Jag Softball’s Kalen McGill Earns Pitcher of the Week Honors
Freshman right handed pitcher Kalen McGill earned her first Pitcher of the Week honor on April 6. McGill has won her last five outings, and picked up two wins last week in relief. | Photo credit: usajaguars.com
South Alabama Softball freshman Kalen McGill earned Pitcher of the Week honors from the Sun Belt Conference Office on Monday. McGill helped the Jaguars claim a pair of wins in relief last week. She has won five straight outings.
She is the fourth Jaguar to earn a weekly honor from the conference office. Fellow freshman Devin Brown earned Pitcher of the Week on February 9 and March 2, senior Farish Beard earned the same honor on March 23, and senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith earned Player of the Week honor on February 23.
McGill (12-1) is tied for second place in the Sun Belt Conference with 12 win, is in fourth place in the conference in ERA (2.18), is tied for third fewest in walks allowed (14) and fifth in earned runs allowed (24). She is also 28th in the nation with fewest walks allowed per seven innings with 1.27.
“Kalen has been huge for us these past two series, so I am excited that she is being recognized for her efforts,” Jaguar head coach Becky Clark said. “She is such a competitor and wants the ball in tough situations. She has done a great job of attacking the zone, and our defense has done a great job of making the plays behind her.”
South Alabama will host Nicholls State on Wednesday evening with first pitch slated for 5pm at Jaguar Field. They will then host Georgia Southern for a weekend series with a double header on Saturday beginning at 1pm and the finale on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1pm as well.
Jags Softball Sweep Texas-Arlington; Baseball Win Series against Arkansas State
Softball
The #22 ranked South Alabama Jaguar softball team swept Texas-Arlington over the weekend in Texas. This was their third consecutive conference series sweep.
On Friday, the Jags opened the double-header with a 6-3 win behind Farish Beard’s season-high-tying 12 batters with three run allowed (two earned) on four hits in a complete game effort.
The Mavericks jumped out to an early lead by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning on a two-out, two-run double to right field. The runners reached base on a throwing error and a walk.
But the Jaguars would respond with six runs spread across the fourth and fifth innings. Kaitlyn Griffith led off the fourth inning with a solo homer to left field. Blair Johnson scored to tie the game 2-2 when freshman Haleigh Lowe singled. Amanda Herron homered to center field to put the Jags ahead 4-2.
In the fifth inning Griffith and Johnson hit back-to-bak solo homers to put the Jaguars lead at 6-2.
UTA catcher Kacey Everett led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a solo homer to right but Beard would retire the next three batters in order to put the game in the books.
Griffith finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored on two solo home runs. Johnson also finished 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, one of her hits being a home run. Lowe finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Amanda Minahan was 2-for-4 in the game as well.
In the second game of the double header the Jags hot bats continued by scoring three runs in the top half of the first inning. Chloe Rathburn started it with a two-run single then Johnson added a two-out RBI base hit later in the inning.
But the Mavericks took the lead in the bottom of the second inning when they put up 4 runs.
The Jags would score five unanswered runs to seal th win.
In the top of the third, Stephanie Pilkington reached on a fielder’s choice then stole second base. Rathburn hit a two-out single through the left side of the infield to score Pilkington and tie the game at 4-4.
In the top of the fifth inning, Griffith drew a leadoff walk then Johnson reached base on a hit. Herron then hit a two-run single to put the Jags ahead 6-4. Herron also led off the top of the seventh with a solo homer to right field. Kristian Foster hit a double and was pinch ran for by Kaleigh Todd, then Pilkington hit an RBI double to score Todd.
Freshman Devin Brown got the start but was replaced by Kalen McGill in the second inning after Brown gave up four unearned runs on one hit with four walks and two strikeouts.
In the finale on Saturday, the Jags cruised to a 9-1 win over the Mavericks after never trailing in the game and pounding out 18 hits, falling one hit short of tying a program record.
McGill earned her fifth consecutive voctory after pitching five innings of shutout relief to improve her record to 12-1 on the season. She struck out four and scattered four hits.
USA opened the scoring in the top of the second when Griffith hit a solo home run, her third homer of the weekend. Johnson drew a walk and scored when Alyssa Linn hit a two-out single down the left field line.
