MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team will close out its current home stand Wednesday night with a midweek Sun Belt Conference game against in-state rival Troy when the Jaguars welcome the Trojans to Jaguar Field for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
Troy Game Notes
GAME 37 | VS. TROY
Venue: Jaguar Field | Mobile, Ala.
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: April 10, 2019 | 6 p.m.
South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SA: -- | RPI: 102
Record: 12-24 (2-13 SBC)
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .282 / .423 / .364
Troy TROJANS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SA: -- | RPI: 54
Record: 29-13 (11-4 SBC)
Head Coach: Beth Mullins (UAB, '04)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .282 / .394 / .380
GAME INFORMATION
Television: None
Radio: None
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: www.USAJaguars.com
(In-Game Updates) Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
– South Alabama (12-24, 2-13 SBC) comes into Wednesday's game looking to turnaround its season. The Jaguars dropped three-straight to Coastal Carolina over the weekend and have lost nine of their last 10 coming into the contest.
– Junior outfielder Brittani Reid leads the team at the plate with a .380 average. She also has 41 hits, 30 runs scored, nine doubles and 11 multi-hit outings this season, all of which lead or are tied for the club lead.
– B. Reid has also hit six home runs on the year and drive in 15 runs. In addition to those offensive numbers, B. Reid has recorded 70 total bases, a .648 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage.
– Her nine doubles rank third in the Sun Belt, while she is also among the conference leaders in on-base percentage (fifth), walks (23 – sixth), slugging percentage (sixth), hits (eighth) and batting average (10th).
– Freshman outfielder Victoria Ortiz has been solid at the plate as she is now second on the club with a .316 average. Ortiz is now tied with B. Reid for the team lead in doubles (9) and her eight multi-hit outings are second-most on the Jag roster.
– In conference play, Ortiz is batting .354 and six of her 11 extra-base hits have come against SBC competition.
– Kamdyn Kvistad (.299) has five home runs this season and has driven in 16.
– Freshman shortstop Kennedy Cronan (.288) leads the team with 23 runs driven in and eight home runs, while her six multi-RBI games are also the most on the roster.
– As a team, South has recorded 33 home runs this year – tied with the 2014 club for sixth-most in program history. Along with Cronan's eight, South has seven other players with two or more home runs this season and coming into the week South has hit at least one home run in eight of its last 11, including all three games of the Coastal series over the weekend.
– Freshman right-hander Samantha Yarbrough has been solid in the circle as of late. Over last six outings, Yarbrough has struck out 22 in 17.1 innings of work and allowed just 11 hits, while holding opponents to a .175 batting average.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
– Troy (29-13, 11-4 SBC) enters the conference midweek contest versus the Jaguars after sweeping Georgia State over the weekend at home.
– After being swept at Sun Belt leader Louisiana during week two of conference play and a midweek outing against Georgia Tech two days later, the Trojans have won 11 straight and swept each of their last SBC series.
– Over the weekend, Troy earned a 3-1 victory in game one of the series versus the Panthers on Friday night and after having play suspended in the top of the seventh on Saturday, defeated Georgia State in 11 innings on a walk-off single to give the Trojans a 2-1 extra-innings victory in game two. Freshman Leanna Johnson then tossed her first career no-hitter in the series finale on Sunday, fanning nine batters.
– Johnson (20-5) has had an outstanding freshman campaign as she has gone the distances in 12 of her 21 starts and recorded six shutouts. In her 149.2 innings of work, the Brantley, Ala., native has registered 163 of the staff's 260 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .200 batting average and a 2.24 ERA.
– Johnson's 163 strikeouts are second-most in the league and of those, 44 have come looking, just one behind SBC leader Summer Ellyson of Louisiana, while she also ranks among the conference leaders in several other statistical categories.
– At the plate, sophomore outfielder Talia Truitt leads the club with a .357 average. Truitt has scored 27 runs this season to go along with her 40 hits.
– Katie Webb (.344) has a team-high 44 hits on the season and 55 total bases, while Bailey Taylor (.319) has driven in 31 runs, which ranks third in the Sun Belt. Taylor has been hit by a pitch 15 times this spring, which is tied with Coastal Carolina's Kassidy Smith for the conference lead.
THE SERIES VS. TROY
– South Alabama and Troy have met 36 previous times in the all-time series with the Jaguars holding a 25-11 record in those meetings.
– All but two of the series meetings have come during Sun Belt Conference regular-season play.
– Wednesday's meeting will be the first of three in a split home-and-home series this season. The two clubs are also scheduled to meet during the final weekend of the regular season in Troy on May 3 and May 4.
– Prior to the 1-0 loss to the Trojans in last season's Sun Belt Conference tournament, South had won 11 straight in the series.
– During the 11-game series win streak by the Jaguars, South held a 68-11 with two run-rule victories.
– Of the 36 series meetings, 13 have been shutouts with the Jaguars recording nine of those.
INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE TROJANS
Series: 25-11 (H: 13-5 / A: 12-5 / N: 0-1)
Sun Belt Conference Games: 24-10 (H: 13-5 / A: 11-5 / N: 0-0)
Sun Belt Tournament Games: 1-1 (H: 0-0 / A: 1-0 / N: 0-1)
Extra-Inning Games: 2-1 (H: 2-1 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
Run-Rule Games: 3-0 (H: 3-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 5/5/07
Last Meeting: 5/10/18
Longest South Alabama Streak: 11 ('15-'18)
Longest Troy Streak: 5 ('08-'09)
Current Streak: 1 by Troy
Last 5 – 4-1
Last 10 – 9-1
UP NEXT
Following Wednesday night's contest, South Alabama will head back on the road for the first of two-straight Sun Belt Conference series away from Mobile as the Jaguars travel to Georgia State for a three-game series. South will open the series versus the Panthers on Friday, (April 12) with first pitch set for 4 p.m. (CT) at the Robert E. Heck Softball Complex. Game two is set for Saturday (April 13) with game three scheduled for Sunday (April 14). The final two games of the series will begin at 12 p.m. (CT).
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On the uniqueness of the split series with Troy: "Every year we play a midweek with Troy mainly for two reasons. Since we are always taking finals during our series with Troy it makes it easier on our student-athletes to play two games that last weekend instead of a three game series. It's also great because it gives both teams a chance to play their in-state rival at home for at least one game every year."
- On the series against an in-state conference rival Troy: "Our games with Troy are always competitive and hard fought. We know that playing our in-state rival adds another element of intensity to the game in addition to it being a big conference game. I anticipate this game being like all of our past games in that we will have to compete every pitch and find ways to take advantage of our windows of opportunity throughout the game."
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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