GAMES 10-14 | THE SNOWMAN (Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament)
Feb. 25-27, 2022
Nusz Park | Starkville, Miss.
Host: Mississippi State

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25
South Alabama* vs. Belmont | 10 a.m. 
South Alabama* vs. Longwood | 12:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26
South Alabama vs. Longwood* | 10 a.m.
South Alabama vs. Mississippi State* | 6:30 p.m. 

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27
South Alabama at Mississippi State* | 1 p.m.
* Designated HOME team

GENERAL INFORMATION
Television: None
Audio Stream: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Web Broadcast: None
(In-Game Updates) Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB

South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SBA: -- | D1S: --
RPI: --
Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .231 / .345 / .267
Team ERA: 3.70

Belmont BRUINS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SBA: -- | D1S: --
RPI: --
Record: 3-2
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .317 / .403 / .392
Team ERA: 3.39

Longwood LANCERS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SBA: -- | D1S: --
RPI: --
Record: 4-6
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .263 / .380 / .317
Team ERA: 6.28

Mississippi State BULLDOGS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SBA: -- | D1S: --
RPI: --
Record: 4-6
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .289 / .489 / .386
Team ERA: 3.21

SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (1-8) enters the weekend tournament looking to snap an eight-game skid. Last week, the Jags dropped all five of its outings with a one-run loss at No. 3 Florida State.
– Of its eight losses this spring, six have been decided by three runs or less, including four one-run decisions. 
– Over that same stretch, the Jags have faced five opponents currently ranked in the top 25.
– Kamdyn Kvistad (.304) recorded her 29th career home run against Butler on Saturday and became the program's all-time leader in the category.
– Caroline Nichols leads the club at the plate with a .333 average and she is 3-for-4 in her stolen base opportunities.
– Victoria Ortiz (.286) has a team-best three doubles this spring, which is also tied for seventh-most in the Sun Belt.
– Kennedy Cronan paces the club with five RBI, while Stephanie Gonzalez is right behind her with four.
– Three of Cronan's base hits have gone for extra bases.
– With the exception of the six-run, fourth inning at LSU (2/12), Olivia Lackie has been outstanding in the circle as she has allowed just four runs in her other 22.0 innings of work for a 1.27 earned run average over that stretch.
– In her six appearances, Lackie struck out 28 batters and is allowing just a .181 batting average to opponents. Her 28 strikeouts are the second-most among league pitchers entering play this weekend.
– Jenna Hardy has also been solid in the circle as she holds an 8-1 strikeout to walk ratio. Hardy has struck out 16, while only issuing a pair of walks thus far in 2022.

SOUTH ALABAMA AT THE SNOWMAN    
– This marks the first time that South Alabama has competed at The Snowman tournament, which was formerly called The February Freezer but changed to honor Alex Wilcox.
– The Jaguars have also competed at Bulldog Classic (2013) hosted by Mississippi State, and hold a 4-4 record in the two events.

REMEMBERING "SNOWMAN"    
– The Mississippi State tournament this weekend is not only a special event for the Bulldogs, but it is also special to the Jaguars, one in particular... Kassidy Wilcox the younger sister of the late Alex Wilcox.
– Honoring the legendary spirit of the late Wilcox, Mississippi State continues its "No One Fights Alone" campaign throughout the 2021 softball season.
– Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2015, Wilcox defied the odds and continued to play softball throughout her treatments and helped lead Brantley (Ala.) High School to a pair of state championships. Wilcox, a Top 50 recruit in the class of 2017, committed to the Bulldogs during her junior season in high school.
– Over her freshman campaign, Wilcox continued to battle cancer while continuing to pursue her dreams of playing collegiate softball. She sparkled during the fall, displaying her ability at the plate with home run power.
– Despite being in the midst of chemotherapy treatments, Wilcox appeared in eight contests with three starts over her freshman season. 
– The Bulldogs will continue to wear teal uniforms throughout the season to raise awareness for ovarian cancer in honor of the former softball student-athlete who passed away in 2018 at the age of 18 after a courageous fight with the disease.
– MSU immortalized Wilcox by retiring her No. 8 jersey on Sept. 15, 2018, making Wilcox the first female student-athlete in Mississippi State history to have her jersey retired.
– A permanent graphical fixture on the right field wall at Nusz Park was installed to commemorate Wilcox. The Bulldogs also re-branded the annual February Freezer tournament and now host the The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial tournament in February, as that was Alex's nickname.

