Jags Defeat Troy 5-1 In First Round Of SBC Softball Championship
Kaitlyn Griffith went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run and 3 RBI in the Jags first round game against Troy | usajaguars.com
The #2 seed South Alabama Jaguar softball team defeated #7 seeded Troy 5-1 in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament on Wednesday night at Troy Softball Complex.
Jags sophomore second baseman Kaitlyn Griffith led the Jags by going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run and three RBI in the win. This was the Jags first game in almost two weeks and put up five runs on seven hits in the first three innings. The Jags improve their overall record to 42-7, the most wins in program history, on the season and 2-0 over Troy this season, they shut them out at Jaguar Field in April as Farish Beard threw her first career no-hitter.
Starter Hannah Campbell struck out five and allowed only one earned run as she got her 19th win of the season and continued to hold the nation’s best ERA at 0.94.
In the bottom of the first inning Julie Moss (All-Conference first team selection) and Haley Fagan (SBC Player of the Year) got back-to-back two-out singles before Griffith (All-Conference first-team at-large selection) nailed her ninth home run of the season to put the Jags up 3-0.
Two innings later, in the bottom of the third inning, Fowler led off with a double to left-center then scored on Blair Johnson’s single when Troy’s right fielder mishandled the ball. Johnson would later score on a Trojan passed ball to put the Jags up 5-0.
Troy would score in the top of the fourth inning after a walk and back-to-back singles. But Hannah Campbell would settle down and would retire nine of the final 11 batters to close out the game.
The #2 seeded Jags will face #3 seeded Louisiana-Lafayette, a rematch of last year’s championship game where the Jags earned their first-ever Conference Championship. ULL defeated FIU in extra innings on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 5:30pm.
The University sports website will have a radio broadcast of the game free of charge and will have live video and state through the multimedia section. Follow this link for access.
Jags Shutout SLU 9-0 Tuesday Evening
The South Alabama baseball team shutout Southeastern Louisiana 9-0 on Tuesday evening.
Jaguar’s Jame Traylor allowed just four hits in six innings of work with four strikeouts and only two walks to earn his fifth win of the season. He combined with Hunter Soleymani, Dylan Stamey and Kyle Bartch for the shutout. They combined to allow only one hit with five combined strikeouts.
The Jags took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. They then loaded the bases in the bottom of the second inning and Jeff Deblieux drew a walk to increase the lead to 3-0. A sacrifice fly would add another run to make it 4-0.
In the bottom of the third inning, Robby Campbell would drive in Nolan Earley on a double to left-center field to increase the Jaguar lead to 5-0.
SLU would load the bases in the top of the fifth inning, but Traylor would induce a 4-3 inning ending ground out to escape the jam.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, a two-out, two-run single by Cole Billingsley would increase the Jaguar lead to 7-0. They would get another run on a two-out double in the bottom of the seventh by Jordan Patterson.
The final run would come on a bases-loaded, pinch hit RBI single to center field in the bottom of the eighth inning by Cole Jarman.
The Jags will travel to Louisiana-Lafayette this weekend for their next-to-last series of the regular season. First pitch is set for 6pm on Friday evening. The game can be heard on 105.5 WSNP in the Mobile area and streamed online at WNSP.com.
Brittany Fowler Named SBC Player Of The Year; Eight Lady Jags Named To All-Conference Team
Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson presents Brittany Fowler with her plaque honoring her as Sun Belt Player Of The Year Tuesday at Troy. Fowler, a senior, is the first Jaguar to be named Player of the Year. | usajaguars.com
The University of South Alabama’s Brittany Fowler, a senior on the softball team, was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, another first in Jaguar history. In addition eight total Jaguars were named to the All-Conference team on Tuesday.
The announcement came at Troy’s Family Night on Tuesday before the Sun Belt tournament begins on Wednesday. The selections were made by a vote of the conference’s nine head coaches.
Fowler led the league with a .518 batting average and a .645 on-base percentage against conference foes. The Jacksonville, Florida native batted a .406 average, slugged for .648 with 48 runs scored, eight home runs and 31 RBI.
She was also a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases and won SBC player of the week honors on March 18.
