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.
Nine Jaguars Qualify For NCAA Track And Field Preliminaries
South Alabama have nine student-athletes from the men’s and women’s track and field team that have qualified to compete in 10 different events at the NCAA Division I East Region Preliminary Championship.
Five members from the men’s team have an opportunity to compete. Freshman Renaldo Frechou and senior Adam Patterson both qualified for the hammer throw. Connor Smith qualified for the pole vault for the second consecutive season. Jan-Louw Kotze qualified for the discus. Patrick Rohr qualified for the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Noelle Jones qualified in both the women’s high jump and javelin, this is the third time in her career that the senior has qualified in the javelin after doing so in 2011 and 2012. Fellow seniors Leah Hixon and Bobbie Williams will make their third consecutive appearance in the javelin and hammer throw preliminaries respectively. Freshman Kaitlyn Beans will round out the Jaguar squad after qualifying for the triple jump.
The NCAA Division I East Region Preliminary Championships will be held at the University of North FLorida’s Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, FL on May 29-31.
SBC Baseball Tournament Update
On one side of the bracket, #1 seed UL-Lafayette defeated #4 seed Texas State 11-4 to advance to face the winner between #4 Texas State and #8 UL-Monroe in Game 11 scheduled for Saturday at 11am on ESPN3.
Texas State and UL-Monroe will face off in Game 9 scheduled for 3:00pm on Friday.
In the other side of the bracket #6 seed Troy fell to #2 seed UT-Arlington 7-3 to advance to play in game 12 scheduled for 12:30pm Saturday on ESPN3. They will face the winner of Game 10 between #6 Troy and #3 Arkansas State which is scheduled for 6:30pm on Friday.
Jags Eliminated From SBC Tournament
The South Alabama baseball team was eliminated from the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Thursday after they fell to #3 seeded Arkansas State 4-3 at Eddie Stanky Field.
Jaguar Locke St. John took the loss after throwing 7 2/3 innings where he only allowed one earned run on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks. ASU’s Bradley Wallace allowed one earned run on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks to earn the win.
Arkansas State took the lead in the top of the first inning after a leadoff walk to Zach Maggio. He would move to second on a throwing error by St. John in a failed pickoff attempt at first base. Tanner Ring would hit a one-out RBI single up the middle to score Maggio for a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first, the Jaguars loaded the bases on three consecutive singles by Garrett DeGallier, Bud Collura and Cole Gleason. DeGallier would score when Erik Hindmon reached on a fielder’s choice to tie the game at 1-1.
In the bottom of the second, Davis Knapp would hit a leadoff single to right field. Collura would single with one out then Gleason would single again to load the bases. However Wallace would get Connor Hawthorne to fly out to right field ending the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Jags took the lead after DeGallier reached on a two-base fielding error by the ASU first baseman to lead off the inning. Hawthorne would hit a two-out RBI single to right field to score DeGallier for a 2-1 lead.
ASU would tie the game in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by pinch hitter Derek Birginske. The would then retake the lead 3-2 with an RBI single to center field by Austin Baker and forcing St. John from the game.
The Red Wolves would add an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Stuart Levy would hit a one-out single to right field then advance to second when Cameron Cummings mishandled the ball in the gap. A two-out RBI single to center field by Lucas Feddersen would put them up 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth.
With one out, DeGallier doubled down the left field line. He would then score the final run of the game on a two-out RBI single to right field by Gleason, but the Jags were unable to push another run across the plate to send it to extra inning.
Cole Gleason went 3-for-5 with one RBI to lead the Jags at the plate. Garrett DeGallier went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored. Bud Collura had two hits.
The Jags season ends with a 22-33 record overall while Arkansas State (31-26) to Advance.
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!
Jags Baseball Fall In First Round Of SBC Tournament
The #7 seed Jaguars fell to the #2 seeded UT-Arlington Mavericks 8-4 on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Eddie Stanky Field.
Mavericks righty Daniel Milliman (6-0) allowed three unearned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and five walks in the win. USA’s Ben Taylor (3-5) took the loss in 3 2/3 innings while allowing four runs on five hits with four strikeouts and four walks. Matt Bell threw 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and allowed just one hit while striking out three with only two walks.