THE SERIES VS. BELMONT    
– South Alabama and Belmont have met three previous times in the all-time series with the Jaguars holding a 2-1 advantage in those contests.
– Friday's meeting marks the first in the series since 2010 when the two teams met up at the South Alabama Invitational; a 15-2 win by South Alabama in five innings.
– The first two series meetings came during the Jags' inaugural season (2007),
– Both wins by South Alabama have been run-rule decisions, while Belmont's win was a one-run decision.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE BRUINS    
Series: 2-1 (H: 2-1 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
Run-Rule Games: 2-0 (H: 2-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 2/17/07
Last Meeting: 2/20/10
Longest South Alabama Streak: 1, 2x, last ('10)
Longest Belmont Streak: 1 ('07)
Current Streak: 1 by South Alabama

SOUTH AGAINST THE OHIO VALLEY 
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 22-5 (.815) against current Ohio Valley Conference members.
– USA went 2-1 against OVC members in 2021, splitting its two meetings with Murray State and picking up an extra-inning victory over SIU-Edwardsville.
– Murray State (7) and Austin Peay (6) are the league members that the Jaguars have faced the most from the conference.
– Eastern Illinois, Morehead State and Tennessee-Martin are the only current OVC members that South has yet to face.

THE SERIES VS. LONGWOOD    
– South Alabama and Longwood have never met prior to this weekend's meeting.

SOUTH AGAINST THE BIG SOUTH    
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 6-1 (.857) against current Big South Conference members.
– The Jaguars have faced three Big South members: Charleston Southern (3-0), Campbell (2-0) and USC-Upstate (1-1).
– The lone loss against a league opponent came in extra innings at the 2014 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional.
– In its previous seven outings versus Big South opponents, the Jaguars hold a +15 (33-18) run differential in those contests.

THE SERIES VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE    
– South Alabama and Mississippi State have met nine previous times in the all-time series with the Jaguars holding a slim 5-4 advantage in the series.
– The last meeting in the series came during 2018 when the Bulldogs defeated South 6-3 at the February Freezer held in Starkville, Miss.
– All nine series meetings have come on the other's home field.
– The two clubs have met once during the postseason as they met at the 2013 NCAA Regional in Mobile where South picked up a 3-0 win.
– The series dates back to the 2009 season.
– The two programs have split the last four series meetings, while three of the last four have come in Starkville.
– Four of the last seven series meetings have been one-run decisions.
– The Jags have won three of the last four meetings on the Bulldogs' home field.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE BULLDOGS    
Series: 5-4 (H: 2-2 / A: 3-2 / N: 0-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 0-1 (H: 0-1 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
Run-Rule Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 1-0 (H: 1-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 4/8/09
Last Meeting: 2/17/18
Longest South Alabama Streak: 4 ('13-'15)
Longest Mississippi State Streak: 2 ('09-'12)
Current Streak: 1 by Mississippi State
Last 5 – 3-2

SOUTH AGAINST THE SEC    
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 14-50 (.219) against current Southeastern Conference members.
– Last season, the Jaguars faced six opponents from the league and went 2-4 in those contests.
– In addition to Mississippi State, South has played two other SEC opponents, and is also scheduled to face Tennessee (3/5). USA fell twice to LSU (2/11-12) on the opening weekend of the season at the Tiger Classic and then Missouri at THE Spring Games. 
– Of the 10 teams South has faced from the SEC, Florida and Missouri are the lone teams from the league that the Jags have yet to pick up a win against as they hold at least one victory over the other seven schools that they have faced. 
– South has yet to face SEC members Arkansas, Kentucky or Texas A&M.
– The 15 meetings against Alabama and LSU are the most against any SEC member, while USA has also Mississippi State 9 times.
– South Alabama has faced at least one SEC team in each of its previous 14 seasons of play since the program began in 2007.

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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