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.
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.
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).
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.
McGill Earns Second SBC Pitcher of the Week Honor
Freshman right handed pitcher Kalen McGill earned her second Pitcher of the Week honor on May 4. She pitched two complete-game victories in Troy to clinch the final regular-season series. | Photo credit: usajaguars.com
The University of South Alabama Softball freshman right-handed pitcher Kalen McGill was named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week in the season’s final weekly awards announced by the conference office on Monday.
Against Troy, McGill (16-2) had two complete-game victories over the weekend as USA clinched their fifth and final conference series of the regular season. She allowed no earned runs in 14 innings pitched while striking out 13 with one walk and 13 hits scattered, only one of which went for extra bases.
She had a season-high eight strikeouts in game two on Saturday to lead the Jags to split the doubleheader. McGill carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning in that game as well.
This is Kalen’s second honor of the year and the fifth weekly honor for a South Alabama Softball student-athlete.
The Sun Belt Conference Tournament starts on Wednesday in San Marcos, Texas with the Jaguars drawing the #2 seed.
Jag Baseball And Softball Win Weekend Sun Belt Series
Both Jaguars Baseball and Softball teams had successful weekends on the diamond. Below are highlights of the weekend.
Softball
The #22 ranked Jaguar softball team took two of three games from Troy over the weekend to clinch their final series of the regular season.
In game one, the Trojans scored five unanswered runs, including a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth, to win 6-3.
USA took a two run lead in the top of the second inning. Chloe Rathburn scored when senior Blair Johnson doubled to right center and a subsequent throwing error in a throwout attempt at the plate. Johnson would later score when freshman Haleigh Lowe’s infield single.
The Trojans halved the Jaguar lead when she scored on Farish Beard’s wild pitch.
USA added another run to take a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth on a squeeze play off the bat of senior first baseman Amanda Herron which scored senior Gwen Jones, who pinch ran for Rathburn.
However, four runs in the bottom half of the fourth would put Troy ahead.
Beard suffered the loss to fall to 9-4 on the season after giving up five run, all earned, on seven hits with a walk in 3 2/3 innings pitched. Freshman righty Devin Brown threw 2 1/3 innings of relief allowing one run on one hit with a walk and five strikeouts.
Johnson led the Jaguars at the plate by going 2-of-3 with one run scored. Rathburn went 1-of-2 with a run scored as well.
In game two, the Jaguars stranded three base runners in the first two innings then went down in order in the next three innings. But Troy did not fare any better as only one player reached base in their first five innings facing the Jags pitching.
In the bottom of the sixth, Troy’s Heather Johnson led off the inning with a single through the left side, which was followed by Kayler reaching base on a bunt single, but Johnson was thrown out trying to stretch and make it to third base. Benton followed with a single up the middle but she would be thrown out at the plate by Amanda Minahan later in the innign on Becca hartley’s base hit to center field. McGill forced a groundout for the final out of the innings the Jags got out of the inning unscathed.
Rathburn led off the top of the seventh with a double off the left field wall. Kaitlyn Griffith then smashed the go-ahead two-run homer, her 12th of the season and a new South Alabama season record.
McGill retired the Trojans in order to finish off the game.
In the third game on Sunday, Troy would take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after Kate Benton led off the game with an infield single. She could eventually score on a play in which Emily Messer overthrew Amanda Herron at first allowing the ball to go down the right field line.
USA would tie the game in the top of the second after Griffith drew a leadoff walk and scored on Herron’s double to right field.
The Jags added two more runs in the top of the fourth after Herron drew a one-out walk, Gwen Jones would come in to pinch run for her. Minahan followed with a single and advanced to second base on a throw to home plate to put to Jags in scoring position. Lowe would ground out to second to score Jones. Messer would follow with an infield base hit to score Minahan putting USA up 3-1.
McGill would work herself way out of two separate situations in the next two innings.
USA would add an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning after Blair Johnson reached on a leadoff due to a Trojan fielding error. She would score on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Minahan for a 4-1 lead, which would be the final score as well.
Freshman righty Kalen McGill (16-2) recorded her second complete-game win of the series by only allowing one unearned run while scattering nine hits and striking out five with only one walk.
