Jaguar Softball Travels to Auburn for the 2015 Auburn Regional this Weekend
The South Alabama Jaguar softball team learned their destination on Sunday at Heroes Sport Bar and Grill during their NCAA Selection Show gathering. | Photo credit: usajaguars.com
The 23rd ranked South Alabama Jaguars road to the championship this season goes through Auburn as announced on the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday.
On Sunday evening the Jaguars found out that they were selected to participate in the NCAA Auburn Regional this weekend, May 15-17 and that they will face the national #4 seed Tigers, Chattanooga and Tennessee Tech.
This will be the Jaguars fourth appearance in the NCAA Regionals in as many years after earning the SBC automatic bid with their third title in four years. Previously the Jaguars participated in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional in 2012 and 2014 and hosted the 2013 Mobile Regional, which was a first for the program.
USA (38-11) will open play on Friday against Chattanooga at 3pm.
Auburn (49-9) won the Southeastern Conference Tournament title on Saturday with a 6-5 extra innings defeat of 11th ranked Tennessee in the championship game.
Chattanooga (35-13) defeated USA 3-1 at the South Alabama Invitational on February 20, won its 13th Southern Conference Tournament title last weekend with a 3-1 win over Mercer.
Tennessee Tech (32-26) won it’s seventh Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title last weekend as well with a 3-2 win over top-seeded Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
The winner of the Auburn Regional will advance to the Super Regional and will face the winner of the Lafayette Regional which features the 13th seeded Cajuns (39-9), Baylor (38-14), Mississippi state (35-19) and Weber State (38-17).
All games this weekend will be broadcast on the SECNetowrk+ and WatchESPN.com. Links directly South Alabama games will be provided by the USA Softball Schedule page as they are made available. More information about the tournament including tickets can be found at the 2015 NCAA Auburn Regional Tournament Central website.
Jaguars Win 2015 Sun Belt Conference Championship
Photo credit: sunbeltsports.org
The Jaguars had to play an extra game on the way to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game, but in the end the Jags fought through and defeated the 10th ranked Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns for the trophy.
On Friday, the Jags faced Louisiana-Lafayette in the Championship Play-In game in San Marcos, Texas. Though the Jaguars got on the board first with two runs in the top of the first inning, the Ragin’ Cajuns answered back with six unanswered runs from five home runs, the most allowed by USA since March 24, 2007 as they lost to the 10th ranked Cajuns 6-3.
The Jags, then facing an elimination game against Georgia State for the right to face the Cajuns again for the winner-take-all Championship Game played spectacularly against the Panthers.
Emily Messer got on base with a single to start the game then scored on Chloe Rathburn’s single to left field to take an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
In the fourth inning they doubled their lead after Messer tripled to center field which scored sophomore center fielder Amanda Minahan after she led off the inning with a bunt single.
USA added a third run to their total after Stephanie Pilkington hit a one-out single to center field then was brought home by Kaitlyn Griffith’s double.
In the top of the sixth inning, Georgia State loaded the bases after Farish Beard hit the leadoff hitter, followed by a Jag fielding error and a hit into shallow right field for the Panthers first and only hit of the game.
Beard responded by striking out the next batter looking, but Lauren Coleman lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score the only run for the Panthers.
Beard would then retire the Panthers in order in the top of the seventh inning to seal the game as the improved her season record to 11-4 with a complete game victory after striking out four with four walks and allowing an unearned run on one hit.
The Championship Game was a battle of two heavyweights.
Jags Travel To Lafayette For Final Regular Season Road Trip
The 29th ranked South Alabama Jaguar baseball team will look to extend their seven game winning streak this weekend as they travel to Louisiana-Lafayette for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series.
This marks the final regular-season road series of the year.
The series will get started Friday evening at 6pm with right-hander Kevin Hill (8-0) will make his 10th start of the season. He leads the conference in strikeouts (78) and opposing batting average (.199), is tied for the conference lead in wins (8) and ranks second in ERA (2.06). He has thrown complete games in the last three starts against conference opponents with 38 strikeouts, nine walks and 12 hits during that 27-inning span.
Game two on Saturday will also start at 6pm and will be streamed live on ESPN3. Austin Bembnowski (2-3) will make his ninth start of the season.
Game three on Sunday will start at 1pm with lefty Jared Gates (4-2) scheduled to make his 12th start of the season.
Meanwhile, Lafayette will start a trio of freshmen on the mound with lefty Gunner Legel (5-3) in the series opener, righty Evan Guillory (3-0) in game two and righty Wyatt Marks (5-1) in the finale.
