue game only (Purdue broadcast)
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: None
(In-Game Updates) Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB
South Alabama JAGUARS
Record: 8-6, 0-0 SBC
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .255 / .419 / .381
Bradley BRAVES
Record: 5-9, 0-0 The Valley
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .264 / .510 / .356
Purdue BOILERMAKERS
Record: 7-5, 0-0 Big Ten
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .310 / .448 / .407
Savannah State TIGERS
Record: 0-8, 0-0 MEAC
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .212 / .298 / .305
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
– South Alabama (8-6, 0-0 SBC) comes into the weekend after winning four of five over the weekend at its second home tournament of the season.
– At the Mardi Gras Invitational, the Jaguars picked up a pair of wins over Stephen F. Austin, and single wins over Hofstra and Nicholls State.
– The Jags used seventh-inning heroics in its last two games, scoring three runs in their final at-bat to complete the comebacks against SFA (6-5) on Saturday and Nicholls (3-2) on Sunday.
– After playing nine of its last 10 at home, this weekend's tournament begins a stretch of seven-straight games for South away from Mobile.
– Entering play this weekend, South Alabama has hit a home run in nine of its last 11.
– Junior outfielder Brittani Reid was instrumental in the Jags' success over the weekend and was named the Community Coffee Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday.
– B. Reid batted .500 at the tourney and scored seven runs.
– On the season, B. Reid is batting .405 – which is tied for eighth-best in the SBC. B. Reid also ranks among the conference leaders in on-base percentage (.542 – fifth) and walks (10 – T-seventh).
– True freshman Kennedy Cronan is hitting just below .400 as she is batting .395. Cronan leads the club in hits (17), doubles (4), home runs (4) and slugging percentage (.767), while she has also scored 12 runs.
– Cronan is also fourth in the league in slugging percentage and total bases (33).
– Dayla Gulledge is hitting .348 and her 12 walks are tied with Coastal Carolina's Kassidy Smith for most in the conference.
– Gulledge and Abby Krzywiecki are tied for the team lead in RBI with 13.
– Katelyn Gruich is hitting .290 and is tied for the Sun Belt lead as she has been hit by a pitch seven times this season.
– Kamdyn Kvistad (.302) is also hitting over .300.
– Senior RHP Alexis Reid (5-3) has been outstanding in the circle as of late as she has won her last four decisions. A. Reid leads the team and ranks sixth in the SBC with a 2.23 earned run average.
– A. Reid is also tied for seventh in the league in strikeouts looking with seven.
– Freshman pitcher Samantha Yarbrough (2-3, 3.95 ERA) is seventh in the Sun Belt in strikeouts (33) and her .225 opponent's batting average is fourth-lowest in the league.
SCOUTING THE BRAVES
– Bradley (5-9, 0-0 The Valley) enters the Diamond 9 after competing last weekend at the Tennessee Invitational in Knoxville, Tenn.
– The Braves lost all four of their games falling twice to the No. 7 Vols, twice to Louisville and to Virginia.
– BU has already faced one Sun Belt team this season defeating Texas State (12-10) at the Troy Cox Classic in Las Cruces, N.M.
– Bradley enters the week tied for second in the NCAA in home runs with Georgia with 24.
– Kealia Wysocki (.316) leads the club in that category as she has seven. Wysocki also paces the club in RBI (16), total bases (35) and slugging percentage (.921).
– Wysocki was selected by Louisville Slugger/NFCA top performer following week two of the season after batting .467 with six home runs and 15 runs driven in.
– Gabby Stoner is hitting just under .400 entering play at a .378 clip. Of her 14 hits, six have gone for extra bases, including a team-best three doubles.
– Lucy Mead is hitting .333 and paces the Braves with 16 hits.
– Grace French (1-1) leads the team in the circle with a 1.56 earned run average.
– As a staff, BU holds a 5.27 ERA.
THE SERIES VS. BRADLEY
– South Alabama and Bradley have met one other time in the all-time series.
– That lone meeting (2/25) came at the 2018 Diamond 9 Citrus I Classic in which the Jaguars picked up a 2-0 victory.
INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE BRAVES
Series: 1-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 1-0)
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: 2/25/18
Last Meeting: 2/25/18
Longest South Alabama Streak: 1 ('18)
Longest Bradley Streak: --
Current Streak: 1 by South Alabama
SOUTH AGAINST THE MISSOURI VALLEY
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 5-3 (.625) against current Missouri Valley Conference members.
– The Jaguars have already faced one Valley member this season, falling 4-0 in its season opener at the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Ala.
– USA faced Drake last season at the February Freezer in Starkville, Miss., where the Bulldogs earned a 4-0 victory.
SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS
– Purdue (7-5, 0-0 B10) enters play this weekend after winning four of five at the Madeira Beach Tournament in Madeira Beach, Fla.
– The Boilermakers picked up wins over Middle Tennessee, North Florida, Albany and Georgetown, with the lone loss of the tourney coming to South Dakota.