Stephanie Pilkington went 2-for-4 in the game. Herron went 2-for-3 with an RBI, Messer went 1-for-3 with an RBI and Minahan also went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
USA ends the regular season with a 35-10 record overall and a 16-4 record in Sun Belt Conference play.
South Alabama will be the #2 seed in the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Tournament which takes place May 6-9 in San Marcos, Texas.
Baseball
South Alabama swept their second-consecutive Sun Belt Conference series with their weekend sweep of Georgia Southern.
Jag righty Kevin Hill struck out 12 batters in his second consecutive complete game as USA won 7-1 in the series opener. Hill only allowed one run on five hits with two walks to go along with his 12 strikeouts for his eighth consecutive win.
In game two the Jags entered the sixth inning facing a three-run deficit but after 14 batters went to the plate and eight runs pushed across the plate, the Jags would take the lead and not relinquish it the rest of the game.
Jag lefty Joey Jones (1-0) walked two in 2/3 of an inning to earn his first career win at USA.
In game three, the Jags scored multiple runs in four different innings for an 11-4 win to complete the sweep. The Jags (32-17, 17-7 SBC) had 13 hits in the game.
With the weekend sweep, USA moves into first place in the conference ahead of Georgia State (27-20, 14-8 SBC), UL-Lafayette (30-17, 14-9 SBC) and Georgia Southern (27-21, 16-11 SBC).
Softball And Baseball Both On Road For SBC Series
Softball
The #22 ranked South Alabama Softball team will travel to Troy this weekend for their final series of the 2015 regular season. The Jags and the Troy Trojans will play a doubleheader on Saturday with the first game starting at 1pm then the finale on Sunday beginning at 1pm as well.
Next up for the Jaguars will be the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Tournament which begins on Wednesday, May 6 and will conclude on Saturday, May 9 in San Marcos, Texas.
The Jaguars (33-9, 14-3 SBC) currently sit in second place in the conference behind UL-Lafayette (34-8, 17-3 SBC) who are in the midst of a three game skid. But in third place is Troy (31-20, 13-7 SBC) who have won their last two game.
Baseball
The Jaguar baseball team will travel to Georgia Southern, who are second place in the conference, after sweeping the top team in the conference at home last weekend in Georgia State and have won their last four SBC games and six of the last seven conference games.
USA (29-17, 14-7 SBC) is in third place in the conference and looking to move up the standings. They are coming off of a loss in a 17 inning game against Southern Miss on Wednesday.
The series will begin this afternoon at 5pm, Saturday’s game will begin at 1pm and the series finale is scheduled for noon on Sunday. All times are Central time. Additionally all three games will be streamed live on ESPN3 as well as being broadcast on WNTM 710 AM in Mobile and on the iHeartRadio app.
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Pitcher of the Week Kevin Hill will start the series opener. He pitched a one-hit shutout complete game in last weeks series opener. Georgia Southern will counter with lefty Evan Challenger (5-0) who has a 1.06 ERA with 50 strikeouts, 14 walks in 59 1/3 innings pitched.
USA will also start righty Austin Bembnowski (2-3) in game two and lefty Jared Gates (4-2) on Sunday.
Pete Tolbert Night of Champions Honors Jaguar Student-Athletes
Photo credit Press-Register/Victor Calhoun
South Alabama honored student-athletes Monday at the sixth annual Pete Tolbert Night of Champions at the Mitchell Center. The event recognizes the achievements, both in competition and academically, of the nearly 400 individuals who comprise the University of South Alabama athletics program.
Kaitlyn Griffith (Softball from Centre, AL) and Daniel Leitner (Men’s Tennis from Neiderfischbach, Germany) were named the Jaguar Female and Male Student-Athlete of the Year respectively, honoring the most outstanding Jaguars based on scholarship, athletic ability and citizenship.
Griffith, a senior shortstop for the softball team is hitting .296 with a team-high 11 home runs, with 38 RBI, 25 runs scored and helping the team to a 33-9 record thus far and a top-25 national ranking throughout the 2015 season. She is a three-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar Athlete and is set to receiver her degree in May in exercise science. She has a 3.82 cumulative GPA.
Leitner, a senior, is the reigning two-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in men’s tennis. He earned the award this spring after amassing a 28-5 overall record in singles play and a 22-6 record in doubles play. He was named to the first-team All-SBC in both singles and doubles, and as the highest-rated individual in the conference, will earn a berth to the NCAA Singles Championships in May. He will graduate with a 3.89 GPA in exercise science in May.
