USA v Troy Tonight and Other Jaguar Action This Weekend
Shavarez Smith holds up the SISU War Hammer at midfield prior to their homecoming game against Georgia State.
Football
This evening the Jaguars will host Sun Belt and in-state rival Troy for a 6:30pm kickoff at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The Jags 4-2 (3-1 SBC) look to keep extend their three game winning streak with a win over the Trojans 1-6 (1-2 SBC).
Last week the Jaguars defeated Georgia State 30-27 on a late touchdown drive. Troy was completely dismantled at home by conference newcomer Appalachian State 53-14 which gave the Mountaineers their first FBS and Sun Belt Conference win.
South Alabama will be without senior running back Jay Jones as an MRI confirmed that he suffered a torn ACL against Georgia State. Being a senior, that will end his college career. Kendall Houston, Xavier Johnson, Terrance Timmons and T.J. Glover will move up to help fill his cleats in the backfield.
Another player that may miss the game on Saturday is cornerback Quadarius Ford. Ford, a 5’9″ 170-pound senior, suffered a concussion against Georgia State and at last word, has not been cleared by the medical staff for tonight’s game. Ford is tied for seventh in total tackles with Theo Rich and Jerome McClain.
If you go by the Sagarin rankings as published by Jeff Sagarin, the Jags are currently the fourth best team in the Sun Belt and the 107th best in his rankings of all 252 FBS and FCS teams. Arkansas State (57), Georgia Southern (102), and Louisiana-Lafayette (102) are ranked ahead of the Jaguars (107).
The rest of the conference is ranked: ULM (136), Texas State (145), Appalachian State (150), Idaho (176), Troy (189), Georgia State (191), New Mexico State (195).
Meanwhile USA’s non-conference opponents are ranked: AP and Coaches Poll #1 Mississippi State is 4th, South Carolina (33), Navy (93), and Kent State (173). It’s also worth noting some of the other teams in the state: Alabama (2), Auburn (3), Jacksonville State (78), UAB (106), Samford (151), Alabama State (206) and Alabama A&M (238).
South Alabama and Troy start at 6:30pm, Jaguar Prowl will be at 4:10pm. Pregame and live Play-by-Play can be heard on LiteMix 99.9FM locally and on iHeartRadio on your smart devices. It will also be televised on ESPNU nationally.
Soccer
USA Softball Announces Hiring Of Assistant Coach
Rachele Fico of the National Pro Fastpitch Akron Racers will join the USA Softball team as an Assistant Coach after NPF season concludes. She previously played collegiately at LSU.
South Alabama head softball coach Becky Clark announced the hiring of former LSU standout pitcher and current Akron Racers ace Rachele Fico to fill the assistant coaching position formerly held by Mark Ryal who left for a similar position at Oklahoma State.
Fico will complete the 2014 season with the Akron Racers of the National Pro Fastpitch league before assuming her full-time coaching duties at South Alabama. This will be her first time as full-time coach after spending the last two season with the Racers and also after being selected number 1 overall in the 2013 NPF Draft.
Fico, an Oxford, Connecticut native, is currently the NPF’s leader in win with a 7-5 record this season. She has a 4.14 ERA and has struck out 42 batters in 72 2/3 innings pitched. She will look to help keep the Jaguar pitching staff on top after they finished last season with the NCAA’s best ERA at 1.29. Hannah Campbell led the way with a 0.95 ERA, good enough for third in the nation, while Farish Beard’s 1.23 ERA was good enough for sixth place in the country. Campbell was also selected third overall in the 2014 NPF Draft back in May and joined Fico at Akron. Beard will enter her senior season in 2015.
Fico, while at LSU, was a two-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association First-Team All-American (2012, ’13), three-time NFCA All-South Region First-Teamer (2010,’12, ’13) and a three-time All-Southeastern Conference honoree (2010, ’12, ’13). She was a top-25 finalist for the USA SOftball Player of the Year award on two occasions.
During her freshman season at LSU in 2010 she was named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Year and also made the All-SEC Freshman and Defensive Team lists. The next season she led the team to the 2011 NCAA College Station Regional where they eventually fell to Syracuse. Fico would be named to the All-Regional Team after an 18-strikeout performance against the Orange which tied her the second-most in LSU history.