– As a team, Purdue has been outstanding offensively hitting .310 as a club with 26 extra-base hits and 66 RBI.
– Four players are hitting above .350 led by Madison Douglass' .440 batting average. Douglass' nine RBI are tied with Jenny Behan for second on the Purdue roster.
– Rachel Becker is right behind Douglass as she is hitting .438, while Kasey Wilhoit (.400) is third on the team.
– Utility player Rachel Becker (.359) paces the club in extra-base hits (6), slugging percentage (.641) and RBI (10).
– In the circle, senior right-hander Kaitlynn Moody (2-1) holds a team-low 2.67 ERA.
– Sydney Bates has struck out a team-high 19 batters this season.
THE SERIES VS. PURDUE
– South Alabama and Purdue have met three other times in the all-time series with the Jaguars holding a 2-1 (.667) advantage in those contests.
– In fact, South has won each of the last two meetings with the most recent coming at the 2017 Diamond 9 Citrus II Classic in Kissimmee, Fla.
– The Jags defeated the Boilermakers 5-2 on March 5 on the final day of the tournament.
– Both of South's series wins have come at the Diamond 9 Citrus II (2017 and '12).
– Purdue won the first ever meeting between the two clubs, defeating the Jags 7-6 in eight innings at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash held in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
– All three of the previous meetings in the series have come on a neutral field.
INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE BOILERMAKERS
Series: 2-1 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 2-1)
Extra-Inning Games: 0-1 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-1)
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: 2/9/08
Last Meeting: 3/5/17
Longest South Alabama Streak: 2 ('12-'17)
Longest Purdue Streak: 1 ('08)
Current Streak: 2 by South Alabama
SOUTH AGAINST THE BIG TEN
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 7-4 (.636) against current Big Ten Conference members.
– The Jaguars split its two meetings versus Big 10 opponents last season, defeating Illinois (10-3) at the Friends of Jaclyn Invitational, but falling to Minnesota (13-3) at the Diamond 9 Citrus II Classic.
– South has already faced one Big Ten opponent this season falling 11-2 to No. 18 Illinois last weekend at the Mardi Gra Invitational in Mobile, Ala.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
– Savannah State (0-8, 0-0 MEAC) enters the Diamond 9 after being swept by Alabama A&M at home last weekend, falling 10-6, 1-0 and 9-6 to the Bulldogs.
– SSU has already faced a Sun Belt team this season, falling 4-1 to Georgia Southern during the opening weekend play at the Eagle Classic in Statesboro, Ga.
– Three players are hitting over .300 this season, but as a club the Tigers are hitting .212 and have scored just 16 runs in their eight games.
– Despite struggling offensively as a team, Shayna Byers (.444) leads the team, while Stacie Smith (.400) leads the team in hits (10), runs (5), total bases (13) and has been successful in seven of her eight stolen base attempts.
– Peyton Mitchell is hitting .316 and leads the team in home runs with two.
– Opponents are hitting .329 against SSU pitching and the Tigers have a 5.49 staff ERA.
THE SERIES VS. SAVANNAH STATE
– The meeting between South Alabama and Savannah State will mark the first in the all-time series between the two programs.
SOUTH AGAINST THE MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 3-1 (.750) against current Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference members.
– The Jaguars have faced two opponents to date from the league with two meetings each against Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman.
– The lone loss to the league came on 2/23/08 when South fell 2-4 to BCU at the Hatter Invitational in DeLand, Fla.
JAGUARS AT THE DIAMOND 9 CITRUS CLASSIC
– South Alabama competed at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic four times.
– The Jaguars have competed at both the Citrus I (2018 and 2014) and Citrus II (2017 and 2012) Classics.
– South holds a cumulative 13-5 (.722) record between the two programs.
– USA is 5-3 (.625) at the Citrus I Classic and 8-2 (.800) at the Citrus II Classic.
– The lone meeting between South Alabama and Bradley came at the 2018 Citrus I Classic, while two of the three meetings in the series versus Purdue have come at the Citrus II Classic (2017 and '12).
– The Jaguars have won all three of those meetings against those two opponents: Bradley (1) and Purdue (2).
– Last season, the Jaguars went 1-3 in the tournament.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On where she has seen the team grow over the first few weeks of the season: "Our offense has taken a big step forward since the first tournament of the season. Our hitters have started to settle in and I think over the last few weeks have seen the potential they have at the plate. We have improved on the mound and defensively as well. Pitchers are making more pitches and making them more consistently and our defense has done a better job of making the routine play. Overall I feel like we have definitely come together more as a team and are starting to gel more in general."
- On what she is looking for out of her club in this final non-conference tournament before beginning Sun Belt play next weekend: "We have to continue to improve in all areas and work toward being a complete team. This weekend is a big tournament for us leading into Sun Belt play and we need to continue to improve in all areas. So far we seem to have gotten better each weekend so I look forward to us locking in and picking up where we left off. We are starting to have more success but we still have a lot left in the tank. It is huge for us this weekend to focus on taking another step forward and playing solid, fundamental ball each time out."
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—