A pair of Griffith’s teammates on the Softball team also earned awards.
Farish Beard was chosen at the school’s NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee with Blair Johnson earning the Jimmy Taylor Scholarship.
Beard, who currently has a 3.39 GPA, was selected as the nominee for that goes to a varsity letterwinner completing her intercollegiate eligibility by the end of spring sports season, who has excelled in academics, athletics, service and leadership with a minimum of a cumulative 2.5 GPA. She is also a finalist for both the Senior CLASS and 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year awards. This season she is 9-3 with a 2.37 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 71 innings.
Johnson earned the award going to a student-athlete who holds a minimum of a 2.5 GPA, has completed their NCAA eligibility and with the assistance of the fund will graduate from USA within two consecutive semesters. She has earned All-SBC honors twice during her career and this year she is batting .254 with 12 extra-base hits, 25 RBI, and 14 walks to only eight strikeouts.
Sophie Haywood from Hull, England, earned the Auralia Crowell Freshman Scholar Athlete Awards given to the most outstanding freshman based on excellence in academics and athletics. She was named First-Team All-Conference after posting 19 points on seven goals and five assists in helping the Jaguar soccer team tow in the conference title and advance to the NCAA Tournament. She has a 4.0 GPA as an exercise science major.
Adam Ballew of the baseball team was awarded the Denny-Gottfried Scholarship Award that is presented to the student-athlete who has exhausted their eligibilty, maintained an outstanding GPA and achieved athletic accomplishment. In his final season at USA, he has helped the Jaguar baseball team to a 29-16 record thus far while batting .275 with five extra-base hits, 26 RBI and eight stolen bases. He is an exercise science major with a 3.38 GPA.
Derek Westbrook from Diamondhead, MS, received a pair of awards. He arned the Shirley Holt Scholarship Award as well as the Male Jaguar Athletic Fund Award. The former is given to a student-athlete who exemplifies outstanding “Team Spirit” and who has shown great character and concern for his or her fellow student-athletes. The latter recognizes overall support of Jaguar Athletics. Both awards exemplifies Derek’s contributions to South Alabama Athletics and also marks the second-consecutive year that he has garnered the JAG Award honors.
Caroline Beebe earned the Female Jaguar Athletic Fund Award. Which marks the second consecutive year that both she has earned the JAF Award as well.
Hunter Colemani was awarded the Tom and Barbara Corcoran Scholar-Athlete Endowed Scholarship Award which is given to a USA Junior who most excels in sports while maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA. The right handed pitcher has a 4.0 GPA in biomedical sciences in the classroom while on the diamond he has a 1-0 record with a 0.59 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 15.1 innings of work.
Jimmie Gipson III was awarded the Wilson Durgin Memorial Scholarship Award which goes to a minority student-athlete who has excelled in both the classroom and competition. Nikki Gittens was awarded the Female Perseverance Award after she suffered a stress fracture in her tibia that forced her to redshirt in 2013, she then returned and ranked third on the volleyball team with 243 kills and led the team with a .250 attack percentage and 83 total blocks while helping the Jags qualify for the SBC tournament despite tendinitis in her knee and hitting shoulder.
Ucambre Williams earned the Male Perseverance Award after undergoing three separate surgical procedures and requiring over six months of rehabilitation. After surgery on his right knee in September he returned in just 15 days and would go on to start 11 consecutive games while posting a team-best 90 percent overall grade and being named to the second-team All-SBC and helped the Jaguars play in its first-ever postseason bowl game.
Brandon Bridge was awarded the Mayer Mitchell Quarterback Endowment Fund Award as the Jaguars starter last fall. Matt Bolger earned the Clifton Inge Endowed Baseball Award. David Knapp earned the Forrest W. and Beverly B. Crowder Endwoed Scholarship for baseball. Mark Watts earned the McKinney Family Endowed Scholarship Fund for Track and Field. Emily Newton earned the George Smith Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund for Track and Field as well.
Assistant Athletic Director for Ticket Operations Greg Keel was selected for the Matt Smith Award which goes to a member of the athletics staff who consistenly goes the extra mile, has the spirit of commitment, a strong work ethic, and a deep sense of pride in their job. The award is named in memory of former USA Sports Information Director Matt Smith who passed away in December of 2004.
