GAMES 41-43 | TROY SERIES
Troy Softball Complex | Troy, Ala.

SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: May 5, 2022 | 6 p.m.
Game 2: May 6, 2022 | 6 p.m.
Game 3: May 7, 2022 | 2 p.m.

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: 57
Record: 23-17, 15-4 SBC
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP):.250 / .396 / .325
Team ERA: 2.46

Troy TROJANS 
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SBA: -- | D1S: --
RPI: 79
Record: 27-18, 13-11 SBC
Co-Interim Head Coach: Taylor Smartt (Troy, '14)
Co-Interim Head Coach: Holly Ward (Mississippi State, '18)

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .260 / .422 / .357
Team ERA: 2.97

SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (23-17, 15-4 SBC) enters the final regular-season series after sweeping Georgia Southern, its fourth conference series sweep of the spring.
– The 15 Sun Belt wins are the most by the program since earning 15 in 2017, and just two league wins shy of the program mark of 17 accomplished in 2012, 2013 and 2016.
– The Jags outscored the Eagles 11-2 in the series and picked up a 4-1 victory in game one and then clinched the series win with a 3-1 win in game two. On Sunday, South completed the sweep (4-0) as the Jags hit three home runs and Olivia Lackie tossed a two-hit shutout. 
– For the series, Lackie was 2-0 with a 0.50 earned run average, and allowed just one run on seven hits, while issuing just two walks and striking out 17.– With the series sweep, the Jaguars have won 18 of their last 22.
– Mackenzie Brasher leads the team at the plate with a .350 batting average, which ranks just outside the top 10 in the league, and her 18 stolen bases are tied for fifth in the conference.
– Brasher's 41 hits and 10 multi-hit games this spring also top the club.
– The junior outfielder has been even better in league play as she is batting .404 in those 19 games.
– In the series versus the Eagles, Brasher had both her 21-game reached base safely streak and 11-game hit streak snapped in game two, but she with had a hit in 12 of her last 13 and 15 of her last 17 outings.
– Fellow slappers Carline Nichols (.333) and Meredith Keel (.309) have also sparked the lineup. 
– Nichols has recorded at least one hit in 13 of her last 16 and has scored at least one run in 12 games during the stretch, and a total of 15 runs.
– Like Brasher, Nichols (.356) has been solid at the plate during conference play. 
– One other player as of late playing well for the Jags is Kamdyn Kvistad, who has had a hit in 10 of her last 13 outings with 13 RBI over that same stretch.
– Victoria Ortiz (26) and Gabby Stagner (25) rank first and second on the Jaguar roster, and have combined to drive in 41 in SBC play.
– Stagner has now driven in 20 runs against Sun Belt foes this spring with five of her six home runs coming in league play.
– Ortiz has also seen her power numbers jump as she has recorded seven home runs in SBC action and all nine of her home runs this season have come since March 6. 
– The Mobile, Ala., native paces the club with 20 extra-base hits and has now driven in at least one run in nine of her last 14 outings, including a career-best five runs in game one of the Georgia Southern series.
– Ortiz's .653 slugging percentage and 10 doubles both rank 10th in the league, while her nine home runs are tied for sixth in the SBC.
– Ortiz also has a team-high seven multi-RBI outings, while Kvistad and Stagner are right behind her with six and five, respectively.
– Abby Allen leads the team and is tied for fourth in the league with 27 walks, 16 of which came during a 21-game reached base safely streak earlier this spring. 
– Brasher has scored a team-best 25 runs this spring for the Jags, while Allen has crossed the plate 21 times.
– Olivia Lackie (13-6) holds a 1.91 earned run average in her 128.1 innings of work. 
– The Walker, La., native has struck out 168 this season and is holding opponents to a .155 batting average, which leads the league. Her strikeout total is third-most in the SBC.
– She has gone the distance in 13 of her 16 starts and holds seven shut outs. 
– Lackie has won nine of her 12 decisions and holds a 1.59 ERA in league play, while also holding a nearly 6:1 strike-ball ratio against SBC foes, striking out 112 and walking 20.
– Jenna Hardy has been just as solid in the circle holding a 2.26 ERA in 102.0 innings of work in the circle, while she has struck out 81 and issued just 16 walks this spring.
– Hardy has been outstanding in conference play holding a 1.33 ERA and a 6-1 record.
– Lackie is also third in strike outs looking (55), while Hardy is tied for seventh (30).