She also brings Women’s College World Series experience to the Jags staff as she helped lead the Tigers to the 2012 WCWS in Oklahoma City after earning both wins over #9 seed nationally Missouri at the NCAA Columbia Super Regional. She also earned unanimous NCAA College Station Regional MVP after pitching back-to-back shutouts against Texas State and #8 national seed Texas A&M.
In her collegiate career at LSU she finished among the top-5 in appearances (149), starts (104), complete games (82), innings pitched (774), wins (78), saves (8), opposing batting average (.195), shutouts (32), strikeouts (797) and strikeouts per seven innings (7.21).
Welcome to JagNation coach Fico!
Ryal Joins Oklahoma State Cowgirl Program
South Alabama head softball coach Becky Clark is looking to fill a position on her staff this off-season.
It was announced on Friday that South Alabama assistant coach Mark Ryal has joined the Oklahoma State Cowgirl softball team in a similar capacity. Ryal was part of the Jaguar program for one season as the Jaguars went to their third-consecutive NCAA Regional appearance.
This past season the Jaguars went 42-14 overall and were ranked as high as #11 in the NFCA Coaches poll midway through the season. They eventually lost to national runner-up Alabama 3-0 in the Tuscaloosa Regional final. Three players received All-Sun Belt Conference honors this season.
Ryal is a native of Dewar, Oklahoma which is about 115 miles from Stillwater, so his return to Oklahoma is not a surprise.
Former Jaguar Campbell Earns All-American Honors For Second Consecutive Season
Hannah Campbell, selected third overall in the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch Draft is finished second in the nation in ERA and led the Jaguar pitching staff to a 1.29 ERA which was tops in the Nation. She is the first Jaguar student-athlete and first female in school history to be drafted professionally. | usajaguars.com
Former USA Softball pitcher Hannah Campbell earned All-American honors for the second consecutive season by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Campbell, a native of Satsuma, Alabama, is the Jaguars first and only All-American. She was named to the third team after her performance this season after being named to the second-team last season as an at-large selection. She was also an All-South Region selection in each of her four years with the Jaguars, three of those years she was named to the first team.
She finished the season with a 0.95 ERA, the program’s single-season best, and currently ranks second in the NCAA. She led the Jaguars pitching staff to the top ERA in the nation with a 1.29 combined mark. She allowed only 0.76 walks per seven innings this season, another program best and the third best mark in the NCAA.
In addition to being named a top-25 finalist for the 2014 Collegiate Player of the Year award, she was also named to the All-Sun Belt Conference First-Team for the second season in a row after leading the conference in ERA, strikeouts looking, saves, fewest earned runs allowed, fewest walks allowed and fewest home runs allowed.
She went 18-6 on the season with 176 strikeouts, 159 hits and 26 earned runs in 192. 1/3 innings pitched in 2014.
Hannah was drafted third overall in the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch draft by the Akron Races. She was the first-ever Jaguar softball player to make it to the professional level and the first-ever female Jaguar student-athlete to be drafted professionally.
Hannah will also be joined by her twin sister who played for the UAB Blazers collegiately. Like Hannah, she becomes the first-ever UAB softball student-athlete to rise to the professional level. The sisters will play together for the first time since they were at Satsuma High School.
Lannah earned All-Conference USA honors twice in four years with a second-team selection in 2012 and a first-team in 2013. He was also named to the NFCA Mideast Region Second Team in 2013 after leading the conference in saves (6) and led the team with 180 strikeouts. She also ranks second in UAB history with an average of 0.86 walks per game andgameseven innings mark this past season.
The Racers won their season opener against the Chicago Bandits last night by a score of 4-0. Neither of the Campbell sisters saw action on the mound.
UL-Lafayette And Alabama Win Super Regionals
Both the University of Alabama, who eliminated South Alabama from the Tuscaloosa Regional, and fellow Sun Belt Conference foe Louisiana-Lafayette both won their Super Regionals to advance to the Women’s College World Series.
