NEW ORLEANS | After helping South Alabama capture a weekend sweep over in-state rival Troy contributing several clutch moments,
Kara Wine was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday as announced by the league office.
The honor marks the first of Wine's career and the second time a Jag has earned one of the league's weekly awards as
Ryley Harrison was named the pitcher of the week following opening weekend. It is also the 26th time in which the program has had a position earn the award, and the 67th time that a Jaguar has earned either a player or pitcher of the weekly honor.
In her four outings this past week, Wine led the club with a .500 batting average and reached base safely in seven of her 12 plate appearances as she also had a pair of walks. The freshman catcher drove in five runs, homered twice and posted three extra-base hits. She had a hit and drove in a run in all four games for the Jags.
On Wednesday, Wine was a perfect 2-for-2 with a home run, a double and a walk at ninth-ranked Florida State. Her sixth-inning home run to straightaway center, cut the deficit in half.
In the series versus Troy, everyone of Wine's hits in the series seemed to come at exactly the right time. On Friday in game one of the series, Wine broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fifth as she delivered a two-out RBI-single back up the middle off a diving effort by the Trojan second baseman, allowing
Gracie Dees to score.
In South's 7-0 victory over the Trojans on Saturday, Wine got things started early as she lined a single back up the middle with the bases loaded to score Dees and
Virginia Mambelli and give South a 2-0, first-inning lead. Behind the plate, Wine also helped the Jaguar pitching staff pick up its SBC-best eighth shutout of the season.
On Sunday, Wine delivered both at the plate and in the field defensively as the Jaguars closed out the series with a 5-4 victory. Wine reached base safely twice with a walk and a home run. Wine's sixth-inning home run off the scoreboard in left center provided some insurance for the Jags and proved to be the game-winning run. Two innings earlier with South holding a two-run lead, Wine came up big defensively. Presley Ivey attempted to score from second on Makaley Boswell's single back up the middle, but Jag centerfielder
Presley Lively made an outstanding throw and Wine applied the tag to get the Trojan runner at the plate, marking the second-straight inning the Jags threw out a runner to end an inning.
South Alabama (19-11, 3-0 SBC) will host Auburn later tonight with first pitch set for 5 p.m. at Jaguar Field, before heading out on the road this weekend for a three-games series with ULM in Monroe, La.
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