Chloe Rathburn Named SBC Player of the Week
Chloe Rathburn, a freshman from Mission Viejo, California, leads the team with 30 RBI and slugging percentage at .511. | photo: usajaguars.com
South Alabama freshman Chloe Rathburn was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Monday for her performance over the last week.
She began by driving in the Jaguar’s only run against LSU in Baton Rouge on Wednesday then continued with five RBI and scoring three runs as she went 5-for-11 for a .455 batting average to help lead the Jaguars to a series sweep against the Hilltoppers.
Rathburn makes the sixth time a Jaguar has been honored this season in 11 voting periods. Her two-RBI double in the seventh inning propelled the Jaguars for the win in game one. She also hit a two-run homer in game two that would be the difference in game two as the Jaguars picked up a 6-4 win.
On Sunday, she drove in two runs in the third inning and later scored as she and the Jaguars finished the sweep with a 9-5 win.
She improved her team-leading RBI total to 30 and also raised her team-leading slugging percentage to .511.
The Jags will host Troy this weekend for a two game series to wrap up the regular season and head into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament as the second seed.
South Alabama Sports – Weekend Rewind
Baseball
The Jaguar baseball team took two out of three games over the weekend to win the series against Louisiana-Monroe and to improve their record to 19-24 overall and 8-13 in conference play.
In the first game on Friday evening, the Jags used a four-run fourth inning to propel themselves past ULM by a 7-4 score. ULM took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning after a sacrifice fly scored the first run, then a two-out two-run homer supplied the other two runs.
In the bottom of the second inning the Jags plated their first run on a two-out double to right field by Garrett DeGallier which scored Hayden Jones from second base, he had reached base on a walk earlier in the inning.
The Jags tied the score in the bottom of the third inning after Davis Knapp hit a one-out single to left field. Then one batter later, Cole Gleason hit his first career home run over the left-center field wall.
Then the Jags took control with the four-run fourth inning that put the Jags up 7-3.
ULM’s only other run came in the top of the fifth inning with a solo home run over the left-center wall.
Locke St. John picked up the win to improve his record to 5-1. He allowed four runs on four hits with two strikeouts and an walk in 6 2/3 innings. Ben Taylor struck out four with one walk in 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for this first career save.
The Jags clinched the series on Saturday with a 6-5 win at Eddie Stanky Field.
USA jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. Davis Knapp lead off the inning with a single to left field. Cameron Cummings’ sacrifice bunt attempt was fielding by the pitcher but he threw it to center field trying to get the force out at second, which allowed Knapp to advance to third and Cummings to second. Cole Gleason then hit his second home run in as many games.
In the top of the fourth ULM scored their first run of the game after an error let the runner reach base. Then a two-out RBI double to left-center scored the lone run of the inning.
USA answered in the bottom of the fourth inning when Knapp reached on a one-out double to the left-center gap. Cummings advanced him to third on a groundout to second base then Gleason drove him in on an RBI single to left field.
The Jags led 6-4 in the top of the seventh as the Warhawks leadoff hitter reached base on a walk. Later he would score on an RBI single to left field to cut the Jaguar lead to one run. The Warhawks would load the bases later in the inning with a walk and a hit batter, but James Traylor would pitch his way out of the jam with a inning-ending flyout to right field that was caught near the warning track.
Kevin Hill picked up the win (3-5) in 5 1/3 inning of work with three earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts and three walks. James Traylor pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings with two strikeouts for his third save of the season.
USA then tried for the weekend sweep. With the Jags down by three runs in the bottom of the ninth, Knapp led off the inning with a double to left field. He then moved to third on a single to center field by Cummings. Matt Wojciechowski then walked to load the bases with no outs. Haydent Jones then delivered a bases-loaded two-run single through the left side of the infield to get within one run of the Warhawks.
Connor Hawthorne would draw a walk to load the bases again then DeGallier then hit a fly to left field which scored JOnes to tie the game at 7 heading into extra innings.
ULM would break the tie in the top of the 11th after a two-out fielding error by shortshot Drew LaBounty allowed the runner to score. The Jags was unable to even the score in the bottom half of the inning.
Softball
The 20th ranked Jaguar softball team swept the weekend series against Western Kentucky to improve their record to 37-10 overall and 14-5 in conference play and clinched the #2 seed in the 2014 SBC Tournament which is quickly approaching.