Griffith’s Three RBI Performance Leads USA Past ULM To SBC Championship Play-In Game
Griffith, a senior from Centre, AL, hit her 13th home run of the season to extend her single-season record while driving in three runs against ULM to help the Jaguars advance to the SBC Championship Play-In Game on Friday. | Photo: usajaguars.com
The 23rd ranked South Alabama Jaguars advances to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Play-In Game behind senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith’s three RBI performance against Louisiana-Monroe Thursday evening in a 6-2 win.
USA (36-10) opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning with a solo homer, her 13th on the season, to right center field.
In the bottom of the third inning the Jaguars would add three more runs to their total after freshman second baseman Kristian Foster led off the inning with a double to right center. Foster was replaced by pinch-runner Kaleigh Todd. Chloe Rathburn was reach base on a Warhawk fielding error ahead of senior left fielder Blair Johnson’s base hit to shallow left field which would score Todd to make it 2-0. Rathburn would score on a ULM wild pitch.
Sophomore center fielder Amanda Minahan singled up the middle to score Johnson and put the Jags up 4-0 for the final run of the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning Todd and junior catcher Stephanie Pilkington both drew walks to set up Griffith for a two-out, two-run double down the left field line which accounted for the final runs for the Jaguars.
The Warhawks would attempt a comeback in the top of the sixth when third baseman Vanessa Garcia hit a two-run homer, but that would be as close as they would get as freshman righty Kalen McGill would finish off the game by forcing the Warhawks into a game-ending double play.
Farish Beard picked up the win after striking out eight batters while allowing two earned runs on three hits in 6 1/3 innings pitched.
Griffith finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored. Johnson was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Rathburn had one hit and a run scored. Minahan also got a hit and an RBI. Todd scored a pair of runs.
Both Rathburn and Pilkington has reached base in a team-high 14 consecutive games now.
In the other side of the bracket, #1 seed Louisiana-Lafayette scored at least one run in all six innings of the run-rule contest against #5 seed Georgia State to take a 10-2 win and to also advance to the SBC Championship Play-In Game.
Today’s games will begin at 10AM with the losers bracket elimination game between #5 Georgia State and #6 UL-Monroe for Game 7 of the tournament.
In the second of three games today will be Game 8, the SBC Play-In game between the two top seeds on Louisiana-Lafayette and South Alabama. The game is slated to start at 1pm in San Marcos, Texas.
The winner of game 8 will advance to tomorrow’s Championship Game, while the loser will move to the losers bracket for an elimination game against the winner of Georgia State vs ULM for the right to fill the second slot in the SBC Championship Game.
Former Jaguar Brandon Bridge Signs Free-Agent Agreement With Dallas Cowboys
Brandon Bridge was on the Dallas Cowboys’ free-agent signings list as released on Wednesday to make his signing official. He will join the team’s weekend rookie camp which is scheduled for Friday through Sunday. | Photo: Brad Puckett usajaguars.com
Former University of South Alabama quarterback Brandon Bridge – a 6’5″ 235-pound native of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada – has officially signed a free-agent deal with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Though it was announced on difference social media accounts over the weekend and earlier this week, the Dallas Cowboys released their official free-agent signings list on Wednesday making it official.
Bridge, after going undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft last weekend, signed an agreement that will bring Bridge in for the Cowboys’ weekend rookie camp, which is slated to run Friday through Sunday.
In his lone season as a starter for USA, he completed 160-of-307 (52%) of his passing attempts for 1,927 yards while tying the single season record of 15 touchdowns. He also added 297 yards rushing and a team-high-tying four rushing touchdowns. He led the team with 2,224 yards of total offense and ranked ninth in the conference with 202.18 yards passing per game with a 115.76 pass efficiency rating.
After his performance against Georgia State where he rushed for 137 yards, a school record for a quarterback, and a touchdown on 15 attempts while also throwing for 126 yards and two touchdowns through the air, he was selected the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
Against Appalachian State, he threw for 339 yards, the second highest total in school history, with three touchdowns in the road victory. In his final appearance for the Jaguars in the schools first-ever bowl game he finished 20-of-37 for 279 yards and a touchdown while rushing for an additional 41 yards including a 15 yard touchdown in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl.
Though he was hampered by a nagging ankle injury for most of the season, he concluded his two-year career at USA among the top 10 in the school’s records in 10 statistical categories including third in total offensive yards (2,792), completions (189), yards passing (2,325), passing touchdowns (16) and pass efficiency rating (111.83).