Each sport program also presented awards at the event. The winners of those honors were:
- Eddie Stanky Award (baseball), Bolger
- Goldie Ungar Heart of Gold Award (men’s basketball), Dionte Ferguson
- Jaguar Women’s Basketball NCAA Award (women’s basketball), Breanna Hall
- Female Distance Award (women’s cross country), Nicole Durham
- Male Distance Award (men’s cross country), Christoph Graf
- Jim Yance Heart of a Jaguar Award (football), Jesse Kelley
- Heath Slocum Award (men’s golf), Tyler Klava
- Beth Barry Award (women’s golf), Ingrid Hagen
- Lindsay Rogers Award (soccer), Alyssa Mayer
- Extra Mile Award (softball), Stephanie Pilkington
- Lubel Family Award (men’s tennis), Leitner
- Marilyn Lubel Award (women’s tennis), Laura Matuskova
- Most Outstanding Women’s Track & Field Student-Athlete Award (women’s track and field), Kaitlyn Beans
- Most Outstanding Men’s Track & Field Student-Athlete Award (men’s track and field), Jan-Louw Kotze
- Jaguar Volleyball Award (volleyball), Gittens
Prior to the naming of the Jaguar Student-Athletes of the Year, 46 current and former student-athletes who will graduate at the conclusion of the semester received gifts from the department.
Congratulations to all the award winners as well as all of the student-athletes who will earn their degrees. Thank you for representing the University in each of your respective sports with honor and character. Once a Jaguar, always a Jaguar.
Jags Weekend Review
Jags baseball complete a weekend sweep of first-place Georgia State while softball team split a pair of games with North Dakota State. Here’s the rundown.
Softball
The #21 ranked Jaguar softball team split a pair of games against North Dakota State over the weekend after the first of a scheduled doubleheader on Saturday was cancelled due to weather conditions.
On Friday night the Jags dropped a 7-3 decision to the Bison at Jaguar Field. In the opening inning both teams traded a pair of runs. Then the Bison pushed across a run in the top of the third inning to take a 3-2 lead over the Jaguars.
Then in the top of the fifth inning Amanda Minahan tied the game with her fifth home run of the season. But in the top sixth inning the Bison would score four runs to take control of the game.
Farish Beard suffered the loss to fall to 8-3 on the season after allowing seven runs (all earned) on six hits in five innings with eight strikeouts. Kalen McGill threw two innings of scoreless relief and only allowed on hit.
Emily Messer and Stephanie Pilkington each went 2-for-4 with Messer scoring the first run of the game and Pilkington had an RBI.
Chloe Rathburn was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
The lone game on Saturday was weather-delayed and cancelled one of the two that was scheduled for the day.
The Bison took the lead in the top of the first inning when they pushed three runs across. The Jags answered in the bottom half of the inning with two runs when Rathburn and Amanda Herron each drew bases-loaded walks.
In the bottom of the second inning the Jags tied the game at 3-each after Messer got on base with a one-out infield single followed by Kaitlyn Griffith’s RBI single through the left side of the infield.
The Bison regained the lead on a solo homer in the top of the third inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Griffith drew a one-out walk followed by Chloe Rathburn’s homer to put the Jags on top 5-4. Later in the inning Blair Johnson picked up an RBI by driving Minahan in with a single to right field to extend their lead to 6-4.
In the top of the seventh inning, the Bison tied the game up again with a two-run homer. The Jags went down in order in the bottom of the sevening sending the game to extra innings.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Jags loaded the bases when the Bison intentionally walked Messer. Haleigh Foster came in to pinch hit and ended up walking in the game-winnign run for the Jaguars.
Messer finished the game going 3-for-4 with two RBI. Johnson went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Griffith finsihed 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI.
Farish Beard (9-3) got the win in 5 2/3 innings of relief and allowed a pair of runs (both earned) on three hits with four strikeouts and a walk.
The Jags (33-9) will travel to Troy for the final regular season Sun Belt Conference series of the season ahead of the Sun Belt Conference Championships to be held in San Marcos, TX.
Baseball
The Jaguar baseball team completed a three-game weekend sweep of Conference leading Georgia state.
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