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Jaguar Student-Athletes Honored At 5th Annual Pete Tolbert Night Of Champions
Several student-athletes were honored during the Fifth Annual Pete Tolbert Night of Champions, the athletic department’s event to honor the achievements of nearly 400 individuals on Thursday evening.
Junior pitcher Farish Beard of Fairhope, Alabama and senior quarterback Ross Metheny of Stephens City, Virginia were name the female and male Student-Athletes of the Year. This honors the most outstanding individuals based on scholarship, athletic ability and citizenship.
Along with Beard, Hannah Campbell and Kaitlyn Griffith were also honored from the softball team. Metheny was joined by teammates Trey Fetner, Bryson James and Alex Page from the football team. Noelle Jones, Garrett Schumacher and Derek Westbrook were honored from the Track and Field teams.
Several others were honored including just to name a few: Caroline Beebe, Mechell Daniel, Nini Rabsatt-Smith, Sharmyn Wall, Matt Bolger, Brandon Bridge, Robby Campbell, Michelena D’Alonzo and Kristin Parry.
Beard has recorded better than a 3.2 GPA in two-plus years at USA. This season she has a 18-5 record, a 0.99 ERA, 174 strikeouts in 127.1 innings and ranks in the top 20 nationally in four statistical categories.
Metheny has a 4.0 GPA and is working on his master’s degree in educational leadership. Last season he led the Sun Belt Conferecne in total offense per game with 269 yards, ranked in the top 10 in the conference in three other categories and finished in the top 50 nationally in total offense, pass efficiency rating, and passing yards. He was also selected to the second-team All-SBC team.
A full rundown off all the awards and their recipients can be found here.
Also, 56 current and former student-athletes were recognized as they will graduate at the end of the semester.
Congratulations Jaguars!
South Alabama Sports – Weekend Preview
Baseball
South Alabama will host Louisiana-Monroe this weekend for a three-game Sun Belt series at Eddie Stanky Field. They will get underway tonight at 6:30pm with Locke St. John (4-1) taking the mound for the Jaguars in his 11th start of the season. Payton Coddou (0-2) will make only his third start of the season for the Warhawks.
Game two will start at 6:30pm on Saturday with Kevin Hill (2-5) making his ninth start of the season. Then Hunter Soleymani (0-2) will get the start in the series finale on Sunday.
USA is in the midst of a three game losing streak as they have fallen to 17-23 overall and 7-10 in conference play. The Jags are currently holding onto a tie for sixth place in the Sun Belt Conference standings. They are tied with their in-state rivals Troy and two games back from Western Kentucky and UT-Arlington who are tied for fourth place with a 9-9 conference record.
All three games will be broadcast on 105.5FM WNSP and streamed online on WNSP.com.
Softball
The 20th ranked Jaguar softball team look to return to their early season form as they play down the home stretch going into the Sun Belt Conference Championships that begin on May 7.
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USA Softball Falls To LSU 6-1In Baton Rouge
The 20th ranked Jaguar softball team fell to LSU in Baton Rouge Wednesday night by a score of 6-1 in their final non-conference game of the regular season.
The five run margin marks the worst loss of the season as they fall to 34-10 overall and have now lost seven of their last 12 games.
LSU (28-20) outhit the Jaguars 7-3 with both teams committing an error. The only Jaguar run came on Chloe Rathburn’s sacrifice fly to score pinch runner Gwen Jones in the fourth inning.
Freshman Holly McKinnon got the start for the Jags, only her third of the season. She allowed four earned runs on four hits and six walks while striking out two in four innings of work. This was her first recorded loss of the season.
Senior Hannah Campbell came in for relief and allowed two unearned runs on three hits but hit four batters in two innings of relief.
LSU got on the board early after McKinnon walked the first four batters she faced. Then a sacrifice fly would score another run. Then a two-out RBI double would score the third run of the inning as LSU led 3-0 after one.
The Jags plated their only run in the top of the fourth but LSU would respond in the bottom half of the inning on another two-out RBI double.
Two more runs would be put on the board in the bottom of the sixth when Kaitlyn Griffith mishandled Taylor Rodgers’ flip to second that would have been the second out of the inning. But a two-out single to third would score the pinch runner then another single to left center would score the final run.
The Jags will travel to Western Kentucky for a three-game weekend series on Saturday and Sunday as they play their final regular season road series of the year.
