GAMES 30-32 | APPALACHIAN STATE SERIES
Swayssink Lloyd Family Stadium | Boone, N.C.

SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: April 8, 2022 | 4 p.m. (CT)
Game 2: April 9, 2022 | 1 p.m. (CT)
Game 3: April 10, 2022 | 11 a.m. (CT)

MEDIA INFORMATION
Television: ESPN+
Audio Stream: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Web Broadcast: www.USAJaguars.com
(In-Game Updates) Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB

South Alabama JAGUARS 
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SBA: -- | D1S: --
RPI: 71
Record: 15-14, 8-1 SBC
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .239 / .370 / .310
Team ERA: 2.37

Appalachian State  MOUNTAINEERS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SBA: -- | D1S: --
RPI: 153
Record: 21-14, 7-5 SBC
Head Coach: Shelly Hoerner (Canisius, '96)

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .274 / .448 / .382
Team ERA: 2.77

SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (15-14, 8-1 SBC) enters the weekend conference series at Appalachian State after picking up its third Sun Belt series win and its second series sweep against Coastal Carollina over the weekend in Mobile.
– The Jaguars have won nine of their last 10 and the 8-1 start to conference play is the best for the program after nine league games since 2014, the only other time South has been 8-1 to begin league action.
– Mackenzie Brasher leads the team at the plate with a .333 batting average and her 13 stolen bases rank fifth in the conference.
– Brasher's six multi-hit games this spring also top the club.
– The junior outfielder has been even better in league play as she is batting .458 in those nine games.
– Both Brasher and Caroline Nichols have done an outstanding job setting the table at the top of the order as they enter the series with a 12- and an 11-game reached base safely streak.
– Nichols (.286) is hitting just below Brasher and has also been solid at the plate during conference play, batting .346, while Victoria Ortiz is hitting .333 in SBC play.
– Ortiz paces the club with 13 extra-base hits and RBI (15). 
– She drove in four runs in the Coastal Carolina series and has now driven in at least one run in six of her last nine outings and seven of South's nine conference games this spring.
– Ortiz sits just outside the top 10 of the league in homers (5) and doubles (7).
– Ortiz also has a team-high five multi-RBI outings, while freshmen Gabby Stagner and Stephanie Gonzalez are right behind her with three each.
– Stagner ranks second on the team with 14 RBI, 10 of which have come during the first three SBC series.
– Abby Allen leads the team and is tied for fourth in the league with 21 walks, 16 of which came during a 21-game reached base safely streak earlier this spring. She has also scored a team-best 17 runs.
– Olivia Lackie (8-4) holds a 1.71 earned run average in her 77.2 innings of work. 
– The Walker, La., native has struck out 118 and is holding opponents to a .150 batting average, which leads the league.
– She has gone the distance in seven of her 10 starts and holds five shut outs. 
– In the Coastal Carolina series, Lackie tossed 14 shutout innings, struck out 21 batters and issued just two walks, while earning SBC Pitcher of the Week honors for the fifth time in her career.
– Since the start of conference play, Lackie holds a 0.64 ERA and has a 10:1 strikeout-to-walk ration (62 SO, 6 BB).
– She has struck out double-digits in four of her league starts, including 14 in the series opener against CCU. She had nine in the finale on Sunday.
– Opponents are batting just .136 against the righty in conference play.
– Jenna Hardy holds a 2.20 ERA in 86.0 innings of work in the circle, while she has struck out 69 and issued just 13 walks this spring.
– Like Lackie, Hardy has been outstanding in conference play holding a 0.52 ERA and a perfect 4-0 record.
– Lackie and Hardy rank third and sixth, respectively, in the SBC in ERA, while Lackie is also fourth in strike outs and third in strike outs looking (36).
– Hardy is 10th in strikeouts and fourth in strikeouts looking (28).

THE SERIES VS. APPALACHIAN STATE
– South Alabama and Appalachian State have met 23 previous times in the all-time series. 
– The Jaguars won the first 11 meetings in the series, the Mountaineers then took three of four, but South has won seven of the last eight meetings, including all five meetings last spring, which included a regular-season sweep in Mobile and then a pair of wins in the Sun Belt tourney.
– Olivia Lackie tossed a pair of shutouts in the series with the Mountaineers and recorded her first career no-hitter in the finale in March.
– In addition to the two shutouts, Lackie also set new season highs in strikeouts in back-to-back outings with 15 and 16, respectively.
– Overall, South Alabama holds a 119-52 scoring advantage in the series. 
– The 20 runs put up by App State in the 2020 series marked the most runs scored by the Mountaineers in a three-game series against USA.
– Prior to the 2019 series, App State had scored a total of 14 runs in the first 12 meetings versus the Jaguars.
– South holds eight shutouts in the series.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE MOUNTAINEERS    
Series: 19-4 (H: 10-2 / A: 7-2 / N: 2-0)
Sun Belt Conference Games: 17-4 (H: 10-2 / A: 8-1 / N: 0-0)
Sun Belt Tournament Games: 2-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 2-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 1-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 1-0 / N: 0-0)
Run-Rule Games: 2-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 1-0 / N: 1-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 3/21/15
Last Meeting: 5/14/21
Longest South Alabama Streak: 11 ('15-'18) 
Longest Appalachian State Streak: 2 ('18-'19)
Current Streak: 5 by South Alabama
Last 5 – 5-0
Last 10 – 8-2

PITCHING HEATING UP IN SUN BELT PLAY
– Since the start of league play, Jaguar pitching has been outstanding in the circle.
– They hold a staff earned run average of 0.90, allowing just nine total runs (eight earned), while also registering five shut outs in their first nine conference games.
– In their 62 innings of work, South has struck out 83 batters and issued just 12 walks. SBC opponents are batting .170. They also have hit just three home runs.
– Individually, Jenna Hardy (0.52 ERA) has allowed just two earned runs in her 27 innings of work.
– She is 4-0 against SBC opponents and holds two of the staff's five shutouts.
– Olivia Lackie has posted first-team all-league numbers herself as she holds a 0.64 ERA with a pair of wins.
– In her 33 innings of work, she has struck out 62 and posted double-digit strikeout performances in four of her five conference starts, while walking just six.
– Opponents are batting just .136 against the righty in conference play.

TURNAROUND MOMENT
– While it was just a 5-2 victory over Dartmouth (3/6) on the final game of the Tennessee Invitational, the three-run win has seemed to be a defining moment for the program this season
– Over the first 18 games of the season, South Alabama seemed to be struggling to find its way on both sides of the ball as the club was batting .219 and had scored just 42 runs (2.3 runs per game), while striking out 108 times (6.0 SO per game) compared to 25 walks..
– South also held a team ERA of 3.38 and a .954 fielding percentage.
– The Jaguar pitching staff had allowed 29 home runs and issued a total of 44 walks, 20 hit batters, while committing 21 errors.
– Since the three-run victory over the Big Green (11 games), South has posted a 10-1 record.
– As a club, the Jags are hitting .271 and have scored 54 runs (4.9 per game), while the Jaguar pitching staff holds a 0.83 ERA and the defense has been nearly flawless with a .990 fielding percentage over that stretch.
– The offense has also struck out just 48 times and drawn 46 walks.
– The pitching staff has issued just 14 walks, hasn't hit a batter and allowed just three home runs over the last 11 games.

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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