THE SERIES VS. TROY    
– South Alabama and Troy have met 43 previous times in the all-time series. 
– The Jaguars hold a 27-16 record in the all-time series and all but three of the series meetings have come during Sun Belt Conference regular-season play.
– Last season, Troy took the first two meetings with a pair of shutouts, but South Alabama was able to pick up the season split with a win in the regular-season finale and the quarterfinals of the SBC tournament.
– The Jaguars trailed 6-0 in the tournament contest, but rallied back to pick up a 10-6 victory and eliminate the Trojans.
– South used a five-run fifth and a five-run seventh to complete the comeback.
– The six-run rally tied for the largest come-from-behind win in program history. 
– Seven of the last eight games in the series have been one-run decisions.
– Prior to Troy's win at the 2018 SBC tournament, South had won 11-straight in the series. The win started a five-game streak by the Trojans, which was ended in the regular-season finale last spring.
– During the 11-game series win streak by the Jaguars, South held a 68-11 scoring advantage with two run-rule victories. 
– Of the 43 series meetings, 15 have been shutouts with the Jaguars recording nine of those.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE TROJANS    
Series: 27-16 (H: 14-7 / A: 13-8 / N: 0-1)
Sun Belt Conference Games: 25-15 (H: 14-7 / A: 11-8 / N: 0-0)
Sun Belt Tournament Games: 2-1 (H: 0-0 / A: 2-0 / N: 0-1)
Extra-Inning Games: 2-2 (H: 2-1 / A: 0-1 / 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: 5/14/21
Longest South Alabama Streak: 11 ('15-'18) 
Longest Troy Streak: 6 ('18-'21)
Current Streak: 2 by South Alabama
Last 5 – 2-3

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 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 (12 games), South has posted a 18-4 record over its last 22 games.
– As a club, the Jags are hitting .274 and have scored 111 runs (5.1 per game), while the Jaguar pitching staff holds a 1.76 ERA and the defense has been nearly flawless with a .978 fielding percentage over that stretch.
– The offense has also drawn 82 walks, while the pitching staff has issued just 32 walks, struck out 165, hit only one batter and held opponents to a .188 batting average over the 22-game stretch.
– The slapper trio of Mackenzie Brasher (.415), Caroline Nichols (.388) and Meredith Keel (.351) have done a great job of setting the table at the top and bottom of the lineup as the group has gone a combined 73-for-189 (.386), 10 extra-base hits and scored a combined 45 runs.
– Victoria Ortiz (23) and Gabby Stagner (22) have been the main run producers over that stretch driving in 45 runs. 

JUST SWEEPING
– Since moving into Sun Belt play, the Jaguars have swept all but two of their conference series and won six of seven series.
– USA opened conference play by picking up all three games at UTA (3/12-3/13), winning games 9-3, 8-0 [5 inn.] and 10-0, respectively.
– South has won two other road series – *at App State (4/10) and 10-6, and at ULM (4/22-4/24), 4-1, 5-4 and 2-0; and two home series – Coastal Carolina (4/1-4/3), 4-0, 3-2, 3-0, and Georgia Southern (4/29-5/1), 8-1, 3-1, 4-0.
– The series at App State ended up being just a one-game series due to weather.
– Last season, South Alabama also swept four regular-season series.

CLOSE CALLS
– Of South Alabama's 40 games this spring 17 have been decided by two runs or less.
– The Jaguars hold a 8-9 record in one run games. Of those 17 games, 12 have been one-run decisions in which South is 6-6 in those contests.
– USA is 3-1 in Sun Belt games decided by one run, and 2-0 in conference games decided by two runs.
– Last spring, the Jags held a 17-8 record in games decided by two runs or less, and a 9-6 mark in one-run decisions.

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—