20th Ranks USA Softball Faces LSU In Baton Rouge This Evening
The #20 ranked South Alabama softball team will travel to Baton Rouge for a game against LSU at Tiger Park. They defeated the then 21st ranked Tigers on February 15 by a score of 2-1.
This is the Jaguars final non-conference game of the season where they have a record of 23-4 against non-conference foes this season. They also have a 3-1 record against SEC schools this season.
Stephanie Pilkington leads the Jags at the plate with a .340 batting average with a team-leading 48 hits. She also drove in both of the Jaguars runs against the Tigers in USA’s win back in February.
Amanda Minahan is second on the team in batting average as she is hitting .298 with a .500 slugging percentage. Kaitlyn Griffith is third with an average of .288 as she is currently ranked eighth in the nation in hit by pitch per game at .049. She also leads the team in on-base percentage at .441.
Hannah Campbell is fourth in the NCAA rankings with an ERA of 0.84, sixth in walks allowed per seven innings and ninth in the country in saves with 4. Farish Beard ranks seventh in the nation in ERA with a 0.99, ranks third in the nation in hits allowed per seven innings with 3.02 average and ranks 11th in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings with 9.6.
Live play-by-play audio can be heard as part of Jaguar All-Access.
Illegal Pitch Calls Against Farish Beard To Be Examined By SBC Officials
Junior Farish Beard (17-5) was charged with eight illegal pitch calls in the first inning of the first game of a double-header on Saturday against Georgia State. Conference officials will review the video this week. | Photo usajaguars.com
During the Jaguar softball team’s opening game of the Saturday double-header, Farish Beard was on the receiving end of eight illegal pitch calls in the first inning of the Jaguars game against Georgia State. Those calls were critical in the game as on each illegal pitch call, the runners advance a base which scored their only two runs of the game.
First base umpire Destinee Robinson called all eight illegal pitches against Beard and the Jaguars. Eventually Hannah Campbell came in as relief and shut down the Panthers for the rest of the game, but the Jaguars could only manage one run to fall to the Panthers 2-1 in the game.
The illegal pitch call was because Robinson said that Beard’s foot came off the mound before the pitch was thrown.
Beard returned to the mound in game two with Robinson behind home plate umpiring and pitched all nine innings of the game and was not called for an illegal pitch in the game.
Since the call is a judgement call made by an official, the likelyhood that it is appealable is very slim, but the Sun Belt office is aware of it and almost certainly going to review the video.
Head coach Becky Clark said after the double-header, “You’ve got a pitcher who has thrown 117 innings (this season) and hasn’t had that called all year, and you get it called eight times in one inning.”
South Alabama Sports – Weekend Review
Baseball
After capturing the opening game, the Jags fell in the next two games as Western Kentucky won the series two games to one.
In game one the Jags overcame a three-run deficit over the final three innings to earn a 13-10 win over the Hilltoppers.
The Jags opened up with one run in the top of the first inning. WKU answered in the bottom of the first inning with two runs to take the lead. USA would regain the lead two two runs in the fourth inning.
WKU would retake the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to go ahead 5-3. WKU would add another run in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 6-3 lead.
Then the Jags would shave a run off of the Hilltopper lead with a run in the top of the seventh inning. Three more runs in the top of the eighth would put the Jags ahead 7-6 going into the final frame.
The top of the ninth saw the Jags explode for six runs to go up 13-6, but Western Kentucky would not give up as they plated four runs in the bottom of the ninth before the Jags finally ended the game.
In game two WKU would even the series after they scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 7-2 win over the Jaguars.
Righty Kevin Hill would throw 6 1/3 innings and only allowed four hits before WKU finally put their first run on the board.
The Jags fell in the final game on Sunday 6-3 as WKU clinched the series with a 6-3 win over USA. With the game tied at 2-2, WKU would break the tie in the bottom of the sixth with a pair of runs.
The Jags fell to 17-22 overall and 7-10 in Conference play. They will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Auburn for a midweek game.
Softball
The 19th ranked Jaguars run-ruled Georgia State 8-0 in five innings in the first game on Friday. Freshman Amanda Minahan went 2-for-3 with three RBI, a walk and a run scored. That was her fourth game of the season where she recorded three-RBI in a game. Junior catcher Alex Breeden also went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
In game two, the opening game of a double-header on Saturday, the Jags fell to the Panthers 2-1. USA was outhit 5-4 in the game. But the bizarre thing about the game was starter Farish Beard being called for eight, yes eight, illegal pitches in the first inning by the first base umpire. That led to the Panthers only two runs of the game as each illegal pitch advanced the runners a base. Hannah Campbell came in for relief and shut down the Panthers but the damage was already done as the Jags could only muster one run the rest of the game.
