Dustin Dalken Named SBC Player Of The Week
Senior Dustin Dalken earns his first SBC Player of the Week honor. Photo by Bobby McDuffie | usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s Dustin Dalken was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Monday.
Dalken, a 6’6″ Senior from Gainesville, Georgia, went 7-for-13 with a double and two home runs, six RBI, three runs scored and a .571 on-base percentage as he led the Jags to a 3-1 record last week. He got a hit in all four games and recorded two multi-hit games and two multi-RBI games. He also extended his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games, a career-best.
Dalken went 6-for-12 against Louisiana-Lafayette over the weekend with a double, two home runs, six RBI and three runs scored with 13 total bases.
This is Dalken’s first Player of the Week honor and the third Jag this season.
Lady Jaguars Defeat WKU 2-0 To Earn Second Consecutive SBC Tournament Title
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
South Alabama’s Hannah Campbell pitched a complete-game shutout as the #18 ranked Jaguars defeated Western Kentucky 2-0 in the championship game to earn it’s second consecutive Sun Belt Conference Tournament title.
Hannah was not only named the Player of the Game, but also the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row. She struck out three and did not allow a walk in the win.
Brittany Fowler reached base in all four of her appearances at the plate on Saturday. She went 2-for-2 with a single and a double and two walks and an RBI.
Alex Breeden delivered her first RBI in five games in the top of the fifth and the Jags really needed it. She singled to left field and drove in Stephanie Pilkington, who was pinch running for Haley Fagan, to put the Jaguars up 2-0. Just before Breeden delivered her hit, she made solid contact on the first pitch from the WKU pitcher which broke the bat with a piece flying towards the pitchers circle.
Emily Rousseau, who was named pitcher of the year in the Sun Belt Conference prior to the tournament, gave Western Kentucky all she had to get into the championship game. The WKU ace threw all 10 innings in a 7-4 win over ULL to earn their spot in the championship game for the first time since 2005. Which led to WKU putting their number-two starter Mallorie Sulaski in the circle to pitch at the last minute.
Sulaski, a senior, did well against the Jags through four innings by only allowing tow hits and pitching herself out of three separate situations where Jags were in scoring position.
Hannah Campbell retired the final four WKU batters as the Jags cruised to their 16th consecutive win and improving her record to 21-7 on the season. She also lowered her NCAA-leading ERA to 0.86 and she has not allowed a run in the last 18 1/3 innings. She and Farish Beard and the rest of the Jaguar pitching staff has combined to not allow a run in the last 15 1/3 innings.
The Jags batted .216 in the tournament while holding their opponents to a .135 average.
Along with Hannah’s honor as Most Outstanding Player, Britany Campbell, Brittany Fowler and Kaitlyn Griffith were all named to the 2013 Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament Team.
The NCAA softball selection show will air live on ESPNU at 9pm Central time on Sunday. The Jags will host a viewing party at Heroes Sports Grill on Hillcrest just off of Old Shell Road on Sunday from 8-10pm. Friends, Family and Fans are all welcome to join the team as they anxiously await word of who they will be playing and if they will be selected to host a Regional tournament.
GO JAGS!!
Farish Beard Two-Hits North Texas To Advance To Championship Game Saturday
Farish Beard tossed a two-hit complete-game shutout for the #2 seeded South Alabama Jaguars to defeat #4 seeded North Texas on Friday to earn a 5-0 win and advance to the Championship game on Saturday.
Beard is still undefeated on the season with a 21-0 record as the struck out 10 while extending the Jaguars winning streak to 15 consecutive games and also extending an impressive 18 consecutive innings without allowing a run for the Jags.
The Jags would not get their first hit of the game until the fourth inning when Blair Johnson would lead off with a single to center field. Kaitlyn Griffith and Meghan Collins would both walk with two outs to load the bases. Johnson would score on a fielding error for the first run of the game.
With the bases still full, a passed ball would lead to scores by Griffith and Collins. Then Emily Messer would walk and Britany Campbell would single to right field to put the Jags up 4-0.
They would add one more run in the fifth inning as SBC Freshman of the Year Haley Fagan would hit an RBI double to left field with two outs to score Johnson from first base.
UNT’s only hits came in the third inning with a single up the middle and another single to right field to put runners on first and second with two outs. But Beard would get out of the inning by forcing a foul out to the catcher.
The undefeated Jaguars will face the winner of #1 seed Western Kentucky and #3 Seed Louisiana-Lafayette that will get underway at 9am on Saturday. The Championship game will get underway at 3:00pm on Saturday from Troy, Alabama and can be seen on ESPN3.com online and CSS/CST on local cable carriers.
Go Jags!!
