MOBILE, Ala. | With two weeks left in the regular season, South Alabama will travel to in-state rival Troy for its final SBC road series of the spring. First pitch of game one is set for Friday at 6 p.m. at the Troy Softball Complex with game two set for Saturday at 4 p.m. and the series finale scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.

South Alabama (27-15-1, 12-6 SBC) comes into the series at Troy (31-17, 11-7 SBC) sitting in third place in the SBC standings, a game behind Texas State and a game in front of both James Madison and the Trojans. Last week, the Jaguars picked up four road wins, defeating then-17th ranked Mississippi State (2-0) and sweeping Georgia State over the weekend.

Olivia Lackie (19-6, 2 SV) holds a 1.33 earned run average, has struck out 178 batters and held opponents to a .170 batting average. Lackie earned SBC Pitcher of the Week honors on Tuesday for the second time in the three weeks after recording a pair of wins and a save, while not allowing a run.
 
The senior currently leads the Sun Belt in opponent batting average (.170), and ranks second in the league in strikeouts, just two behind Texas State's Jessica Mullins, while also ranking second in ERA, strikeouts looking (53) and innings pitched (174.1). Lackie is ranked second nationally in innings pitched, tied for sixth in shutouts with seven, ninth in strikeouts, and her 19 wins are tied for 10th most in the country. As a staff, South Alabama holds 11 shutouts this spring, third-most in the Sun Belt and tied for 23nd most in the NCAA

Mackenzie Brasher leads the club at the plate with a .322 batting average, while also leading the team in hits (48), runs scored (30) and stolen bases (24). Brasher's 24 steals lead the Sun Belt Conference and are tied for 18th-most nationally. 

Gabby Stagner (.315) ranks second on the roster in batting average and her .724 slugging percentage is second-best in the Sun Belt. Stagner is tied for third in the league in home runs (11), tied for fourth in doubles (13) and tied for third in triples with three, while she sits just outside the Top 10 in RBI (36). Of the junior's 40 hits on the year with 27 of those going for extra bases. The 11 home runs for Stagner are two shy of tying a single-season record, and the Mobile, Ala., native, has scored 25 runs. 

Stagner also has nine multi-RBI efforts to lead the club. Brasher leads the team with 13 multi-hit games, while Stagner is close behind her with eight.

Olivia Branstetter (.280) is batting a team best .324 in Sun Belt games. Sasha Willems (.259) has had a hit in 12 of her last 15, recording 13 hits and five walks over that stretch.

SERIES INFORMATION
Site: Troy Softball Complex (Troy, Ala.)

SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: April 26, 2024 | 6 p.m.
Game 2: April 27, 2024 | 4 p.m.
Game 3: April 28, 2024 | 1 p.m.

South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SA: -- | DI: -- | RPI: 32
Record: 31-17, 11-7 SBC

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .250 / .376 / .318
Team ERA: 2.67

Troy TROJANS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SA: -- | DI: -- | RPI: 57
Record: 31-17, 11-7 SBC

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .301 / .481 / .391
Team ERA: 3.91

THE SERIES
vs. Troy: USA leads 31-18
In Mobile: USA leads 17-7
In Troy: USA leads 14-10
At Neutral Site: Troy leads 0-1
Current Streak: USA 4

NOTES
•    Brasher (219) is three games played shy of tying Blair Johnson's (2012-15) program mark of 222
•    The center fielder (138) is three runs scored shy of tying Emily Messer (141, 2013-16) for third in the category
•    Brasher (55) is two multi-hit game away from moving into a tie with Brittany Fowler (57, 2010-14) for second place at South
•    Stagner (23) is one home run shy of moving into a tie fourth in the career category at South with Haley Hopkins (24, 2009-12)
•    Stagner is one home run shy of moving into second place in single-season home runs (Victoria Ortiz, 12, 2022) and two shy of matching Kaitlyn Griffith's single-season home run mark set during the 2015 season
•    Stagner (97) is one RBI shy of moving into the Top 10 of the career category with Stephanie Pilkington (98, 2013-16)
•    Lackie (39) the all-time leader in the category is one shutout from 40 for her career
•    Brasher has scored a run in four-straight games and stolen a base in three of her last four, and had a hit in 14 of her last 18
•    Stephanie Gonzalez has driven in at least one run in six of her last 11
•    Stagner comes into the Troy series with at least one hit in six straight, nine of her last 10, and at least one RBI in seven of those outings, driving in 11 during that stretch

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