Jaguar Softball’s Devin Brown earns 2nd SBC Pitcher of the Week Honor
Freshman pitcher Devin Brown earned her second SBC Pitcher of the Week honor after going 2-0 with 26 strikeouts over the weekend at the 2015 Carolina Classic. | Photo: usajaguars.com
For the second time this season, freshman pitcher Devin Brown has been named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the week. This is also the third weekly honor for given to a South Alabama player in four voting periods.
In the 2015 Carolina Classic in Columbia, SC, Brown went 2-0 with 26 strikeouts in 18 innings of work. She helped the team to win over Tennessee State and South Carolina to improve to 7-2 on the year. She only allowed four earned runs on eight hits in four appearances over the weekend including back-to-back eight-strikeout performances in the final day against Marshall and the Gamecocks.
Brown currently has a 1.88 ERA with 123 strikeouts and 18 earned runs allowed in 67 innings of work. She also has two saves and two shutouts in 16 total appearances. Opposing batters have been held to a .145 average and she is tied for the conference lead in strikeouts and is in the top three in the Sun Belt in ERA, opposing batting average and wins.
The Jags will return to the diamond on Saturday to being their conference schedule when they host Louisiana-Lafayette for a three game series beginning at noon on Saturday.
Jaguar teams combine for 8-0 weekend on the diamond
South Alabama executed a pair of weekend sweeps on the diamonds with the Baseball team sweeping their home series against Brown University and the Softball team sweeping their four games in the 2015 Carolina Classic.
Baseball
The Jags swept the four game series against Brown University at Eddie Stanky field. The first of two games on Saturday saw the Jaguar trailing by as much as 10-2 but battled their way back over the final six innings with a three run ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the ninth, the Jags Matt Bolger delivered the game-winning hit to center field to score the winning run for the final score of 13-12.
In the first game, the Jags won 9-7 but after the 13-12 win on Saturday, the Jags went on a tear. They won the second of two games on Saturday 7-0 then on Sunday they finished the weekend sweep with a 21-1 walloping.
USA scored eight runs in the fifth inning as they scored the most runs in a game since the 2013 team scored a single-game record of 29 runs against New Orleans. Eight Jaguars recorded at least one hit with freshman Jason Cryar leading the team by going 5-for-6 with four RBI and two runs scored in his first collegiate start.
The Jags will host Southern Miss on Tuesday with a 6:30pm start.
Softball
The Jaguar softball team swept their four-game weekend trip to Columbia, SC. The first game saw Chloe Rathburn high a walk-off double which scored Kaleight Todd from second base in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the win over Charleston Southern. Kalen McGill (6-0) got the win.
On Saturday was a 6-3 win over Tennessee State. The Jags jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning and would go on to score three more runs to take a 6-0 lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, Charleston Southern attempted a comeback but only managed three runs before the Jaguars ended the threat and cruised the rest of the way for the 6-3 win. Devin Brown (6-2) earned teh win.
In the first of two games on Sunday, the Jags defeated Marshall University 5-3 but did it in walk-off fashion yet again.
Emily Messer singled up the middle to score Haleigh Lowe and tie the game. Then Kristian Foster delivered a two-run walk-off homer to end the game.
The Jags then turned around and faced the University of South Carolina in the finale. The Jags jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first after Chloe Rathburn doubled to left center field to score Emily Messer and move Stephanie Pilkington to third base. Blair Johnson grounded out to second base scoring Pilkington and advancing Rathburn to third. Kaitlyn Griffith finished the scoring in the inning with a single to right field to drive in Rathburn.
The Gamecocks scored one run in the bottom of the first. USA would add an insurance run in the top of the sixth when Emily Messer singled to shortstop to score Herron for the final score of 4-1.
The Jags will have the week off before returning to the field on Saturday for the first two games of a three-game weekend series to open up the conference schedule against Louisiana-lafayette.