Congratulations Brandon! Show the Cowboys what you can do!
Jag Softball Set To Face #6 Seed UL-Monroe This Evening
The first day of the Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship completed on Wednesday which also concludes the single-elimination portion of the tournament.
Now the Jaguars know who they will face today.
In Game 2 of the Tournament, #6 seed UL-Monroe defeated #7 defeated UT-Arlington 6-1 to advance to game 4. Then, in Game 4, ULM used their momentum from the first game to defeat #3 seed Texas State, and tournament host, 3-0.
In the first game today (Game 5) #1 seed UL-Lafayette will face #5 Georgia State who defeated #8 Georgia Southern 8-0 in game 1 and #4 Troy by a score of 9-3 in Game 3. First-pitch is scheduled for 2PM in San Marcos, Texas.
In game 6, the second game of the day, the #2 South Alabama Jaguars will face #6 seed UL-Monroe. First-pitch is scheduled for 5PM in San Marcos, Texas.
The losers of Games 5 and 6 will move to the losers bracket and will face each other on Friday in Game 7 at 11AM. Meanwhile the winners will continue to advance in the winners bracket to face each other in Game 8 on Friday at 2PM.
Finally on Friday, the winner of Game 7 and loser of Game 8 will face each other to determine who will advance to the Championship game to face the resulting team from the winners bracket (Game 9).
Billingsley Name SBC Baseball Player of the Week
The Redshirt Sophomore is batting .344 with seven doubles, four triples, two home runs, 26 RBI, 40 runs scored and 23 stolen bases in 47 games this season. | Photo credit: John Adams usajaguars.com
On Tuesday the Sun Belt Conference office announced that Cole Billingsley was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week. Billingsley, a redshirt sophomore from Cropwell, AL., hit .450 with three doubles, five RBI, seven runs scored and three stolen bases in four games last week while helping the Jags to a three-game sweep of Georgia Southern.
He recorded multiple hits in each game and drove in at least one run in three of the four contests including a multi-RBI performance in the final two games against GSU.
Billingsley is the first Jaguar to earn the conference Player of the Week honor since Adam Ballew on March 3 of this season.
For the season, he is batting .344 with seven doubles, four triples, two home runs, 26 RBI, 40 runs scored and 23 stolen bases in 47 games this season. He also had a .443 on-base percentage on the season.
Six Jags Earn Softball All-SBC Team Honors
South Alabama receives the Sun Belt Conference Academic Award for the second-consecutive season with a team GPA of 3.44. | Photo Credit: twitter.com @Blazinjag
As the 23rd ranked South Alabama Jaguar Softball team prepares to make their appearance in the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Tournament this week, they are looking to retake the conference tournament crown.
The 10th ranked Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns earned the regular season title and the top seed for the tournament after finishing the season with a 20-3 record in conference play. They also defeated the Jaguars last season in the conference finale in Lafayette, LA after the Jaguars two-year reign as tournament title winners in 2012 and ’13.
Ahead of today’s start to the tournament, the conference office announced the All-Sun Belt Conference teams at Bobcat Stadium as part of Family Night. Six Jaguars were named to All-SBC Teams and for the second year in a row the Jags earned the SBC Team Academic Award with a team GPA of 3.44 over the past year, which is higher than their 3.36 GPA from last season.
Freshman right-hander Kalen McGill and sophomore designated player Chloe Rathburn earned first-team honors, while senior pitcher Farish Beard, senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith, junior Stephanie Pilkington and sophomore Amanda Minahan, both outfielders, were chosen for Second-Team honors at their respective positions.
McGill finished the regular season with a 16-2 record and a team-leading 1.82 ERA. She also recorded four saves this season which tops the SBC and is currently ranked seventh in the nation in walks allowed per seven innings (0.97) and 17th in saves. She finished with an 8-1 league record and was named SBC Pitcher of the Week twice this season.
Rathburn lead the Jags at the plate with a .387 batting average, 53 hits and 48 RBI and is four RBI away from tying former Jaguar standout Brittany Fowler’s single-season record of 52 which she set in 2011, this is her second time to be named to the SBC First-Team.
Beard finished 6-1 this season in conference play with 53 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched in conference play. She allowed only nine earned runs with three shutouts while holding opposing batters to a .162 average in conference games. She is ranked 15th in the nation in hist allowed per seven innings (4.33). This is her third All-Conference honor of her career.
Griffith set a new single-season home run record when she hit her 12th last weekend against Troy. She also set a Jag record with six sacrifice flies and currently ranks sixth in the country in this category. This is her second All-Conference honor for Griffith.