In game three, the Jags and Panthers were scoreless through the first five innings before both teams scored a run in the sixth inning to keep the tie game going into extra innings. But in the bottom of the ninth inning Minahan walked and Emily Messer singled to set up Stephanie Pilkington to hit a two-out single to the left center gap to score Minahan to end the game with a 2-1 win.
They will travel to Baton Rouge to face LSU on Wednesday for their final non-conference game of the season.
Men’s Golf
The Jaguar Men’s Golf Team will play in the Sun Belt Conference Championships beginning on Monday in Saucier, Mississippi. They have a pair of top-5 finishes as they head into the championships and have shot par or better four times in the last three events.
The will get underway at Grand Bear Golf Course Monday as Michael Garretson has recorded five rounds of par or lower in his last three outings including a 6-under 66 to open the LInger Longer Invitational on March 22. He enters with a 72.45 stroke average to lead the Jaguar team. Fellow junior Tyler Klava enters with a stroke average of 72.83, which is fourth in the conference.
Men’s Tennis
The 2nd seeded Jaguar men’s tennis team fell to top-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette in the finals of the Sun Belt Championships on Sunday. The Jags defeated 3rd seeded Georgia State 4-0 on Saturday to advance to the finals.
Women’s Tennis
The lady Jags fell in the Sun Belt Conference finals to top-seeded Georgia State 4-1 as their run for the Conference crown ended. The Panthers will claim the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the Jags season likely ends with a 16-3 mark.
South Alabama Sports – Weekend Preview
Baseball
The Jaguar baseball team is in Bowling Green, Kentucky this weekend to face the Hilltoppers in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series. The Jags enter the game looking to snap a three-game losing skid and looking to hold onto the eighth and final spot in the SBC Championships.
USA (16-20, 6-8) lead the all-time series against WKU 84-51 dating backing to 1983. They will send out the current SBC Pitcher of the Week Locke St. John (4-1) for his 10th start of the season in game one this evening. The lefty allowed only three hits with two strikeouts in seven innings in combination with the Jags bullpen to toss a shutout.
WKU (19-18, 7-8) will start Justin Hageman (4-1) who was named the SBC Pitcher of the Week on March 24.
Jaguar righty Kevin Hill (2-4) will make his eighth start in game two and Hunter Soleymani (0-1) will make his fourth start in game three on Sunday.
USA’s pitching staff is tied for second in the conference with an ERA of 3.73. WKU’s pitching staff is ranked eighth in the conference with an ERA of 4.91.
Softball
The #19 ranked Jaguar softball team will host Georgia State for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Jaguar Field. This is the last full conference series they will host this season.
They will get underway this afternoon at 4pm for the first game of a double-header and concluding with their third game on Saturday in respect to Easter Sunday. The Jags (32-8) are looking to regain their early season spark in time for the Sun Belt Championships coming up. They took game two of the three game series last weekend against conference leader Louisiana-Lafayette but lost the series 2-1.
Georgia State in currently fourth in the SBC Standings with a 7-5 conference record.
USA Softball Drops In Polls
The South Alabama softball team fell in the polls for the second straight week after going 2-2 last week and dropping two of three to conference leader Lousiana-Lafayette.
The Jags (32-8, 9-4 SBC) fell from #15 to #19 in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 and fell from #16 to #20 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball top 25 poll as well. They are currently third in the conference standing behind ULL (11-1) and Western Kentucky (8-3).
The Ragin’ Cajuns overtook the Jaguars in the polls to become the highest ranked team from the Sun Belt as they rose to #17 in both polls. The Jags remain the second-highest ranked team in the state of Alabama as the Crimson Tide fell from #3/#2 to #7/#6 in the ESPN.com and USA Today polls respectively. Auburn ranks #23 and #24 in the USA TOday and ESPN.com polls respectively.
The Jags will host Georgia State at Jaguar Field this weekend with a double-header scheduled for Friday beginning at 4pm and concluding with their third game on Saturday at noon prior to Easter Sunday.