Jags Defeat ASU 6-2 In First Round of SBC Championship
The top seeded Jaguar baseball team defeated 8th seeded Arkansas State 6-2 in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship at Riddle-Pace Field in Troy, Alabama on Wednesday.
Left-hander Jared Gates (5-3) allowed only two runs on four hits while striking out two with seven walks in 7 1/3 innings to earn the win. Ben Tayler struck out one in 2/3 of an inning of scoreless relief to earn his seventh save of the season.
The Red Wolves struck first in the top of the third inning when they led off the inning with a walk, then moved to third on a double to right-center field. They pushed the run across the plate when Zach George hit an RBI groundout to shortstop.
The Jags answered in the bottom half of the inning after Davis Knapp drew a one-out walk then advanced to third on a single back up the middle by Ryan Raspino. Cole Billingsly then hit an RBI single to right field to bring Knapp in and tie the game at one each.
USA took their first lead of the game with a three run fourth inning. Adam Ballew and Danny Martinez reached base on consecutive singles to start the inning. Gleason hit an RBI single off the right-field wall to score Ballew and a one-run lead. Matt Bolger hit a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners into scoring position with one out. Knapp would ground out to second to score Martinez and give the Jags a 3-1 lead. Raspino hit an RBI single to center field to bring Gleason home for a 4-1 lead through four innings.
The bottom of the fifth inning began with Benn Gann reaching base after being hit by a pitch, then advance to second on Bud Collura’s grounder to shortstop which was mishandled allowing Gann to reach second base. Ballew hit a double off of the right-field wall to score Gann. Then Martinez followed suit with an RBI groundout to first base allowing Collura to score for a 6-1 Jaguar advantage.
The Red Wolves threatened in the top of the sixth inning after loading the bases on a pair of walks and a fielder’s choice, but Gated would work out of it with an inning ending flyout to left field.
In the top of the seventh, Gates hit a batter to lead off the inning then a bunt-single put runners on first and second. Another Gates walk would load the bases with no outs. But Gates would induce a 6-4-3 double play allowing the runner on third to score the final run of the game. Then an inning ending flyout to left field would end the threat.
Ballew finished 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Raspino went 2-for-4 with an RBI while Billingsley had two hits, an RBI and two stolen bases.
South Alabama will face 5th seeded Georgia State on Thursday in the second round of the SBC Championship.
Jags Fall In Game 1 To Troy, Doubleheader Slated For Today To Determine SBC Regular Season Champ
The 29th ranked Jaguar baseball team had their Friday evening game postponed due to weather. The Jags need one win to claim the Sun Belt Conference Regular Season title.
On Thursday night the Jags fell to Troy 2-1. The Trojans need to sweep the series to win the Sun Belt Conference regular season title while the Jags just need to take one of the remaining two games to claim the title for themselves.
Saturday’s doubleheader between the Jaguars and the Trojans will start at 3pm and the second being slated for 6:30pm.
Jags defeat Chattanooga 11-1, Advance to play #4 Auburn
The 22nd ranked South Alabama softball team used 11 unanswered runs in four innings to defeat Chattanooga 11-1 in five innings.
The Jags found themselves trailing 1-0 after the top of the first inning when Sarah Beth Roberts hit a two-out solo home run, but that would be all the scoring the Mocs would muster against the Jags.
Emily Messer led the Jaguars at the plate with a career best four hits as she went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI.
Sophomore designated player Chloe Rathburn went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored. She also tied a single-season record with 52 RBI and 15 doubles.
Senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith and sophomore center fielder Amanda Minahan both had two RBI in the game.
Farish Beard started the game with a pair of strikeouts but, after being called for a series of illegal pitches, was relieved by freshman right-hander Devin Brown. Brown would throw 4 1/3 innings of one-hit shutout relief with eight strikeouts and no walks against the Mocs to extend her shutout streak to 11 1/3 consecutive innings dating back to the Sun Belt Conference Championship game against 10th ranked Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Jags advance to face 4th ranked Auburn in game 3 of the regional tournament at noon on Saturday. Game 4 will follow at 2:30pm as an elimination game between Chattanooga and Tennessee Tech, who lost to Auburn Thursday evening 4-1.
The winner between USA and Auburn will advance to the finals while the loser will face the winner of game 4 in an elimination game with the winner advancing to the finals against Auburn on Sunday.
The game against Auburn will also be the first time the Jaguars have faced former Jag Haley Fagan, who transferred to Auburn after the 2013 season.
Jaguar Baseball vying for Sun Belt Conference Title versus Troy this weekend
The 29th ranked Jaguar baseball team will host Troy for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series which will determine the regular season Sun Belt Conference champion at Eddie Stanky Field.
The series began Thursday evening at 6:30 (currently trailing 1-0 through 3 1/2 innings) with game two at 6:30pm on Friday and ending on Saturday at 6:30pm, the finale being broadcast on ESPN3.
The Jags (34-18, 19-8 SBC) needs just one win to clinch their 15th Sun Belt Conference title and its second in four seasons under head coach Mark Calvi.
Troy (29-23, 17-10 SBC) must sweep the three-game series in order to clinch the SBC title.
Righty Kevin Hill (9-0) will seek his 10th consecutive win. He has also threw three consecutive complete games and four consecutive against SBC opposition.
Jags Open 2015 Auburn Regional on Friday
The 22nd ranked South Alabama Jaguar softball team will participate in their fourth-consecutive NCAA Regional starting on Friday in Auburn.
