MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama will head back out on the road to take on Appalachian State this weekend for its fourth Sun Belt Conference series of the season. Game one of the series is set to begin on Friday at 4 p.m. (CT) at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium. The final two games are set for 1 p.m. (CT) on Saturday and 11 a.m. (CT) on Sunday.

GAMES: 30-32 | AT APPALACHIAN STATE
Venue: Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium | Boone, N.C.

SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: March 29, 2019 | 4 p.m. (CT)
Game 2: March 30, 2019 | 1 p.m. (CT)
Game 3: March 31, 2019 | 11 a.m. (CT)

Series Notes

South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SA: -- | RPI: 95
Record: 11-18 (1-8 SBC)
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .272 / .435 / .366

Appalachian State MOUNTAINEERS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SA: -- | RPI: 106
Record: 20-8 (8-1 SBC)
Head Coach: Shelly Hoerner (Canisius, '96)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .253 / .367 / .343

GAME INFORMATION
Television: None
Radio: 99.5 The Jag FM (Fri., and Sun.)
          97.1 The Prowl FM (Sat.)
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: www.USAJaguars.com
(In-Game Updates) Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (11-18, 1-8 SBC) comes into the weekend road series with Appalachian State after dropping three games to No. 9 Louisiana last weekend.
– The Ragin' Cajuns rallied back to take game one of the series and then picked up run-rule wins in the final two, including holding the Jags hitless on Sunday in the series finale.
– Offensively, Brittani Reid paces the club at the plate with a .407 batting average, a .674 slugging percentage and a .519 on-base percentage. The junior outfielder leads the team with 35 hits, 14 of which have gone for extra bases. Her nine doubles still leads the Sun Belt in that category.
– B. Reid ranks among Sun Belt leaders in on-base percentage (fourth), walks (19 – T-fourth), batting average (seventh), slugging percentage (seventh) and hits (35 – T-ninth).
– B. Reid has nine multi-hit games this season and 21 for her Jaguar career. On Sunday, B. Reid had her 21-game on-base streak ended.
– Kamdyn Kvistad is second on the Jag roster with a .337 average and hits (31). Kvistad has four home runs, three doubles and has scored 13 runs.
– Freshman outfielder Victoria Ortiz (.309) currently ranks third on the Jag roster in hitting. The Mobile, Ala., native has been on a tear over her last 17 games, going 17-for-46 (.370) at the plate with six doubles, two home runs, nine RBI and eight runs scored. Ortiz has also walked six times over that stretch.
– Senior outfielder Megan Harris has also been solid at the plate as she is hitting a team-best .438 in Sun Belt play and .444 over South's last 10 games.
– Kennedy Cronan (.279) leads the team with 18 runs driven in, while Kvistad and Abby Krzywiecki (.284) have 15 RBI each. The trio also have five multi-RBI games each this spring.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS    
– Appalachian State (21-8, 8-1 SBC) enter the series versus the Jaguars off to the it's best start to a season in program history.
– The Mountaineers have played just five games at home this season holding a 4-1 mark.
– App State defeated East Tennessee State 5-0 on the road Wednesday night and has now won 12 of its last 14 coming into the weekend.
– All three of Appalachian State's Sun Belt Conference series this season have come on the road with sweeps over ULM and Georgia Southern and two of three at Georgia State this past weekend.
– Kerri White leads the team offensively as she is batting .343 with 35 hits. She has tallied 46 bases this season and scored 22 runs, while remaining perfect in all eight of her stolen base attempts.
– Senior catcher Jenny Dodd (.254) has driven in a team-best 22 runs and her 32 walks leads the Sun Belt in that category, while she is also second in the NCAA.
– Freshman Alison Durrence paces the Mountaineers and is tied with three other SBC players in home runs with seven.
– Both Kenzie Longanecker and Sydney Holland have led the way in the circle for Appalachian State this spring.
– Longanecker is 12-1 this season with a 1.93 earned run average, second-lowest in the league. The junior righty has four shutouts thus far, has struck out 73 and walked just 18.
– Holland (7-4) lowered her ERA to 2.03 in the shutout victory over the Bucs in her last outing.

THE SERIES VS. APPALACHIAN STATE    
– South Alabama and Appalachian State have met 12 previous times in the all-time series.
– The Jaguars have won 11 of those 12 series meetings and are 6-0 against the Mountaineers in Boone.
– USA has outscored App State 29-8 in the six meetings on the Mountaineers' home field.
– Overall, South Alabama holds a 52-14 scoring advantage in the series.
– South holds five shutouts in the series, while the last series meeting was the first by the Mountaineers.
– Last season, App State picked up its first series victory by defeating South 2-0 in game three of the series in Mobile.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE MOUNTAINEERS    
Series: 11-1 (H: 5-1 / A: 6-0 / N: 0-0)
Sun Belt Conference Games: 11-1 (H: 5-1 / A: 6-0 / N: 0-0)
Sun Belt Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 1-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 1-0 / 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: 3/21/15
Last Meeting: 4/22/18
Longest South Alabama Streak: 11 ('15-'18)
Longest Appalachian State Streak: 1 ('18)
Current Streak: 1 by Appalachian State
Last 5 – 4-1
Last 10 – 9-1

RECAPPING LAST SEASON'S MEETINGS    
April 21-22, 2018 – South Alabama took two of three in Mobile last season, picking up wins in games one (1-0) and two (5-1), before Appalachian State closed out the series with a 2-0 shutout in the series finale at Jaguar Field.
– With two outs and a runner in scoring position in the opener, Haleigh Lowe took a 2-2 pitch from Kenzie Loganecker and lined it to left center dropping just in front Mountaineer left fielder Alisha Josey.  Lyric Cabral was able to race around the bases and score without a throw to give South the one-run, walk-off win.
– App State took a one-run advantage in the top of the third in game two, but USA responded back with two runs in the bottom half of the inning and then three runs in the sixth en route to the 6-1 victory.
– The Mountaineers took a 2-0 lead in game three after Heather Josey's fourth-inning double to left center and an unearned run in the fifth on a Jaguar throwing error.
– Trailing by two with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, Cabral looked as if she had at least tied the game up with a shot down the third base line that would have scored two, but the ball was ruled to have just gone foul.  Loganecker would go on to retire the final two batters of the inning and get out of the jam for App State.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On Appalachian State: "Coach [Shelley] Hoerner and her staff have done a great job with their program. App has had consistent success this season and with an 8-1 conference record are off to one of their best starts in conference play."
- On the progression of freshman outfielder Victoria Ortiz: "Ortiz has continued to grow as a player and will only get better as we go. I think one of her biggest attributes is her willingness to work on the areas that need improvement. She listens to feedback and works hard to improve in those areas. She is also a competitor which drives her to be the best at what she does. She is off to a great start as a freshman and has a great career ahead of her."

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—