MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team welcomes Georgia Southern this weekend for its final home series of the season. The three-game Sun Belt Conference series will get underway on Friday night at 6 p.m. at Jaguar Field. Games two and three are scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at noon, respectively.

South Alabama will honor its five seniors – Dayla Gulledge, Megan Harris, Savanna Mayo, Alexis Reid and Taylor Stevens – prior to first pitch of Sunday's series finale. With the Jaguars scheduled to be on the road next weekend, USA will also recognize the program's Spring Semester graduates on Sunday.

Series Notes

GAMES 45-47 | GEORGIA SOUTHERN SERIES
Venue: Jaguar Field | Mobile, Ala.

SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: April 26, 2019 | 6 p.m.
Game 2: April 27, 2019 | 3 p.m.
Game 3: April 28, 2019 | 12 p.m. (SENIOR DAY)

GAME INFORMATION
Television: None
Radio:  None
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: www.USAJaguars.com
(In-Game Updates) Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB

South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SA: -- | RPI: 149
Record: 16-28 (5-17 SBC)
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .293 / .480 / .380

Georgia Southern EAGLES
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SA: -- | RPI: 160
Record: 19-25 (5-15 SBC)
Head Coach: Kim Dean (Wisconsin-Parkside, '06)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .264 / .432 / .349

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (16-28, 5-17 SBC) enters its final home conference series after opening up its four-game homestand with an 8-4 victory over McNeese State Wednesday night.
– Trailing by a run entering the bottom of the fifth, South scored three in the inning and then added two insurance runs in the sixth.
– Coming into the weekend, South's offense has been outstanding posting a .420 batting average, averaging 9.9 runs and 13.6 hits per game.
– Of the 95 hits recorded by the Jaguars over that stretch, 39 have gone for extra bases, including 22 doubles and 15 home runs. Eight of the nine regular starters in the South Alabama lineup have batted .348 over the last seven games led by Kamdyn Kvistad who has 14 hits in 25 at-bats (.560) with five extra-base hits and 11 runs driven in.
– Freshman outfielder Victoria Ortiz enters the series against the Eagles ranked second on the club with a .360 batting average. Of her 40 hits, 21 have gone for extra bases.
– Her 15 doubles are not only tied with fellow teammate Brittani Reid for the Sun Belt lead, but also are tied for most in a single-season at South and the most ever by a Jaguar freshman.
– Ortiz has scored 23 runs and driven in 21, while also posting a .658 slugging percentage.
– Earlier this week, Ortiz was named the Community Coffee Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week after hitting .636 in the three-game road series against ULM.
– In conference play, Ortiz holds the highest batting average .395 and 15 of her 20 extra-base hits have come against SBC competition.
– The Jaguars have hit 49 home runs this season, which are third-most in a season in program history and just nine shy of the program mark. South has homered in five straight and in 11 of its last 13, recording 21 long balls over that stretch.
– Eight Jaguars have hit three or more home runs this spring with Cronan (.328) leading the club a team-high 10. The 10 home runs by Cronan second-most by a Jaguar freshman and tied for fourth-most in a season overall.
– Along with the 10 home runs – which are tied for fifth-most in the league.
– Cronan and Kvistad (.343) lead the team with nine multi-RBI outings, while Kvistad has 12 multi-hit games and Cronan has 11.
– The Daphne, Ala., native has notched 81 total bases this season and her 35 runs driven in lead the team, and are tied with three other players for seventh in the league.
– Kvistad and Katelyn Gruich (267) each have eight home runs this season, while B. Reid (.379) and Ortiz are close behind with six each.
– B. Reid leads the team at the plate with 53 hits, 36 runs scored and 16 multi-hit outings this spring. She leads the club in all those categories, including batting average, and her 15 doubles are tied with Ortiz for the Sun Belt lead.
– B. Reid ranks among the conference leaders in hits (T-fifth), on-base percentage (.485 – sixth), walks (26 – T-sixth), slugging percentage (.629 – seventh), batting average (eighth) and runs scored (ninth).

SCOUTING THE EAGLES     
– Georgia Southern (19-25, 5-15 SBC) comes into the weekend series after falling 5-4 at home to Kennesaw State on Wednesday night. The Owls broke a 4-all tie with a run in the top of the seventh and retired the Eagles in order in the bottom half of the frame.
– With the loss, GS has dropped four straight and six of its last seven. The lone conference series win of the season came during week two of league play where Georgia Southern took two of three from Coastal Carolina in Statesboro.
– Georgia Southern is 2-6 this season in true road games.
– The Eagles currently sit two games ahead of the Jaguars in the loss column tied with ULM for seventh place in the Sun Belt standings.
– Hannah Farrell leads the team and ranks second in the SBC with a .402 batting average. Farrell also has 53 hits, 20 runs scored, 13 doubles and 27 RBI this spring.
– Against league foes, Farrell has been even better hitting at a .456 clip.
– Junior outfielder Shelby Wilson has also been solid at the plate hitting .348. Of her 39 hits, 14 have gone for extra bases – seven doubles and seven home runs – and her 30 RBI pace the club.
– Mekhia Freeman his third on the team with a .331 average and her eight doubles are tied for second most.
– As a team, the Eagles have hit 42 home runs and are led in that category by Logan Harrell's 10. Faith Shirley also has eight this season.

THE SERIES VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN    
– South Alabama and Georgia Southern have met 13 previous times in the all-time series. The Jaguars hold a 10-3 record in those series meetings.
– The two teams have met six times in the series on at Jaguar Field with South holding a 6-0 record in those contests.
– South Alabama has outscored the Eagles 45-6 in the six meetings in Mobile.
– USA also holds four run-rule victories in the all-time series.
– Georgia Southern picked up its first series win last season as the Eagles won two of three from GSU in Statesboro.
– In the fourth meeting, South defeated Georgia Southern, 3-2 in an elimination game at the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Championship in Lafayette, La.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE EAGLES    
Series: 10-3 (H: 6-0 / A: 3-3 / N: 1-0)
Sun Belt Conference Games: 9-3 (H: 6-0 / A: 3-3 / N: 0-0)
Sun Belt Tournament Games: 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: 3-0 (H: 1-0 / A: 2-0 / N: 0-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 4/11/15
Last Meeting: 5/9/18
Longest South Alabama Streak: 5 ('15-'16)
Longest Georgia Southern Streak: 2 ('18)
Current Streak: 2 by South Alabama
Last 5 – 3-2
Last 10 – 7-3

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On the final home weekend series of the season: "This weekend is a big weekend for us as we take on Georgia Southern, recognize our seniors and hold our on-field graduation. So there is a lot going on at Jaguar Field and I encourage our fans to come out and support all of our players, but especially our seniors as we recognize their contributions to the program. Senior weekend is always a special time as you honor those players who have cared for and invested in South Alabama Softball."

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—