The Jags (38-11) will face Southern Conference regular season and tournament champion Chattanooga (35-13) on Friday at 3pm at the 2015 NCAA Auburn Regional. It will begin the double-elimination event which will send one winner to face the winner of the Lafayette Regional.
SEC Tournament champion and 4th ranked Auburn (49-9) will play Tennessee Tech on Friday at 5:30pm. The winners of both Friday games will meet at noon on Saturday for the first slot in the final. A pair of elimination games will be held at 2:30pm and 5pm to determine who will advance to the final as well.
Ahead of the Regional action, the Jags had two players named to the 2015 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I All-Region on Thursday.
Sophomore designated player Chloe Rathburn was named to the second team while freshman right-handed pitcher Kalen McGill was named to the third team.
The awards honor softball student-athletes from the Association’s 10 regions with first, second and third team selections for each region. The teams were voted on by NFCA member coaches from each respective region and all the honorees will be eligible to be selected to one of three 2015 NFCA Division I All-American teams that will be announced on May 27.
Jag Baseball Hold Steady at #29 In Latest Collegiate Baseball Poll
The University of South Alabama baseball team hold steady at #29 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Poll released on Monday after taking two out of three from Louisiana-Lafayette over the weekend.
In game one, Kevin Hill continued his excellent pitching with his ninth consecutive win by allowing only five hits with eight strikeouts and only three walks to extend his scoreless streak to 15 consecutive innings. He faced the minimum over the final four innings to give the Cajuns their first shutout loss of the season.
In game two, righty Ben Taylor earned his sixth win of the year with 2 2/3 innings of relief by allowing one run on one hit with three strikeouts and a walk.
Austin Bembnowski threw six innings and allowed just one run on six hits with five strikeouts and a pair of walks in a no-decision.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Cajuns scored the first run of the game. Joe Robbins led off the inning with a single to left field and was advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt. Then a one-out single up the middles scored Robbins.
The Cajuns would load the bases later in the inning with two outs, but Bembnowski would work out of the jam with an inning-ending strikeout to minimize the damage to just one run.
In the top of the sixth, the Jaguars answered with their first run of the game. Ben Gann hit a double to the right center gap with one out. He was advanced to third on a one-out single to left field by Bud Collura. Then Adam Ballew hit an RBI single to right field to drive in Gann and tie the game at 1-1.
In the top of the seventh, the Jaguars earned their first lead of the game after Jared Barnes reached on a one-out single to center field, and advanced to second on a wild pitch then moved to third base on a pinch-hit single to right field by Danny Martinez. Ryan Raspino followed with a sacrifice fly to right-center field to score Barnes for a 2-1 Jaguar lead.
The Cajuns would answer in the bottom half of the inning on a suicide squeeze bunt.
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Jaguar Softball Travels to Auburn for the 2015 Auburn Regional this Weekend
The South Alabama Jaguar softball team learned their destination on Sunday at Heroes Sport Bar and Grill during their NCAA Selection Show gathering. | Photo credit: usajaguars.com
The 23rd ranked South Alabama Jaguars road to the championship this season goes through Auburn as announced on the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday.
On Sunday evening the Jaguars found out that they were selected to participate in the NCAA Auburn Regional this weekend, May 15-17 and that they will face the national #4 seed Tigers, Chattanooga and Tennessee Tech.
This will be the Jaguars fourth appearance in the NCAA Regionals in as many years after earning the SBC automatic bid with their third title in four years. Previously the Jaguars participated in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional in 2012 and 2014 and hosted the 2013 Mobile Regional, which was a first for the program.
USA (38-11) will open play on Friday against Chattanooga at 3pm.
Auburn (49-9) won the Southeastern Conference Tournament title on Saturday with a 6-5 extra innings defeat of 11th ranked Tennessee in the championship game.
Chattanooga (35-13) defeated USA 3-1 at the South Alabama Invitational on February 20, won its 13th Southern Conference Tournament title last weekend with a 3-1 win over Mercer.
Tennessee Tech (32-26) won it’s seventh Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title last weekend as well with a 3-2 win over top-seeded Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
The winner of the Auburn Regional will advance to the Super Regional and will face the winner of the Lafayette Regional which features the 13th seeded Cajuns (39-9), Baylor (38-14), Mississippi state (35-19) and Weber State (38-17).
All games this weekend will be broadcast on the SECNetowrk+ and WatchESPN.com. Links directly South Alabama games will be provided by the USA Softball Schedule page as they are made available. More information about the tournament including tickets can be found at the 2015 NCAA Auburn Regional Tournament Central website.
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.
Jags Travel To Lafayette For Final Regular Season Road Trip
The 29th ranked South Alabama Jaguar baseball team will look to extend their seven game winning streak this weekend as they travel to Louisiana-Lafayette for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series.
This marks the final regular-season road series of the year.
The series will get started Friday evening at 6pm with right-hander Kevin Hill (8-0) will make his 10th start of the season. He leads the conference in strikeouts (78) and opposing batting average (.199), is tied for the conference lead in wins (8) and ranks second in ERA (2.06). He has thrown complete games in the last three starts against conference opponents with 38 strikeouts, nine walks and 12 hits during that 27-inning span.
Game two on Saturday will also start at 6pm and will be streamed live on ESPN3. Austin Bembnowski (2-3) will make his ninth start of the season.
Game three on Sunday will start at 1pm with lefty Jared Gates (4-2) scheduled to make his 12th start of the season.
Meanwhile, Lafayette will start a trio of freshmen on the mound with lefty Gunner Legel (5-3) in the series opener, righty Evan Guillory (3-0) in game two and righty Wyatt Marks (5-1) in the finale.
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.