LAFAYETTE, La. | Third-seeded South Alabama will open up postseason play on Thursday morning when it faces sixth-seeded James Madison in the quarterfinal round of the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Championship held at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park. First pitch versus the Dukes is set for 10 a.m.

South Alabama (38-13, 20-4 SBC) enters the tournament riding a 13-game win streak and as winners of 24 of its last 28. James Madison (28-18, 13-11 SBC) enters having won four of its last six outings to close out the regular season.

The winner of the contest will advance to the semifinal game scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
Site: Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park (Lafayette, La.)
Game Notes

THE SERIES
All-time series: James Madison leads 1-0
In Mobile: --
In Harrisonburg: --
At Neutral Site: James Madison leads 1-0
Current Streak: James Madison 1

Quarterfinal Game
Date: 5/11
Time: 10 am
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NOTES
•    The meeting will be the second between the two programs and their first since the ?? season
•    South Alabama holds a 25-20 all-time record in SBC postseason play, and has won the tournament three times (2012, 2013, 2015) and advanced to the championship game on five occasions, last doing so at the 2021 event
•    Head coach Becky Clark was also named the SBC Coach of the Year for the second-straight season after leading the program to a program-record 20 conference wins
•    The 13-game win streak is tied with the 2014 club for the third-longest in program history
•    Junior Olivia Lackie earned both SBC Pitcher of the Year and first-team all-league honors, while Meredith Keel and Victoria Ortiz were also named first team, and Jenna Hardy and Mackenzie Brasher were selected to the second team
•    Lackie (31) is one shutout shy of surpassing former Jag Devin Brown (2015-18) to become the all-time leader in the category
•    Lackie (12) is also one shutout setting the single-season shut out mark 
•    Lackie is seven strikeouts from joining Hanna Campbell (666, 2011-14) for third in career strikeouts
•    Keel is riding both a nine-game hit streak and 12-game reached base safely streak, both of which are career bests
•    Keel (.348) leads the team in hits (54), while she has scored 42 runs – tied for seventh most in the SBC – recorded 10 doubles, three home runs and 29 RBI
•    Ortiz (.361) has 52 hits and 12 doubles, while leading the team in home runs (9), RBI (49) and 93 total bases
•    Ortiz also leads the club in both multi-hit (15) and multi-RBI games (16), while Keel has 13 multi-hit games as well this spring
•    Ortiz's 28-game reached base streak is the second longest overall and the longest in a season
•    Ortiz (127) is one RBI away from tying Kamdyn Kvistad (128, 2018-22) for second on the career RBI chart, and nine RBI away from matching Brittany Fowler's (136, 2010-13) career mark
•    Brasher (.306) has made 108 consecutive starts, which ranks 15th all-time at South Alabama, and is just one start shy of moving into 14th place
•    Brasher (57) is three stolen bases from moving into a tie with Britany Campbell (60, 2010-13) for third for career stolen bases
•    The center fielder is also two runs scored shy of matching Amanda Minahan (109, 2014-17) for eighth
•    Gabby Stagner leads the club and the Sun Belt in doubles with 16, and along with Sasha Willems, Ortiz and Keel, the group has been responsible for 46 of the team's 61 doubles this spring
•    As a staff, USA has a 1.65 ERA and is holding opponents to a .199 batting average, ranking first and second, respectively in the SBC in those categories, while the Jags are third in the conference in strikeouts (346)
•    The Jaguars' 101 strikeouts looking are tied with Louisiana for the league lead
•    South is tied with Oklahoma State for seventh in the NCAA in shutouts (19), ninth in ERA, 13th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.64) and 20th in strikeouts 
•    Lackie ranks second in the NCAA in 12 shutouts this spring and is just one shy of the leader, while ranking among the national leaders in wins (t16th), strikeouts (17th) and ERA (34th)

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