After a walk-off home run in extra innings, the Crimson Tide (50-11) came back in the second game of the weekend to defeat Nebraska 2-1 to earn the Super Regional win for the ninth time in program history and for the third time for this senior class.
The #2 seed Alabama will open the Women’s College World Series against #7 seed Oklahoma on Thursday, May 29 at 9:30pm.
The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (49-8-1) defeated Arizona 7-1 to earn their way to Oklahoma City to take on Kentucky (49-17) in the first round of the 2014 Women’s College World Series. Their game is scheduled for 7:00pm on Thursday, May 29. The winner will take on the winner between Oklahoma and Alabama.
In the other bracket #1 seed Oregon will face #8 seed Florida State at 2:30pm on Thursday, May 29. They will take on the winner between #5 seeded Florida and #13 seed Baylor that will take place at 12:00pm on Thursday, May 29.
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!
Jaguar Softball Opens Regional Play Against USC Upstate On Friday
The Jaguar softball team moved up one spot in the polls ahead of the start of Regional Play on Friday. The #21/22 ranked Jaguars will open against #24 ranked USC Upstate on Friday at 3:30pm on ESPN3 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The host, #2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, are hosting their 10th consecutive regional tournament and will open against SIU-Edwardsville at 6pm on Friday.
This will be the first meeting between the Jaguars and USC Upstate. The Jags enters with a 40-12 record while the Spartans, located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, enters with a 45-7 record and were eliminated by Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.
This is the Jaguars third regional tournament appearance in as many years. They have reached the finals of each of the Regionals they have participated in over those three years as well.
Last season, the Jags hosted their first-ever regional and faced #19 Florida State after defeating Mississippi State in an elimination game. They ulitimately lost to the Seminoles 8-7 in eight innings.
The Jags lost to the Crimson Tide earlier in the season and look to revenge that loss and finally knotch a win against the Tide for the first time in program history.
Go Jags!
Campbell Named To All-District Team; Hallford To Watch List; Golf Begin NCAA Play
USA Softball’s Hannah Campbell, a senior, became the first Jaguar softball student-athlete in program history to earn Capital One Academic All-District honors as announced on Tuesday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The left-handed pitcher from Satsuma, Alabama earned first-team honors with a 3.47 GPA in Exercise Science which she just received her degree in.
She is currently ranked third in the nation in ERA with a 0.92 mark and walks allowed per seven innings (0.76) to lead the Jaguar pitching staff, which also leads the nation in overall ERA with a 1.28 mark.
She was drafted third overall in the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch Draft by the Akron Racers in March and will join them in August to become the first Jaguar softball player to move into the professional level and the first female student-athlete to be drafted professionally in program history.
First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America ballot where first, second and third team All-America honorees will be chosen later this month.
District 4, the district that Campbell was selected to, includes the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.
USA Baseball’s Brandon Hallford was named to the 2014 Gregg Olson Award watch list on Tuesday.
The award is named after the former Auburn All-American right-hander and presented by Toolshed Sports is awarded annually to college baseball’s breakout player. Olson became one of the top collegiate players in the nation after an initial season filled with only mixed success then went on to become a two-time All American, a first round draft pick, American League Rookie of the Year and MLB All-Star.
Hallford is one of 80 student-athletes named to the initial watch list which will be narrowed down to a list of semifinalists on May 30. The winner of the award will be named in Omaha, Nebraska during the College World Series held June 15-26.
In 16 appearances this season, he has a 3-2 record with seven saves while striking out 27 with 15 walks in 36 innings pitched. He is tied for third in the Sun Belt Conference in saves on the season as the team enters the final regular-season series of the year.
The South Alabama Men’s golf team begin playing in the NCAA East Regional on Thursday in their second-consecutive NCAA appearance.
Last year Tyler Klava led the Jags at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Baton Rouge as he tied for sixth place individually and won a playoff on the first hole to advance to the NCAA Championship and finish in the top half of the field.
Both Lane Hulse and Blake Kelley tied for 17th place by shooting a 224 while Michael Garretson shot 230 over the three days. They propelled the Jaguars to a sixth place finish in the team standings and just two strokes off of a playoff for the final spot in the national championship.
