MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team will close out the 2019 regular-season portion of its schedule this weekend with a two-game Sun Belt Conference series at Troy. Game one of the series is set to begin Fri., at 6 p.m. at the Troy Softball Complex with game two scheduled for Sat., at 2 p.m.

Troy Series Notes

GAMES 48-49 | AT TROY
Venue: Troy Softball Complex | Troy, Ala.

SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: May 3, 2019 | 6 p.m.
Game 2: May 4, 2019 | 2 p.m.

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

South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SA: -- | RPI: 142
Record: 18-29 (7-18 SBC)
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .296 / .478 / .381

Troy TROJANS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SA: -- | RPI: 58
Record: 35-18 (17-8 SBC)
Head Coach: Beth Mullins (UAB, '04)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .267 / .376 / .369

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (18-29, 7-18 SBC) enters the final regular-season weekend looking to lock up a spot in this year's Sun Belt Conference Championships.
– The Jags are one of four teams – ULM, Georgia Southern and Georgia State – who are in the hunt for one of the last two spots at the league event.
– USA currently sits in eighth position ahead of the Eagles and the Panthers and two-back of the Warhawks in the loss column.
– The three other teams currently in contention for one of the two spots have three league games this weekend, while South has just the two-game series at Troy due to the Jaguars and Trojans playing a midweek contest earlier this spring.
– Over the last 10 games, South Alabama has posted some of its best numbers as the Jags are 6-4 during that stretch, batting .396 with 47 extra-base hits – 29 doubles, two triples and 16 home runs – while averaging 8.5 runs per game.
– Six players who have started all 10 games over that span are batting .425 or better, led by Megan Harris (.483).
– The Jaguars come into the Troy games after taking two of three from Georgia Southern over the weekend.
– For her play last week, Brittani Reid was named the Community Coffee Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week for the second time this spring.
– The junior outfielder was 7-for-14 at the plate (.500) with a .929 slugging percentage. Four of her seven hits went for extra bases – three doubles and a home run – while she also scored four times, drove in seven and recorded a team-high 13 total bases, while also walking twice.
– Prior to the series finale, B. Reid (.384) had doubled in six-straight games, and her double in game one of the series versus the Eagles established a new single-season mark at South. Her 17 doubles this spring not only lead the Sun Belt, but also rank 15th in the NCAA.
– B. Reid leads the team at the plate with 58 hits, 39 runs scored and 17 multi-hit outings this spring. She leads the club in all those categories, including batting average, while ranking among the conference leaders in slugging percentage (.649 – third), hits (T-fourth), on-base percentage (.486 – sixth), batting average (sixth), walks (27 – T-seventh) and runs scored (T-seventh).
– Freshman outfielder Victoria Ortiz enters the series against the Trojans ranked second on the club with a .361 batting average. Of her 44 hits, 22 have gone for extra bases.
– Her 16 doubles are not only second-most in the Sun Belt lead, but rank 30th in the NCAA and the most ever by a Jaguar freshman.
– Ortiz has scored 25 runs and driven in 24, while also posting a .639 slugging percentage. The Mobile, Ala., native has driven in at least one run in nine of her last 10, including eight straight, recording 13 RBI over that span.
– In conference play, Ortiz holds the highest batting average .391 and 17 of her 27 extra-base hits have come against SBC competition.
– The Jaguars have hit 50 home runs this spring, which are third-most in a season in program history and just eight shy of the program mark.
– Eight Jaguars have hit three or more home runs this season with Kennedy Cronan (.336) 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.
– Cronan and Kamdyn Kvistad (.333) lead the team with nine multi-RBI outings, while the duo also has 12 multi-hit games.
– The Daphne, Ala., native has notched 86 total bases this season and her 36 runs driven in lead the team, and are seventh in the league.
– Kvistad and Katelyn Gruich (264) each have eight home runs this season, while B. Reid has seven and Ortiz with six.
– Harris' .322 season average ranks fifth on the team, but the senior has been even better in league play as she is hitting .370 against Sun Belt foes.
– As a team, South is close to eclipsing another single-season mark as the 73 doubles are approaching the program mark of 77 set by the 2012 club. The 73 doubles are currently tied with Louisiana for the Sun Belt lead.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS     
– Troy (35-18, 17-8 SBC) comes into the weekend series sitting in second place in the league standings with a two-game lead in the wins column over Texas State.
– Over the weekend, the Trojans defeated the Bobcats (3-0) in the series opener on Friday, but were shut out 9-0 [5 inn.] and 2-0 in the final two games, dropping just their second conference series.
– With the two losses, Troy has lost four of its last five entering play this weekend.
– Prior to falling in game three of their last home series versus Appalachian State, the Trojans had won 10 straight on their home field – a place where they are 15-6 this spring.
– Freshman pitcher Leanna Johnson (24-7) has been outstanding during her first collegiate season as she has gone the distances in 18 of her 27 starts and recorded eight shutouts. In her 194.2 innings of work, the Brantley, Ala., native has registered 211 of the staff's 323 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .193 batting average and a 2.05 earned run average.
– Johnson's 211 strikeouts are second-most in the league and of those, 58 have come looking, just three 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 .338 average. Truitt has scored 34 runs this season to go along with her 50 hits.
– Katie Webb (.338) has a team-high 54 hits on the season and 69 total bases, while Bailey Taylor (.322) has driven in 40 runs, which are second-most in the Sun Belt. Taylor has been hit by a pitch 20 times this spring, which leads the conference in that category.
– As a team, Troy has been hit by pitch 54 times which leads the conference and are 17 more than the next closest team – Coastal Carolina.
– Madeline Porter and Kaylee Hussey lead the Trojans and are tied for sixth in the SBC with 11 doubles.

THE SERIES VS. TROY    
– South Alabama and Troy have met 37 previous times in the all-time series with the Jaguars holding a 25-12 record in those meetings.
– All but two of the series meetings have come during Sun Belt Conference regular-season play.
– This weekend's two meetings will be the back end of a split home-and-home series as the two clubs squared off in Mobile earlier this season on April 10.
– Prior to the two losses in the last two meetings, 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 37 series meetings, 13 have been shutouts with the Jaguars recording nine of those.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE TROJANS    
Series: 25-12 (H: 13-6 / A: 12-5 / N: 0-1)
Sun Belt Conference Games: 24-11 (H: 13-6 / 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: 4/10/19
Longest South Alabama Streak: 11 ('15-'18)
Longest Troy Streak: 5 ('08-'09)
Current Streak: 2 by Troy
Last 5 – 3-2
Last 10 – 8-2

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On the weekend series with Troy: "We've been playing well over the past few weeks and I'm looking forward to taking that into the series this weekend at Troy. I think it shapes up to be a great series."

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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