MOBILE, Ala. | South Alabama will make its sixth NCAA Regional appearance this weekend when the Jaguars – seeded second – open up play at the Gainesville Regional with third-seeded Florida Atlantic Friday at 1:30 p.m. (CT) at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The double-elimination tournament is also scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

South Alabama (32-18-1, 16-8 SBC) comes into the Gainesville Regional versus Florida Atlantic (41-14, 20-6 AAC) after advancing to the semifinal round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship. The Jaguars defeated ULM, 4-3 in 12 innings in the quarterfinals, before falling in extra innings, 4-3 to eventual tournament champion and host Texas State.

Mackenzie Brasher leads the club at the plate with a .311 batting average, while also leading the team in hits (56), runs scored (34), stolen bases (26) and multi-hit games (14). Brasher's 26 steals lead the Sun Belt Conference and are tied for 25th-most nationally. For her play this spring, Brasher was named to the Sun Belt Conference first team, marking the fourth league postseason honor of her career as she has now been selected to the first-team unit twice and the second-team unit on two occasions.

Gabby Stagner (.301) ranks third on the roster in batting average and her .718 slugging percentage is fifth-best in the Sun Belt. Stagner is tied for second in the league in home runs (15), tied for fifth in doubles (14) and tied for third in triples with three, while she is ninth in RBI (44). Of the junior's 47 hits on the year with 32 of those going for extra bases, and the Mobile, Ala., native, has scored 31 runs. Stagner now holds the single-season home run record at South. Stagner also has 12 multi-RBI efforts to lead the club, while she has nine multi-hit outings.

Olivia Branstetter is second on the team with a .310 batting average to go along with her 12 doubles and 19 RBI. Both Branstetter (.340) and Bailey Welch (.321) were outstanding in league play, ranking first and second on the team in hitting. Welch is also tied for third in sacrifice bunts with 10, which are also tied for sixth-most in a season at South. 

Olivia Lackie (23-8, 2 SV) holds a 1.42 earned run average, has struck out 217 batters and held opponents to a .175 batting average. Lackie has been named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week on three occasions this spring 14 in her Jaguar career, tied for second-most by a league pitcher. Lackie also earned first-team all-conference accolades for the fourth-straight season, becoming the first South Alabama player to ever do so. The senior is either tied for or holds sole possession of first in the Sun Belt in earned run average, opposing batting average, and is second in strikeouts and innings pitched. Lackie is ranked second nationally in innings pitched, tied for ninth in shutouts with eight, 10th in strikeouts, and her 23 wins are tied for 12th most in the country. 

As a staff, South Alabama holds 12 shutouts this spring, third-most in the Sun Belt and tied for 30th most in the NCAA, while the group is second in the league in ERA (2.57), strikeouts (280) and strikeouts looking (83)

GAINESVILLE REGIONAL
Site: Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium (Gainesville, Fla.)

GAINESVILLE REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Game 1 | May 17, 2024 | 11 a.m. (CT) – SECNetwork 
Game 2 | May 17, 2024 | 1:30 p.m. (CT) – ESPN+
Game 3 | May 18, 2024 | 12 p.m. (CT)
Game 4 | May 18, 2024 | 2:30 p.m. (CT)
Game 5 | May 18, 2024 | 5 p.m. (CT)
Game 6 | May 19, 2024 | TBD
Game 7 | May 19, 2024 | TBD (If Necessary)

(No. 14 seed | National – 1 Seed | Regional) Florida GATORS
NFCA: 7 | USA: 5 | SA: 9 | DI: 8 | RPI: 7
Record: 46-12, 17-7 SEC

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .342 / .604 / .452
Team ERA: 2.85

THE SERIES
vs. Florida: UF leads 3-0
In Mobile: --
In Gainesville: UF leads 3-0
At Neutral Site: --
Current Streak: UF 3

(2 Seed | Regional) South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SA: -- | DI: -- | RPI: 33
Record: 32-18-1, 16-8 SBC

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .249 / .377 / .322
Team ERA: 2.57

(3 Seed | Regional) Florida Atlantic OWLS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SA: -- | DI: -- | RPI: 41
Record: 41-14, 21-6 AAC

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .300 / .441 / .409
Team ERA: 2.90

SERIES INFORMATION
vs. Florida Atlantic: FAU leads 15-10
In Mobile: FAU leads 6-5
In Boca Raton: FAU leads 6-4
At Neutral Site: FAU leads 3-1
Current Streak: USA 5

(4 Seed | Regional) Florida Gulf Coast EAGLES
NFCA: -- | USA: RV | SA: -- | DI: -- | RPI: 61
Record: 37-19, 16-8 ASUN

Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .261 / .332 / .326
Team ERA: 2.14

SERIES INFORMATION
vs. Florida Gulf Coast: Never Met
In Mobile: --
In Fort Myers: --
At Neutral Site: --
Current Streak: --

NOTES
•    First NCAA Regional for South since 2021 - sixth overall - and the first time as a two seed since 2015 (Auburn Regional)
•    South Alabama has faced 10 opponents in the field of 64, and have posted a 7-9-1 mark in those 17 contests
•    The Jags played at the 2021 Gainesville Regional, defeating Baylor (2-0), and falling to Florida (10-0) and South Florida (1-0)
•    South Alabama holds five Top 25 wins and is 4-2 this season against the SEC, with all four wins coming on the road
•    The meeting versus Florida Atlantic will mark the first between the two programs since the 2020 season
•    Should the Jags meet Florida, it will mark the fourth in the series, and should they face Florida Gulf Coast, it will mark the first between the two programs
•    Stagner comes into the Gainesville Regional with at least one hit in 16 of her last 19, and at least one RBI in 12 of those outings, driving in 20 during that stretch
•    Stagner has also had an extra-base hit in 13 of her last 18 games: five doubles, eight home runs
•    With her next start, Brasher will pass Blair Johnson's (2012-15) program mark of 221 career starts
•    Welch has reached base in 12 of her last 13 and 23 of her last 29, and had a hit in seven of her last 11
•    Welch has also drawn a walk in 10 of her last 13 games, 13 total over that stretch
•    Welch has either scored a run or driven in a run in nine of her last 11
•    Lackie (889) is 43 strikeouts from tying Devin Brown's (2015-18) program mark of 932
•    Lackie is 16 strikeouts shy of tying Louisiana's Jordan Wallace (905, 2012-15) for fifth-most strikeouts by a Sun Belt Conference pitcher
•    Lackie (40) is two shutouts from tying the Sun Belt Conference mark in the category: (42) Randi Rupp, Texas State (2015-18)

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