Jaguar Softball To Play In Tuscaloosa Regional This Weekend
The South Alabama Jaguar Softball team, fresh back after their loss in the SBC Championship game, found out the next step in their postseason plans on Sunday. They will be playing in the Tuscaloosa Regional this weekend in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
This is the third consecutive season the Jaguars will participate in the National tournament and the second in three years they will be playing in Tuscaloosa. In 2012 the Jags advanced to the finals of the regional stage before falling to Alabama, who eventually won the Women’s College World Series title.
South Alabama (40-12) will open on Friday against USC Upstate (45-7) at 3:30pm Central. This will be the first meeting between the two schools. USC Upstate has been ranked in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls for the last five weeks and for a total of six weeks this season. They broke their previous Division I school record of 42 wins this season.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
The #2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide won its fourth SEC regular-season title in the last five years and has been the #2 seed in three of the last four years. The Jags are 0-9 all-time against the Tide and 0-6 in Tuscaloosa with their most recent loss being a 3-0 loss on April 2. In 2012 for the Tuscaloosa Regional, the Jags bookended a 5-2 loss to the tide with 4-3 and 10-1 wins over Georgia Tech to earn a spot in the championship game against the Tide again, but lost 6-0.
The Jags are 0-1 all time against SIU-Edwardsville after falling to them 2-1 last season in the Bulldog Classic in Starkville, Mississippi. The Jags then reeled off a 12-game winning streak afterwards. SIUE are 30-21 on the season and earned an automatic berth after defeating Murray State 12-1 in six innings to claim the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title.
South Alabama’s head coach Becky Clark spoke about her team’s placement in the 2014 Regionals, “Everyone always asks, ‘Where do you want to go, and who do you hope you’ll get?’ I don’t get caught up in all that. [The selection committee] tells you where to go, and you go there and compete. We’re very grateful to be in the postseason, and we look forward to getting back on the field and competing.”
She continued, “We play [Alabama] during the regular season every year, because we know there’s a chance we’ll see them in a regional tournament. It helps from the standpoint that we’ve already played them on their field this year, and that’s why we make the trek up there for a midweek. They always have a great crowd and atmosphere. We know it’ll be the same this year. The crowd this past weekend at ULL [for the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Tournament] was loud and passionate, and we know we’ll get the same thing in Tuscaloosa. We’re looking forward to it.”
The Oregon Ducks earned the #1 seed overall in the 64-team tournament. Alabama will play SIUE in the first round of the Tuscaloosa Regional taking place this weekend, May 17-19.
Auburn will play in the Minneapolis Regional facing North Dakota State and in the same regional as #16 seed Minnesota and Green Bay. The #8 seed Florida State Seminoles will host the Tallahassee Regional with Fordam, South Caroline and South Florida attending.
SBC Tournament winner Louisiana-Lafayette will host the Lafayette Regional on May 16-18. The #6 seed Ragin’ Cajuns will open against Texas Southern while Texas will play Mississippi State in the first round.
For a full rundown of the entire 64-team field and regional locations, visit the NCAA Website here.
Jags Fall In SBC Championship Game 4-1
The #12 ranked Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns ended the #22 ranked South Alabama Jaguars chance at a three-peat at Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champions on Saturday with a 4-1 win.
The Jags and the Cajuns both scored runs in the first inning before Farish Beard retired 11 straight ULL batters. But then in the sixth inning after back-to-back singles, Shelbi Redfearn lifted Beard’s pitch over the left field wall for a three-run homer.
The Cajuns rebounded after falling to the Jags in eight innings the day before on a two-run homer by Blair Johnson. They then defeated ULM to earn the right to face the Jags again in the winner-take-all Championship game.
Three Jaguars were named to the 2014 SBC Softball All-Tournament team. Senior Hannah Campbell, Sophomore Emily Messer and Freshman Amanda Minahan. Two from UL-Monroe Samantha Hamby and Miyuki Navarrette, Olivia Watkins from Western Kentucky and four from UL-Lafayette in CHristina Hamilton, Shelbi Redfearn, Samantha Walsh and Most Outstanding Player Lexie Elkins.