Jaguar Softball Review
*Catching up after a short vacation*
After advancing to the Regional Final in the Tuscaloosa Regional to face #5 Alabama, the #21 ranked Jags fell 3-0 to end their season.
Jaclyn Traina struck out 11 Jaguars to improve her record to 22-3 on the season while holding USA to only two hits for the game.
Farish Beard took the loss in the game after giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out one with one walk in four innings of work. Hannah Campbell threw four innings of relief and only allowed one hit.
Chloe Rathburn and Emily Messer were the only Jaguars to record hits in the game.
The Jags defeated SIU-Edwardsville and USC-Upstate to get into the final for the third trip to a regional final in as many seasons.
“I am extremely proud of my kids,” said Jaguar head coach Becky Clark. “I can honestly say that they left everything on the field, there was no holding back. Our kids went after it 100 percent, even in front of a stadium full of people. They had the audacity to believe that they could come out and win two games. That is what you are supposed to do, you are supposed to step out on the field knowing that you can get it done. If you don’t believe that you shouldn’t be on the field. Our kids did that and I am proud of them for making that decision.”
The Jaguars end the season with some new single-season records. They set records for: Lowest ERA (1.29), Fewest Walks Allowed Per Game (1.4), Most Strikeouts (416), Fewest Earned Runs Allowed (70) and Fewest Walks Allowed (76).
This was the programs third consecutive 40-win season in only thier eighth year of existence.
Senior Hannah Campbell finished her career as a Jaguar as the program’s All-Time leader with the fewest walks allowed per seven innings (1.24), Wins (83), Saves (16), Appearances (149), Complete Games (93), Games Finished (40), Innings Pitched (791.1) and Strikeouts Looking (180).
Fellow senior Julie Moss, who missed most of the season due to an injury, finishes her career among the All-Time Top-10 in Batting Average (.301), Slugging Percentage (.452), Hits (113), Triples (5), Home Runs (11), RBI (65), Total Bases (170), Sacrifice Flies (5) and Sacrifice Hits (19).
“I’m extremely proud of our seniors and what they’ve done for this program,” Clark said of the two Jaguar seniors. “It kills me that I won’t get to coach those kids again. It’s been an amazing experience to coach those kids, not only because of what they’ve done on the field, but because they’ve 100-percent done it the right way. They’ve done it with class, and they’ve represented our program in a first-class manner.”
Hannah and Julie, thank you for your hard work and determination both in the classroom and on the field. Once a Jaguar, always a Jaguar!