USA Softball Ranked 20th In Preseason Poll
The 2013 South Alabama Softball Team earned their second consecutive SBC Tournament title after defeated WKU 2-0 on Saturday, May 11, 2013 | sunbeltsports.org
The University of South Alabama Softball team set a new first in program history on Tuesday. After repeating and Conference champs last season and hosting their very first NCAA Tournament regional, the Jaguars are ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Division I preseason Top 25 poll.
USA earned a spot at #20 in the preseason poll and are one of two Sun Belt schools in the top 25 as Louisiana-Lafayette was voted #13. Western Kentucky received voted but were not ranked in the top 25.
Last season the Jaguars posted a 48-9 record overall and reached the championship game of the NCAA Tournament regional and were ranked #17.
Three other teams from the State of Alabama were ranked or received votes in the poll. Alabama was ranked #6, USA #20, UAB #21 and Auburn received votes but were not in the top 25.
USA will play UAB on February 6 at Jaguar Field then again on February 19 in Birmingham. The Jags will also play Alabama on April 2 in Tuscaloosa.
USA will face other preseason top 25 teams as well. They will face #23 Georgia three times (twice in Georgia tournament February 15, 16 and once in Orlando tournament on February 23), #18 ranked Baylor in the Gulfport, MS. tournament, #17 LSU on April 23 in Baton Rouge and #13 ULL April 12-13 in Lafayette.
They will also face Virginia Tech and Western Kentucky, both schools receiving votes in the poll, but not enough to rank them in the top 25.
“It is always an honor to be recognized as one of the top programs in the NCAA,” said Jaguar head coach Becky Clark. “As coaches and players, we know that all of this will ultimately be played out on the field. I definitely think the preseason list is an indicator of the type of softball that is being played in the Sun Belt; to have two teams in the Top 20 and another team receiving votes is a testament to the hard work put in by the coaches and student-athletes in our conference.”
Jaguar Field is undergoing renovations that should be ready by the time the season starts. The Softball team is also getting a new indoor batting and pitching complex, a new and larger press box, sunken dugouts and will have seating that will wrap around from dugout to dugout.
The Jags are returning seven starters from last season. Their season begins on February 6th against UAB at Jaguar Field. First pitch is set for 6pm.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Sports Weekend Roundup
Men’s Basketball
The South Alabama Men’s basketball team lost 72-60 to Arkansas State in Jonesboro, Arkansas on Saturday night for thier sixth consecutive loss. The Jags fell to 6-11 overall and 0-4 in Sun Belt play while Arkansas State improves to 10-5 overall and 3-1 in Sun Belt play.
South Alabama shot 34.5% from the floor and 28.6% from 3-point range. Freshman Aakim Saintil led the Jags in scoring with 10 points while Augustine Rubit added nine points and seven rebounds. Freshman Ken Williams also scored nine points while Mychal Ammons added eight points and seven rebounds. Freshman Isaiah Maston scored eight points. Only one Jaguar made four field goals with no other Jaguar equally or surpassing that.
The Red Wolves outrebounded the Jaguars 41-33 as USA only had five assists to go along with nine turnovers.
ASU’s Kirk Van Slyke led all scorers with 21 points and 14 rebounds with Ed Townsel added 12 points and 10 rebounds as they shot 42.6% from the floor though the Jaguars did hold them to only 25% shooting from outside the 3-point arc.
South Alabama will try to get their first conference win this week when they return to Mobile to host two-consecutive games. The first will be on Thursday evening against Louisiana-Lafayette at 7:05pm then they will host Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday at 4:05pm.
Football
South Alabama and UAB will meet for the first time on the gridiron in 2015.
The Blazers and the Jaguars were once in-state rivals when they both were in the Sun Belt Conference. They have renewed their basketball rivalry on the hardwood many times since the Blazer moved the Conference USA but they have not faced each other since South Alabama began their football program in 2009.
USA Softball Releases Their Schedule
South Alabama head softball coach Becky Clark announced the Jaguars 2013 schedule which includes six top-25 foes, which include UAB and Mississippi State as well a challenging road games.
“Our spring schedule is our toughest to date,” eighth year head coach Becky Clark said. “We will be playing 10 teams who participated in the NCAA Regional tournament last season and three of those who moved on to Super Regionals. We know that we have a tough schedule, but our kids love the challenge and have worked hard all summer and fall to prepare themselves.”
“We will open our season with our annual Mardi Gras Tournament, and I am looking forward to showcasing our field renovation and new construction,” she added. “The addition of our covered hitting facility will be a huge upgrade for our student-athletes, and the renovations around the field are going to go a long way in improving our fan’s experience on game day. We are very fortunate to have an administration that is so committed to providing a first class experience for our players and fans.”