The Mavericks led the Jags 4-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, but would double their lead in the inning after the leadoff hitter would get on base after being hit by a pitch, then moved to second on a bunt single. A walk would load the bases before Travis Sibley delivered a three run double down the left field line. An RBI double would score Sibley to increase the lead to 8-0.
In the top of the sixth, the Jags loaded the bases with two outs after a leadoff walk by Connor Hawthorne. Cameron Cummings would reach base on a fielding error by Sibley followed by Davis Knapp drawing a walk. Drew LaBounty would hit a two-out two-run single down the right field line to drive in Hawthorne and Cummings. DeGallier would double down the left field line to score Knapp and cut the Mavericks lead to 8-3.
In the top of the ninth, the Jags would plate their last run on a two-out RBI single by Hayden Jones.
USA will return to action on Thursday when they face #3 seeded Arkansas State at 12:30pm in an elimination game. ASU fell to #6 seeded Troy in the first round 4-3 in 13 innings prior to the Jagaurs game against UT-Arlington.
At 9:00 AM #5 seed Western Kentucky will face off against #8 seed UL Monroe in an elimination game.
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!
Jags Close Out Regular Season At Troy
USA Baseball begins their final regular-season series this evening at Troy. They get underway at 6pm today, Friday and Saturday. The first two games can be streamed through the Jaguars All-Access. The finale on Sunday will be broadcast by the Sun Belt Network on CSS and WatchESPN.com. It will also be covered on 105.5FM WNSP and WNSP.com.
The Jags (21-29, 10-16) are in the midst of a five game losing streak while Troy (22-29, 9-17) enters after losing six of their last seven games and 10 of its last 12.
The Jags look to stay in the top eight of the Sun Belt Conference standings as only the top eight of the ten conference teams will make the Sun Belt Conference Tournament that will be held at Eddie Stanky Field in Mobile, Alabama.
The two schools split a pair of games to open conference play earlier this season in Mobile.
USA’s James Traylor (1-2) will get his first start of the season in the series opener while the Trojans will start Shane McCain (4-4) for the 14th time this season. Locke St. John (6-2) will start game two while Troy’s Tanner Hicks (2-9) will get the start, he threw a complete-game shutout in the conference opener earlier this season at Eddie Stanky Field. Neither team has announced starters for the series finale.
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.
Track And FIeld SBC Championship Results
The South Alabama Men’s and Women’s track and field teams finished third and fifth respectively in the Sun Belt Conference Championships in San Marcos, Texas over the weekend.
The men’s team gathered 132 points finishing behind first-place UT-Arlington (145 points) and runner-up Western Kentucky (138 points). This seasons finish was a two-place, 52.5 point improvement from last season’s finish in the championships.
The women earned 87.5 points with first place Western Kentucky finishing with 173 points.
Jan-Louw Kotze defended his men’s discus title with a 56.20m throw on his fourth try, which was over three meters longer than the next-closest measure in the 19-man field and earned 10 points for the team.
Freshman Michael Pienaar earned All-Conference honors Friday in the 10,000 meter run and followed that up with two more on Sunday with first place in the 1,500 meter run with a time of 3:49.93.
Freshman Kaitlyn Beans finished first place with All-Conference honors in the women’s triple jump with a 13.19m jump on her fourth attempt which set a new Jaguar record and the top jump of the conference this season. She improved on her personal best by more than seven-tenths of a meter.
A total of six Jaguar student-athletes earned conference championships on the weekend with Leah Hixon in Women’s Javelin, Renaldo Frechou in men’s hammer throw, and Noelle Jones’ heptathlon.
Connor Smith earned All-Conference honors for the second-consecutive season with a 5.02m pole vault to earn runner-up in the event.
Justin Housley earned All-Conference honors in the 800-meter run where he finished third with a time of 1:55.39.
Ravaughn Pope earned All-Conference honors after finishing third in the 110-meter hurdles and setting a person record with a time of 14.17 seconds, the second fastest time in Jaguar history.
In total, the Jaguars had 18 All-Conference performances with contributions from 17 different student-athletes, broke two school records and also broke a pair of conference-championship-meet records.