Hannah Campbell No-Hits #21 ULL At SBC Tournament
Hannah Campbell threw her second no-hitter of her career against #21 Louisiana-Lafeyette on Thursday at the Sun Belt Tournament | usajaguars.com
The South Alabama Jaguar softball team played a thriller on Thursday evening in a rematch of last years championship game. Hannah Campbell threw her second career no-hitter to snap #21 ranked Louisiana-Lafayette’s 23 game winning streak.
The only hit of the game came from the bat of senior outfielder Britany Campbell. She knocked a two-out 2-2 pitch up the middle to score freshman designated player Emily Messer from first base in the top of the eighth inning.
A moment of controversy happened a half inning earlier when ULL led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double to left center field but was called out at first after failing to touch the base on her trip. ULL head coach Michael Lotief argued with the officials but the call stood and the player was sent back to the dugout.
The win gave the Jags their 43rd win of the season, a new program-record.
Hannah Campbell struck out a season high 13 batters with no walks and no hits. ULL ace Jordan Wallace struck out 10 but she gave up a walk before allowing her only hit to Messer which allowed the only earned run of the game.
The Jags will will play in Game 12 at 5:30pm in the semifinal game. They will face the winner of game 10 of the SBC Championships which start at 12:30 between #4 North Texas and #7 Troy. The winner between the Jags and whomever their opponent is will earn a spot in the SBC Championship Game on Saturday at 3pm.
Go Jags!!
Jags Defeat Troy 5-1 In First Round Of SBC Softball Championship
Kaitlyn Griffith went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run and 3 RBI in the Jags first round game against Troy | usajaguars.com
The #2 seed South Alabama Jaguar softball team defeated #7 seeded Troy 5-1 in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament on Wednesday night at Troy Softball Complex.
Jags sophomore second baseman Kaitlyn Griffith led the Jags by going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run and three RBI in the win. This was the Jags first game in almost two weeks and put up five runs on seven hits in the first three innings. The Jags improve their overall record to 42-7, the most wins in program history, on the season and 2-0 over Troy this season, they shut them out at Jaguar Field in April as Farish Beard threw her first career no-hitter.
Starter Hannah Campbell struck out five and allowed only one earned run as she got her 19th win of the season and continued to hold the nation’s best ERA at 0.94.
In the bottom of the first inning Julie Moss (All-Conference first team selection) and Haley Fagan (SBC Player of the Year) got back-to-back two-out singles before Griffith (All-Conference first-team at-large selection) nailed her ninth home run of the season to put the Jags up 3-0.
Two innings later, in the bottom of the third inning, Fowler led off with a double to left-center then scored on Blair Johnson’s single when Troy’s right fielder mishandled the ball. Johnson would later score on a Trojan passed ball to put the Jags up 5-0.
Troy would score in the top of the fourth inning after a walk and back-to-back singles. But Hannah Campbell would settle down and would retire nine of the final 11 batters to close out the game.
The #2 seeded Jags will face #3 seeded Louisiana-Lafayette, a rematch of last year’s championship game where the Jags earned their first-ever Conference Championship. ULL defeated FIU in extra innings on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 5:30pm.
The University sports website will have a radio broadcast of the game free of charge and will have live video and state through the multimedia section. Follow this link for access.
South Alabama Honored Their Student-Athletes Tuesday Night
On Tuesday evening the University of South Alabama honored their student-athletes at the fourth annual Pete Tolbert Night of Champions at the Mitchell Center.
Augustine Rubit was named Jaguar Male Student-Athlete of the year. Rubit earned All-American honors from CollegeInsider.com and was a National Basketball Coaches Association first-team All-District selection. Along with several other accolades.
Hannah Campbell was named the Jaguar Female Student-Athlete of the Year. She is ranked in the top five nationally in ERA and saves and leads the Sun Belt in both categories while ranking in the top five in wins and strikeouts as well. In 33 appearances she has a record of 18-7 with six saves, a 0.94 ERA and 132 strikeouts over 164 2/3 innings of work. She aslo recorded her first career no-hitter in March versus UC-Santa Barbara. Some notable appearances include wins over nationally ranked ULL and Mississippi State and saves against then #25 ranked Florida State and Ole Miss.
The event recognized the achievements of South Alabama nearly 400 student-athletes both in the classroom and in competition.
Brittany Fowler is USA’s NCAA Woman of the Year nominee. To be eligible for the honor a student-athlete must be a varsity letterwinner who will complete her intercollegiate eligibility by the end of spring sports season. They must have excelled in academics, athletics, service and leadership with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5. She is batting a team-leading .406 with 52 hits, eight home runs, 31 RBI and 48 runs scored. She rankes among the conference leaders in each of those categories.