“This is the first year for the Gulf Coast Classic held in Gulfport, Miss., and should prove to be a strong tournament,” Clark concluded. “This is a great opportunity for our fans to enjoy some highly-competitive softball without having to travel a great distance.”
February 6 will see the Jags hosting UAB at a newly renovated Jaguar Field to begin a five-game home stretch ahead of their annual Mardi Gras Tournament which will feature two games with Syracuse on February 7 & 8, plus single games against McNeese State on February 8 and Austin Peay on February 9.
USA will travel to Georgia for the Bulldog Invitational on February 14-16 and will face the Bulldogs twice. USA will also take on Ohio, Mercer and Furman. USA will travel to Birmingham for a rematch against UAB.
USA will participate in the 2014 Diamond 9 Classic at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in the Florida panhandle.
They will also travel to Orlando on February 21-23 with Georgia Southern, East Carolina, Lehigh, Mercer and Georgia. The Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic will have USA, Ohio, Nicholls State, UT-San Antonio, Baylor and Chattanooga.
Then they will return to Boca Raton to visit former Sun Belt foe Florida Atlantic on March 7-9 where the Jags will also face Marshall, Virginia Tech, Michigan State and Illinois.
They will go to Sillwater, OK for the Oklahoma State’s Cowgirl Classic for a two-day trip where they will face Oklahoma State twice after facing New Mexico.
The full schedule can be found on the USA Softball website by clicking here.
USA Soccer’s Lauren Allison Gets Second SBC Offensive Player Of The Week Honor
Lauren Allison, a freshman, earned her second honor as Offensive Player of the Week after scoring four goals over the weekend to close out the regular season. | Photo usajaguars.com
South Alabama Jaguar Soccer Freshman forward Lauren Allison was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday.
Allison, after being held goalless for four games, returned to form over the weekend with four goals in two matches including her first career hat trick against Louisiana-Lafayette.
On Sunday, she had a goal and an assist for a nine-point weekend that helped propel the Jags from fourth place to second place in the conference heading into the Conference Championships.
This is the second time this season Lauren has been named the SBC Offensive Player of the Week. Earlier this month she earned the honor after a one-goal, two-assist performance against Arkansas-Little Rock and Arkansas State.
Allison, a native of Bicester, Oxfordshire, United Kingdon, has 39-points on the season which is the fourth-best in USA single-season history. She has 14 goals which is also tied for fourth-most in a single-season at USA. Her 11 assists leaves her two assists away from making it into the Jaguars single-season top 10.
Allison led the conference in points, points per game, goals, goals per game, assists, assists per game and game-winning goals through the regular season. She had been ranked as high as second place in the NCAA in points, third place in goals and fourth place in points per game earlier this season.
Seven Jag Softball Players Named To All-America List By NFCA
The 2013 South Alabama Softball Team earned their second consecutive SBC Tournament title after defeated WKU 2-0 on Saturday, May 11, 2013 | sunbeltsports.org
The University of South Alabama Jaguar Softball team had seven members of its 2012-2013 team named All-America Scholar Athletes by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Monday.
Alex Breeden, Blair Johnson, Hannah Campbell, Jessica Dobson, Julie Moss, Kaitlyn Griffith and Meghan Collins were all honored. Players are submitted by a member coach and must have earned a 3.50 GPA or higher during the 2012-2013 academic year.
This is the fourth time since the program began in 2007 that USA has had that many student-athletes honored with this award.
Collins, who is now a graduate student, made the list all four years of her athletic career. Current seniors Campbell and Moss were selected for the third time in their career. Johnson and Griffith are entering their Junior years and have both been honored twice now.
The school was also named an Academic All-America Team after posting a team GPA of 3.285.
Haley Fagan Transferring To Auburn University
Fagan became the first Freshman in Jaguar history to be named Player of the Week by SBC officials. She announced she is transferring to Auburn University. | usajaguars.com
South Alabama standout Haley Fagan has announced via social media that she is transferring to Auburn University. Fagan batted an average of .352 in 165 at-bats with 11 homeruns and 51 RBI (leading the team). She walked 16 times and had an on-base percentage of .405. She also had a fielding percentage of .943.
She will be missed by the Jaguar softball team, but will join her other two sisters who all play in the SEC.
She will have to sit out a year for transferring, but since her redshirt has not been used, she will redshirt this coming season and will have three years of eligibility for the Tigers.
Good luck Haley! Once a Jaguar, always a Jaguar.
Jaguar Softball’s Hannah Campbell Becomes Program’s First All-American Selection
Hannah Campbell became the first USA Softball player to be selected as an All-American | usajaguars.com
On Wednesday, Hannah Campbell became the first South Alabama Jaguar to be named as an All-American. She was named to the second team of the 2013 National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association Division I All-American team.