In the top of the third inning Pilkington hit a one-out solo homer to straightaway center field put the Jags ahead 3-0.
The Mavericks answered in the bottom of the third with their only run of the game. Beard allowed a leadoff walk and a single before being replaced by McGill. McGill would load the bases after hitting a batter then a single up the middle would score the only run.
In the top of the fifth, Herron would hit a two-out RBI double to score Griffith and put the Jaguars ahead 5-1.
McGill would load the bases in the bottom of the sixth but a fielder’s choice would get the Jags out of the situation without allowed a run.
In the top of the seventh, Johnson led off with an infield single and was followed by freshman Taylor Bahos with a pinch-hit. Herron loaded the bases with a hit through the left side. Minahan would single up the middle to score Johnson for a 6-1 lead.
Emily Messer would get a base hit to score Lowe, then Foster would drive in Minahan to make it 8-1. Finally Pilkington finished off the scoring with a base hit to left field to score Messer.
USA improved their record to 27-7 on the season. Texas-Arlington falls to 22-18 on the season.
USA will play host Nicolls State on Wednesday.
Baseball
The South Alabama baseball team took two of the three games agaisnt Arkansas State to win their third-consecutive Sun Belt Conference series.
The Jags scored 10 runs in the first three innings and cruised to a 13-10 to open the series. Every Jaguar starter recorded at least one hit. Matt Bolger led the team with a career high three hits by going 3-for-5 with a double, two RBi and a run scored. Gann added two hits, one being a double, with two RBI and two runs scored.
Kevin Hill earned his fourth win of the season, allowing seven earned runs on 11 hits while striking out six and issuing one walk.
Arkansas State evened the series with a 4-1 win over the Jags in the second game of the series. Austin Bembnowski (2-3) allowed two earned runs on four hits and two walks in the loss.
On Sunday, Jared Gates pitched the Jags to the 2-1 series win over the Red Wolves. He struck out a career-high nine batters after pitching 8 1/3 innings. He allowed only four hits and one unearned runs while walking eight.
Ben Taylor threw 2/3 of an inning of relief for his fourth save of the season.
The Jags opened with two runs in the top of the first inning after Cole Billingsley singled to center field then stole second base. Adam Ballew reached on a two-out walk then Danny Martinez hit a two-run double to right field to score the Jags only runs of the game.
The Red Wolves would load the bases three times against Gates, but each time he would pitch out of the situation.
The Jags improve their record to 22-11 overall and 9-6 in conference play. ASu falls to 13-17 overall and 4-10 in conference play.
The Jags will travel to Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday for a mid-week matchup.
Farish Beard Becomes Second Female Student-Athlete Drafted In Jaguar History
Farish Beard was selected in the sixth round of the 2015 National Pro Fastpitch Draft. She becomes only the second female student-athlete in school history to be selected in a professional draft. Former Jaguar Hannah Campbell was the first last season. | Photo usajaguars.com
For the second consecutive season the South Alabama Jaguar softball team has a player drafted in the National Pro Fastpitch Draft. Farish Beard was selected in the sixth round of the 2015 draft by the Dallas Charge on Wednesday.
Beard is only the second Jaguar softball student-athlete selected in the draft and only the second female in school history to be selected in a professional draft. Hannah Campbell was the first to accomplish that feat last season when she was selected third overall by the Akron Racers.
Beard, a Fairhope, Alabama native, has a 56-11 career record at South Alabama and is a two-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-South Region selected. She was a 2014 Top-25 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player-of-the-Year award. She currently holds program records in Lowest ERA (1.34), Lowest Opponent Batting Average (.144), and Most Strikeouts per Seven Innings (9.46).
The NPF College Draft features four rounds of five selections, one round of six and one round of seven picks for a total of 33 overall draftees in the 2015 rookie class. Drafting an athlete give an NPF affiliate team rights to that athlete for two full seasons.
However, due to NCAA regulations, an active college senior-athlete may not sign with her respective franchise until after their 2015 college season is over.
“This is truly an honor, and it goes to show that hard work does pay off,” Beard said after the announcement. “[South Alabama head] Coach [Becky] Clark has helped me grow in my time here, both mentally and physically, and this honor brings much-deserved publicity to the Jaguar softball program.”