Additionally Haley Fagan was named SBC Freshman of the Year after leading the conference in slugging percentage with .883, home runs with 7, RBI with 30 and total bases with 53. The Dunnellon, Florida native third baseman hit for .433 against conference foes and also picked up a SBC weekly honor on April 22.
Fowler and Fagan were two of the eight Jaguars selected to the All-Conference team. Hannah Campbell, Blair Johnson, Julie Moss and at-large selection Kaitlyn Griffith joined the pair on the first team.
Farish Beard and Britany Campbell earned second team All-Conference honors.
Emily Rousseau of Western Kentucky was named Pitcher of the Year and Tyra Perry, also of WKU, was named Coach of the Year.
Congratulations Brittany and congratulations to all of the Lady Jaguars honored on Tuesday. But also congratulations to the Coach Clark, the staff and the rest of the team for an amazing season so far, but it’s only just beginning. Go get’em at the conference tournament and the NCAA Regionals. We will be supporting you all the way!
GO JAGS!
USA Men’s Golf Earn First-Ever At-Large Bid To NCAA Regional
The South Alabama Men’s Golf team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Regional. The Jags have participated in the NCAA Regional on six occasions prior to the the 2012-’13 season. However the at-large bid is the first in the programs history.
They will particpate in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional as a #8 seed in a field of 13 teams and 10 individuals. The top five schools and the highest finishing individual not on those teams will advance to the NCAA Championships which will be held in ALpharetta, Georgia at the Capital City Club Crabapple Course from May 28 through June 2.
Teams also participating in the Baton Rouge Regional include in order of seeding: Alabama, Florida, LSU (the host), Mississippi State, Houston, Northwestern, Tennessee, South Alabama, Coastal Carolina, UAB, Wichita State, Southeastern Louisiana and Houston Baptist.
The regional will be held on May 16 with 18 holes scheduled for three consecutive days.
Jags Baseball Moves Up In Polls
The University of South Alabama baseball team moved up two spots in the Collegiate Baseball poll to #23 while also entering the Perfect Game’s Top 25 poll at #23 as well.
The Jags will host Southeastern Louisiana this evening at Eddie Stanky Field for a 6:30pm first pitch in a make-up game that was rescheduled due to weather.
This weekend the Jags travel to Louisiana-Lafeyette for a three game SBC series.
NBC Sports Writer Covers Graves’ First Recruit
Head basketball coach Matt Graves. | Photo by butler.edu.
After Jaguar Basketball head coach Matt Graves signed his first recruit at South Alabama, NBC Sports College Basketball Talk’s Kevin Doyle wrote about the first recruit of the Graves era.
Austin Karazsia played two sports in high school and stood out in both. Along with his basketball play, as quarterback for his football team he passed for 3,328 yards and 42 touchdowns at Linton-Stockton High School.
He asked if Graves could be transforming USA into Butler south, but admitted it was too soon to make such a bold statement. You can read the entire article by clicking here.
South Alabama Sports Weekend Update
Baseball
The 20th ranked South Alabama Jaguar baseball team took two out of three from Middle Tennessee State over the weekend to win another Sun Belt series.
The series began on Friday afternoon at 2pm but was suspended due to rain and had to be concluded on Saturday evening. When it was suspended, the Jags were behind 11-9 in the top of the 14th inning. The Jags would end up winning the game 12-11.
On Saturday, the Jags needed an extra inning to decide the second game in the series as well. Nolan Earley gave the Jags the win on a two-out walk-off double in the bottom of the 10th inning for the 3-2 win.
Cole Billingsley reached on a bunt down the first base line then advanced to to third base on a single to right center by Whitt Dorsey. Earley then placed the 1-0 pitch into right center gap to drive Billingsley in for the win.
Matt Bell allowed two unearned runs on four hits while striking out five and no walks in the no-decision.
The Jags fell in the final game of the series on Sunday 6-5 to the Blue Raiders.
Jacob Noble took the loss after six innings of work where he allowed three unearned runs on seven hits and six strikeouts and one walk.
In the top of the seventh inning the Jags were behind 5-0 after a two-run homer to right field. The Jags finally responded in the bottom of the seventh when Nick Zaharion doubled to left center field then scored when Nolan Earley got his 200th hit and his 50th career double. Earley would then score on Dustin Dalken’s groundout to cut the lead to 5-2.