Campbell earned NFCA First-Team All-South Region honors just two weeks ago. She was also named to the First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference team and the SBC Tournament MVP among other honors.
She finished the season with a 22-9 record and a 1.08 ERA. She struck out 168 batters in 207 2/3 innings pitched with 10 solo shutouts. She limited her opposition to a mere batting average of .184. She also set a new Jaguar record for saves in a single season with six.
Campbell hails from Satsuma, Alabama.
NFCA Division I All-American Teams
First Team
P Keilani Ricketts, Oklahoma
P Blaire Luna, Texas
P Hannah Rogers, Florida
C Amber Freeman, Arizona State
1B Lauren Chamberlain, Oklahoma
2B Lauren Gibson, Tennessee
3B Raven Chavanne, Tennessee
SS Madison Shipman, Tennessee
OF Janie Takeda, Oregon
OF Cassidy Bell, Penn State
OF Kayla Braud, Alabama
UT/P Kaitlin Inglesby, Washington
UT/Non-P or DP Alexa Peterson, Oregon
At-Large/P Chelsea Thomas, Missouri
At-Large/UT-P Lauren Haeger, Florida
At-Large/3B Taylor Hoagland, Texas
At-Large/P Rachele Fico, LSU
At-Large/P Jessica Moore, Oregon
Second Team
P Olivia Galati, Hofstra
P Dallas Escobedo, Arizona State
P Jolene Henderson, UC-Berkeley
C Megan Baltzell, Longwood
1B Alicja Wolny, Louisville
2B Katie Keller, Louisville
3B Shelby Pendley, Oklahoma
SS Cheyenne Coyle, Arizona State
OF Haylie McCleney, Alabama
OF B.B. Bates, UCLA
OF Brianna Turang, Oklahoma
UT/P Tatum Edwards, Nebraska
UT/Non-P or DP Cali Lanphear, Texas A&M
At-Large/SS Sierra Romero, Michigan
At-Large/2B Kaila Hunt, Alabama
At-Large/OF Emilee Koerner, Notre Dame
At-Large/OF Brianna Cherry, ULL
At-Large/P Hannah Campbell, South Alabama
Third Team
P Kaia Parnaby, Hawaii
P Aimee Creger, Tulsa
P Lacey Waldrop, Florida State
C Sarah Draheim, ULL
1B Geri Ann Glasco, Georgia
2B Kaylan Howard, Oregon
3B Kaitlyn Richardson, Minnesota
SS Taylor Thom, Texas
OF Tomeka Watson, Elon
OF Maggie Hull, Kansas
OF A.J. Andrews, LSU
UT/P Jackie Traina, Alabama
UT/Non-P or DP Brooke Short, Longwood
At-Large/P Sara Nevins, South Florida
At-Large/OF Jennifer Gilbert, Ball State
At-Large/C Stephanie Pasquale, Temple
At-Large/2B Ashley Lane, Michigan
At-Large/UT-P Mel Dumezich, Texas A&M
South Alabama Sports Weekend Roundup
Softball
On Sunday night, the South Alabama Lady Jaguar softball team’s season came to heartbreaking end. The Jags stared at the scoreboard after the game not believing what happened in the 7-6 loss to Florida State.
The Jags, facing elimination in the first game on Sunday, fought hard behind the pitching of Farish Beard to win 3-0. But in game two, Farish had a five run lead heading into the top of the seventh inning when the game got away. Along with the game went their chance to advance to the super regionals.
Florida State’s Kelly Hensley nailed a grand slam off of the Jaguar Field scoreboard to tie the game in the seventh inning. Pitcher Monica Perry worked out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh then Victoria East hit a home run over the fence in right center field in the top of the eighth inning to lead FSU to the super regionals in Austin, Texas.
This was South Alabama’s first time to host an NCAA Regional tournament and they were very close in advancing to the super regional. However a stunning comeback by the Seminoles turned the Jags away and gave them hearache that will not heal quickly.
The Jaguars end the season with a 48-9 record overall this season. Of the nine losses, all but one was by one run.
Congratulations on such a great season ladies. Jaguar Nation is very proud of what you accomplished this season.
Baseball
The South Alabama baseball team won one of the three game over the weekend against Troy to earn a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season title. However, since they shared the title with Troy and had a 1-2 record against them, the Jags will be a #2 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
USA (40-16 overall, 20-10 SBC) will open the tournament against #7 seeded Arkansas-Little Rock (28-16 overall, 13-17 SBC) at 4pm on Wednesday in Lafayette, Louisiana.