“This is a great honor for both Farish and our program,” head coach Becky Clark stated. “When you look at her body of work, it’s obvious what she has meant to South Alabama softball and shows she is definitely deserving of being drafted. She is such a competitor and plays the game with so much heart. I am extremely proud of her and all of her hard work; she has definitely earned her success.”
The National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their sport, has operated since 1997 under the names of Women’s Pro Fastpitch and Women’s Pro Softball League. NPF is the official development partner of Major League Baseball in the category of Women’s fastpitch softball since 2002.
Congratulations Farish! Go Jags!
Jags Shut Out Jackson State 2-0
The Jaguar baseball team followed up their win over Mississippi State on Tuesday night with a 2-0 shutout victory over Jackson State Wednesday night at Eddie Stanky Field.
Right handers Ryne Long and Cody Van Aken combined for the shutout. Long (2-2) walked two and struck out five and allowed only three hits in seven innings pitched to earn his second win of the season. Van Aken threw two scoreless innings of relief with one strikeout to earn his third save of the season.
The win was USA’s fourth shutout of the season and the third time they have shut out an opponent with Long as the starter.
South Alabama (20-10) scored the game’s only runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ryan Raspino reached base on a one-out single, which extended his hitting streak to nine games. Bud Collura hit a two-out RBI single to right field to score Raspino. Then Cole Billingsley followed with an RBI single to center field to score Collura and double the Jags advantage to 2-0.
After that point, Long retired Jackson State in order over his final two innings on the mound.
Danny Martinez went 2-for-4 with a double. Collura and Billingsley both had a hit and an RBI each.
South Alabama will play this weekend when they travel to Jonesboro, Arkansas for a three-game series against Arkansas State.
Currently the Jags sit in fifth place in the Sun Belt standings with a 7-5 conference record. Georgia State is currently on top of the rankings with a 6-2 conference record and riding a three-game winning streak. USA is a game back in the loss column to UL-Lafayette and Arkansas-Little Rock (both 7-4) and a full game back from second place Texas State (8-4).
Jags Defeat Mississippi State in Walk-Off Fashion in Extra Innings
The University of South Alabama baseball team toppled their third SEC opponent Tuesday night on a walk-off double in the bottom of the 11th inning to win 8-7.
The Jaguars fell behind 5-0 after the top half of the first inning. But they answered with two runs in the bottom half of the first inning. Cole Billingsley reached on an infield bunt to first base. He stole second and would later score on a two-out RBI single by Danny Martinez. A fielding error on a ball hit up the box by Cole Gleason allowed Jared Barnes, who reached base on a two-out walk, to score from second base to cut the Bulldog lead to 5-2. Adam Ballew drew a walk to load the bases, but a strikeout ended the inning without any more damage by the Jags.
USA tied the game in the bottom of the second inning after Ryan Raspino leadoff with a single. Later in the inning Matt Bolger hit a two-run triple to right-center field to cut the deficit to just one run. Barnes would groundout to second base but would plate Bolger to tie the game at 5-each.
The Bulldogs would retake the lead on a two-out two-run homer in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fifth the Jags would tie the game again on a one-out, two run homer by Benn Gann, the first of his Jaguar career.
In the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs loaded the bases on three-consecutive one-out singles, but Jaguar righty Ben Taylor struck out the next batter then induced an inning-ending groundout to short.
The Bulldogs threatened again in the top of the 10th after a leadoff single by Brown and moving to second base on a sacrifice bunt. The Jags intentionally walked Gavin Collins to pitch to Humphreys, which grounded into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
In the bottom of the 11th, Cameron Cummings and Adam Ballew drew back-to-back one-out walks. Then Gann smashed an 0-1 pitch to left-center field to score Cummings for the game winner.
Cody Van Aken threw two scoreless innings in relief to earn his second win of the season. He struck out two and issued only one walk. The Jags record improves to 19-10 while the Bulldogs fall to 19-12.
Gann went 2-for-6 with a double, a home run and a career high three RBI and one run scored to lead the Jags at the plate. Bolger finished 2-for-6 with a double, a triple, two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. Barnes hit a double, an RBI and a run scored. Billingsley had a pair of hits with a run scored and a stolen base.
South Alabama will face Jackson State on Wednesday at Eddie Stanky Field with first pitch scheduled for 6:30pm.