In the top of the eighth inning MTSU would add another run to make it 6-2.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Jags would load the bases with two outs when Whitt Dorsey was walked, then Jordan Patterson was hit by a pitch and another walk to Zaharion. But an inning ending popup would end the Jaguar threat with a score of 6-2.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Jags would rally for three runs but a game ending 5-3 double play off the bat of Zaharion would allow the Blue Raiders escape the sweep.
The Jags will play Southeastern Louisiana at Eddie Stanky Field to make up a game that was cancelled last month due to weather.
Softball
The Lady Jaguar softball team had their regular season ending doubleheader canceled due to field conditions at Troy.
USA Baseball Hosts MTSU This Weekend
The 20th ranked South Alabama Jaguar baseball team will host Middle Tennessee this weekend at Eddie Stanky Field for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series.
The series will begin this afternoon with first pitch set for 2pm, head of the 50th Anniversary Celebration that will begin at 6:30pm at The Mitchell Center.
The Jags (34-12 overall, 15-6 SBC) enters the weekend on top of the Sun Belt standings and a seven game winning streak and a RPI of 15.
MTSU (25-22 overall, 8-13 SBC) enters the game after knocking off the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on Tuesday after dropping two of three to Arkansas State last weekend. This will wrap up a seven game road trip for the Blue Raiders where they have a road record of 6-13.
Jarron Cito will make his 12th start of the season on Friday to open the series. He has a 4-2 record with an ERA of 5.10 this season. Johnathan Frebis will take the mound for the Blue Raiders where he has a 5-5 record with an ERA of 5.06.
The Jags hold a 37-21 all-time record against MTSU that dates back to the early ’70’s.
USA Honors Turning 50 With Celebration This Evening
It was 50 years ago today that the University of South Alabama was founded. This evening the University will mark the momentous occasion.
As well as celebrating the school, they will also pay tribute to President Gordon Moulton, whose career spans most of that period. He has overseen the phenomenal growth of the university during his 15 years as president.
The celebration will begin at 6:30pm at The Mitchell Center and will feature food and music. They will also have memories of the University’s early ears, recognition of faculty and their teaching, research, scholarly activity and creative works. They will also have a video presentation of USA’s first half-century.
Each person who attends will be given a copy of a new book that features nearly 200 pages of historic and modern photographs as well as first-hand accounts of the University’s beginnings and it’s growth.
Also in attendance will be Alabama Governor Robert Bentley with several other local, state and federal leaders who will speak.
The event is free and open to the public. The dress is business casual.
When USA was established there was no other public, four-year degree granting institution in the region. Civic and business leaders recognized the importance of a university to the region’s success and pushed for it’s creation.
The single-building campus in west Mobile quickly expanded, established a medical school and is recognized today as a vibrant, competitive teaching and research institution.
Over it’s 50 years it has awarded 75,000 degrees; 15,000 currently enrolled students; 250,000 patients treated annually; 5,500 employees; $400 million in annual payroll, one of the area’s largest; $2 billion in economic impact each year.
Gordon Moulton arrived at the University when it was only three years old as he joined the business faculty in 1966. He has served as director of the USA computer center, founding dean of the School of Computer and Information Sciences (now named the School of Computing) and vice president for services and planning.
Then, most notably, he was selected as the University’s second president in 1998.
He led the development of the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute, the largest research endeavor in the school’s history. The USA Health System which consists of the USA College of Medicine, physician practice, USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital, the USA Medical Center.
He also led the creation of the USA Research and Technology Park which is now home to 16 technology based firms and 600 private sector employees.
He has also led the construction of multiple new facilities on campus including Shelby Hall, Meisler Hall, a new Student Center, and the Football Fieldhouse when the University began a NCAA football program and marching band program.
USA-SLU Game Rescheduled
The University of South Alabama baseball team has rescheduled their game against Southeastern Louisiana which was rained out on April 3 due to heavy rain and thunderstorms.
The game has been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 7 with first pitch set for 6:30pm at Eddie Stanky Field.