The Jags have more SBC Tournament wins than any other current or former school with 78-50 all-time tournament record.
THe Jags swept a three-game series against UALR earlier this season at Eddie Stanky Field and have a 2-1 record against them in SBC Tournament play.
#1 seeded Troy will face #8 Arkansas State on Wednesday prior to the Jags game against UALR. They also have FAU and WKU on their side of the bracket. While the Jags have UALR, FIU and ULL on their side of the bracket.
The Jags enter the tournament with a RPI of 17, which factors into their chances of hosting a regional tournament.
Big Weekend For South Alabama Baseball And Softball
The #18 ranked University of South Alabama baseball team will host Troy University for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series beginning this evening at Eddie Stanky Field. This series will close out the regular season, but it also will determine who the regular-season conference champion will be.
The Jags are 39-14 overall on the season and 19-8 in Sun Belt play. They have won their last six conference series and are looking to earn their 14th Sun Belt Conference title and a #1 seed for the Sun Belt Conference Championship tournament coming up soon.
The three game series will be played on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings with first-pitch scheduled for 6:30pm each night.
Troy is 37-15 overall and 18-9 in Sun Belt play.
Scheduled to take the mound for the Jags on Thursday night is James Traylor, he has a 5-3 record with a 3.93 ERA. Matt Bell, who is 6-0 with a 2.87 ERA, is scheduled to take the mound for game two on Friday. The Jags have not named their starter for the third game while Troy has not named their starters for any of the games yet.
USA has won seven of their last eight games and enter the series with a 22-6 record at home. In addition to the #18 ranking in both the Baseball America and Perfect Game polls, they also bring in a #14 RPI.
The Jags are looking to take at least two of three games to secure the regular season title and a #1 seed for the conference tournament. But they are also hoping to bring their first NCAA Regional home to Eddie Stanky Field.
While we are on the subject of NCAA Regionals, the Lady Jaguars are gearing up to host their first-ever NCAA Regional at Jaguar Field. It gets underway on Friday with Mississippi State and Florida State facing off in game one followed by South Alabama and Mississippi Valley State facing off in Game two at 6pm on Friday.
The winners from Friday will face on in the first of three games scheduled on Saturday. Then both of the losers from Friday will face off in Game two on Saturday in an elimination game. Then the third game will feature the loser from the first game on Saturday (between the two winners from Friday) and the winner of the elimination game.
Sunday will see the final two teams play for the right to move on with a possible second game scheduled, if needed, to determine who moves on to face the winner of the Austin Regional which consists of #4 Texas, Houston, South Caroline and Army.
Each of the regional games will be aired on ESPN3.
USA Set To Host 2013 NCAA Softball Regional This Weekend
The 2013 South Alabama Softball Team earned their second consecutive SBC Tournament title after defeated WKU 2-0 on Saturday, May 11, 2013 | sunbeltsports.org
The University of South Alabama was named a #13 seed in the NCAA Division I Softball Championships that will get underway this weekend. But that is not where the good news ended for the University. They were also named a Regional Host for the 2013 NCAA Softball Championships.
The Jags earned an automatic berth in the championships by winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title for the second consecutive year. But with a 45-7 record overall, the Jags were seeded 13th and named a regional host for the first time in program history.
South Alabama will host Mississippi Valley State (24-26), Mississippi State (32-22) and Florida State (41-16). Each of the regional games will be aired on ESPN3 and is one of seven NCAA Regionals that will be aired on one of ESPN’s many platforms.
Mississippi State and Florida State will square off in game one at 3:30pm then South Alabama and MVSU will face off in Game two at 6pm on Friday. Friday’s winners will face each other in the first of three games on Saturday. While the two losers from Friday will face each other in the second game on Saturday in an elimination game. Then the winner of Saturday’s final game will take on the winner of the first game of the day on Sunday with an rematch later on Sunday if needed.
The winner of the Mobile Regional will face the winner of the Austin Regional which includes #4 seed Texas, Houston, South Carolina and Army.
Last season the Jags appeared in their first-ever NCAA Championships and defeated Georgia Tech twice at the Tuscaloosa Regional to advance to the final, but fell to Alabama, the host, with the Tide going on to win the National Championship against Oklahoma.
The Jags defeated Mississippi State 3-2 to begin the 2013 season and shout out Florida State 4-0 on April 10.
Tickets for the Mobile Regional will go on sale Tuesday and may be purchased at the Mitchell Center, over the phone by calling the athletic ticket office or in person at Jaguar Field on the day of the game. Gates will open on hour before first pitch of the first game each day. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students, children and senior citizens for a tournament pass. Or $7 for adults and $5 for students, childred and seniors for per-day passes. Children under two do not require a ticket.
Go Jags!