Julie Moss earned the Tom and Barbara Corcoran Scholar-Athlete Endowed Scholarship Award which is presented to a Junior who most excels in sports while maintaining at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
Brittany Campbell earned the Denny-Gottfried Athletic Scholarship Award that goes to a student-athlete who holds a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA, has completed their NCAA eligibility and with the assistance of the fund will graduate from USA within two consecutive semesters. The Senior’s total of seven home runs this spring are more than her previous three seasons combined while she is batting .328 with 11 stolen bases and 33 runs scored.
Trey Clark earned the Jimmy Taylor Scholarship Award which is given to a student-athlete who has exhausted their eligibility, maintained an outstanding GAP and achieved significant Athletic accomplishments. Clark not only played every snap at center last season for the Jags, but he also started every game for the Jags since the teams inception in 2009. Clark also earned second-team Capital One Academic All-America honors off the field.
Romelle Jones earned the Male Perseverance Award while Scott Garber earned the Male Jaguar Athletic Fund Award for the second year in a row.
Mychal Ammons earned the Wilson Durgin Memorial Scholarship Award which is presented to a deserving minority student-athlete.
COle Billingsley earned the Auralia Crowell Freshman Scholar-Athlete Award for the most outstanding freshman based on excellence in academics and athletics. In his first season with the Jaguar baseball team he is batting .295, scored 26 runs and 19 RBI.
Kristyn Thacker earned the Female Perseverance Award while Amber Wyatt earned the Female Jaguar Athletic Fund Award.
Brent Mitchell earned the Forrest W. and Beverly B. Crowder Endowed Scholarship for Baseball. Jacob Noble earned the Clifton Inge Endowed Baseball Award. Garrett Schumacher earned the McKinney Family Endowed Scholarship for Track and Field Award. Ross Metheny was named the Mayer Mitchell Quarterback Endowment Fund Award winner while Daniel Ballard was named the George Smith Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund Award winner.
Travis Toth was named the Matt Smith Award Winner. This is presented to a member of the athletic staff who consistently goes the extra mile, has the spirit of commitment, strong work ethic and a deep sense of pride in their job. It is named for former USA Sports Information Director Matt Smith who passed away in December of 2004.
Each sports program also presents awards. The winners of those honors were: Eddie Stanky Award (baseball), Brent Mitchell; Goldie Ungar Heart of Gold Award (men’s basketball), Javier Carter; Lady Jag Basketball TEDs Award (women’s basketball), Ronneka Robertson; Female Distance Award (women’s cross country), Salom Lecoq; Male Distance Award (men’s cross country), Patrick Rohr; Jim Yance Heart of a Jaguar Award (football), B.J. Scott; Heath Slocum Award (men’s golf), Jared Burleson; Beth Barry Award (women’s golf), Kristen Golightly; Lindsay Rogers Award (soccer), Jess Oram; Extra Mile Award (softball), Meghan Collins; Lubel Family Award (men’s tennis), Daniel Leitner; Marilyn Lubel Award (women’s tennis), Mary Angela Martin; Female Field Events Award (women’s track and field), Briana Aiken; Male Field Events Award (men’s track and field), Nick Farrell; Female Track Events Award (women’s track and field), Leah Hixon; Male Track Events Award (men’s track and field), Tyler Agee; and, Jaguar Volleyball Award (volleyball), Olivia Mohler.
USA has 45 student-athletes set to receive their degree in two weeks at commencement. They were given Sun Belt Conference Graduation Medallions to honor their accomplishement both through competition and academics culiminating in their graduation.
Congratulations to all of the Jaguar Student-Athletes and good luck to the soon-to-be alumni. Thank you for your hard work both on and off the field and for representing the University in a distinguished manner.
GO Jags!!
Two Jags Earn SBC Weekly Honors In Track And Field
Two Jaguar Track and Field team members were honored as Sun Belt Conference field athletes of the week as announced by the conference office on Wednesday. Both coming from record-breaking performances last weekend.
Jan-Louw Kotze was chosen an the Men’s field athelete of the week after his discus throw of 57.60m bested the previous school record by more than a meter at Saturday’s Jaguar Invitational and earning him first place. That mark is currently good for sixth in the NCAA Division I East Region and ranks 13th in the nation. He currently sits on top of the Sun Belt ranking in the event as a freshman with his top throw more than four meters better than the next closest individual.
Leah Hixon earned the women’s honor after she set a new school record in the women’s javelin throw with a toss of 46.90m in her first place effort. She ranks seventh in the Division I East Region and 17th nationally in the event. She also holds the top spot in the conference rankings. She also placed fifth in the high jump by clearing 1.59m while also running a leg of the 4×400-meter relay for the Lady Jaguar ‘A’ Team who finished fourth place with a time of 4:07.22. Hixon is a Junior and this marks her second time this season that she has claimed the conference award.
Both teams will travel to Auburn for the Tiger Classic, a two day event beginning on Friday.