Pilkington earns her second All-Conference honor as well after leading the Jags in on-base percentage for the entire season with a .485 average with a team-high 28 walks.
Minahan earned her first All-Conference honor after batting .354 on the season with a .555 slugging percentage which is third best on the team, and also with a .418 on-base percentage which is fourth-best on the team. She is tied for second on the team with five home runs. She batted .345 in conference play this season, which is also second best on the team.
The Jags will begin their tournament play on Thursday at 5pm when they face the winner of Game 4 which will be the winner of 6-seed ULM and 7-seed UT-Arlington vs 3-seed Texas State. Below is the full rundown of Sun Belt All-Conference teams.
Sun Belt All-Conference First Team
- P- Randi Rupp, Texas State
- P- Kalen McGill, South Alabama
- P- Jordan Wallace, Louisiana-Lafayette
- P- Jaycee Affeldt, Troy
- C- Lexie Elkins, Louisiana-Lafayette
- C- Ivie Drake, Georgia State
- 1B- Kelsey Vincent, Louisiana-Lafayette
- 1B- Kendall Wiley, Texas State
- 2B- Haley Hayden, UL Lafayette
- SS- Taylor Anderson, Georgia State
- 3B- Callie Alford, Georgia State
- OF- Shellie Landry, Louisiana-Lafayette
- OF- Ashley Christy, Georgia State
- OF- Rochelle Roberts, Louisiana-Monroe
- DP- Chloe Rathburn, South Alabama
Sun Belt All-Conference Second Team
- P- Farish Beard, South Alabama
- P- Alex Stewart, Louisiana-Lafayette
- C- Sarah Warnock, Appalachian State
- 1B- Alexis Cacioppo, Louisiana-Monroe
- 1B- Lauren Coleman, Georgia State
- 2B- Miyuki Navarette, Louisiana-Monroe
- SS- Ariel Ortiz, Texas State
- SS- Kaitlyn Griffith, South Alabama
- 3B- Courtney Harris, Texas State
- 3B- Samantha Walsh, Louisiana-Lafayette
- OF- Taylor Rogers, Georgia Southern
- OF- Amanda Minahan, South Alabama
- OF- Stephanie Pilkington, South Alabama
- OF- Becca Hartley, Troy
- DP- Leandra Maly, Louisiana-Lafayette
Player of the Year
- Lexie Elkins, Louisiana-Lafayette
Pitcher of the Year
- Jaycee Affeldt, Troy
Freshman of the Year
- Ivie Drake, Georgia State
Co-Coaches of the Year
- Beth Mullins, Troy
- Michael Lotief, Louisiana-Lafayette
Jags Softball Earn #2 Seed in 2015 SBC Tournament Bracket
The #22 ranked Jaguar Softball team will begin play in the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Thursday, May 7 at 5pm in San Marcos, Texas after drawing a #2 seed for the tournament which earns them a bye for the first two rounds of the tournament.
The tournament will use both a single elimination and double elimination format to determine the confernece’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The first day will be single-elimination then, beginning on day two, will begin the double-elimination format. All nine teams who sponsor softball will be eligible to compete for the tournament title.
Beginning with the games on Friday, May 8 they will be televised on ESPN3 (11am, 2pm), the loser bracket game on Friday at 5pm and the Championship on Saturday at 1pm will all be televised on ESPN3.
The seeding for the tournament:
- UL-Lafayette
- South Alabama
- Texas State
- Troy
- Georgia State
- UL-Monroe
- UT-Arlington
- Georgia Southern
The Jags will play either UL-Monroe, UT-Arlington or Texas State in Game 6 of the tournament on Thursday at 5pm.
Jaguar Baseball Enters Collegiate Baseball Poll
After sweeping the then league leader Georgia State and following that up with a sweep against the then #2 team in the league on the road in Georgia Southern and moving their way into the top spot in the conference, the Jaguar baseball team has finally entered the Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division I poll.
On Monday, when the poll was released, the Jaguars had finally appeared at #29.
USA (32-17, 17-7 SBC) carries a seven-game conference winning streak into the week and have won nine of their last 10 conference games. This is the first time they have been ranked nationally since the final rankings in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll of 2013 where they were in 30th place.
The Jags will travel to Louisiana-Lafayette (30-17, 14-9 SBC) for a three-game conference series against the third place team in the conference. In addition to leading the conference entering the week, they also lead the conference in batting average (.285), ERA (3.33) and fielding percentage (.975).