Commissioner Benson Released Statement On WKU Departure Announcement
After Western Kentucky announced that they entered into an agreement with Conference USA to join the league on July 1, 2014, Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson released a statement.
“Today’s announcement that Western Kentucky University has accepted an invitation to join Conference USA is not a surprise given the communication that I have had with university officials and the rampant speculation over the past several months,” Benson said in the statement released by the conference office.”
“I have long understood the implications of the move and what it means for the Sun Belt Conference. In fact, the Sun Belt Conference has been preparing for this possibility for quite some time and with the support and guidance of the Sun Belt Conference board of directors, I will continue to make recommendations on what options the Sun Belt Conference has in terms of future members and divisional structure.”
“I remain confident that we have numerous options and that there are universities that have a strong desire to be members of the Sun Belt Conference. Last week’s additions to the Sun Belt of Appalachian State and Georgia Southern as all sports members and Idaho and New Mexico State as football-only members gives proof that there are universities that want to join the SBC and be part of its dynamic future.”
In 2013 the Sun Belt football season will consist of eight football teams. South Alabama, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisana-Monroe, Troy and Western Kentucky along with newcomers Georgia State and Texas State.
Currently the 2014 membership will include Appalachian State and Georgia Southern, who will be in the final year of their two-year transition from FCS to FBS. It will also include Idaho and New Mexico State as Western Kentucky will leave for C-USA.
Texas-Arlington and Arkansas-Little Rock both are Sun Belt members but do not sponsor football. Two top mentioned potential replacement schools for WKU have been James Madison and Liberty.
A timeframe for announcing any new members to the Sun Belt Conference is not known. Though it is known they intend to go to divisional play in football, which will require one more school who sponsors football in order to do so. That would pave the way to holding a conference championship game. This could happen as soon as 2014 unless the seemingly ever moving target of conference expansion continues to plague the Sun Belt.
WKU to Conference USA
Western Kentucky has been invited to join Conference USA according to Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com. An official announcement is expected on Monday.
WKU will replace Tulsa who who is going to the conference formerly known as the Big East. This has not been officially announced yet.
The Hilltoppers would join C-USA on July 1, 2014.
James Madison and Liberty are reportedly the top candidates to replace Western Kentucky for the Sun Belt.
Appalachian State And Georgia Southern To Join Sun Belt
Many media outlets are reporting that two of the top FCS schools will be joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2015.
Appalachian State and Georgia Southern, who have combined to win nine FCS championships in football, will leave the Southern Conference for the Sun Belt. Both schools will join the conference in every sport except football beginning in 2014. The football programs will join in 2015 as they make the transition from FCS to FBS.
An announcement is scheduled for later this week by the schools and league officials.
The addition of these two schools will return the conference to 10 football members in 2015 with Arkansas State, Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy and Western Kentucky. Arkansas-Little Rock and Texas-Arlington, who will join in 2013-2014, do not sponsor football but will join in all other sports.
Appalachian State joined the Southern Conference in 1972 and has won or shared the league title 12 times, including seven of the last eight, with 20 appearances in the FCS playoffs. They commissioned a feasibility study two years ago about a transition to FBS. The result was that the program should seek membership in FBS.
Appalachian State won three FCS titles in a row from 2005-2007 under former head coach Jerry Moore and stunning fifth-ranked Michigan in the 2007 season opener, the first win for an FCS school against an AP Top 25 team.
Georgia Southern has won a record six FCS titles in 1985, ’86, ’89, 90, ’99 and 2000 and nine Southern Conference titles.
The students at Georgia Southern approved a $75 student fee increase to help make the move from FCS to FBS after the school announced their intentions to move to the FBS level last April. The university also announced a plan to expand Paulson Stadium by 6,300 seats.
Appalachian State would enter the Sun Belt with one of the highest average attendance for football. In 2011 a release by the NCAA showed that they led the FCS attendance records for the third time in four years with an average of 25,715 per game.
But they may not be the only schools added to the conference. It is expected that New Mexico State and Idaho may be added as football-only members of the conference. These two schools do not have a home as the WAC is set to dissolve this summer. This would expand the Sun Belt to 12 football schools and would make them eligible for a conference championship game.
Two weeks ago at the Sun Belt basketball tournament, Conference commissioner Karl Benson said that the majority of schools the Sun Belt was considering for expansion were in the FCS level.
On March 9th, Benson said about NMSU and Idaho. “They are in need of a conference and are being assessed. We are looking specifically for schools that will add stability and value. We also are exploring the possibility of football-only members, and it’s not just limited to NMSU and Idaho. We have created a lot of maps with different possibilities that would fit many of our needs including geography.”
But as the wheel of conference realignment continuing to turn, there is speculation that Western Kentucky may be the next Sun Belt school to defect from the conference for seemingly greener pastures in Conference USA. Only time will tell how this will eventually shake out.