USA Softball Downs UAB 2-1 In 11 Innings
The #19 ranked South Alabama Jaguar softball team needed 11 innings to eventually defeat UAB 2-1 in Birmingham yesterday.
UAB took the lead 1-0 in the fourth inning but freshman right fielder Amanda Minahan came through in the clutch by delivering a two-out game-tying RBI in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings.
The Jaguars junior catcher Alex Breeden would later hit a routine grounder to shortstop, but the throw would sail wide of first base and allowing Kaitlyn Griffith to score the go-ahead, and eventual game-winning, run in the top of the 11th inning.
Senior Hannah Campbell got a no decision as she pitched 7 1/3 innings with five strikeouts, one earned run and no walks. Farish Beard earned the win by pitching 3 2/3 innings of relief with seven strikeouts. She retired the last three batters in order.
UAB’s Lannah Campbell, Hannah’s sister, suffered the loss for the Blazers and falls to 0-3 on the season. She struck out two and allowed the game-winning run, though it was unearned. Leigh Streetman was the starter for the Blazers and pitched 6 2/3 innings with six strikeouts and no walks.
Though the Blazers outhit the Jags 9-8, but they committed two errors to the Jaguars one.
This was the longest game for the Jags since an 11 inning game against Troy in 2010 at Jaguar Field. The team is now 16-1 in their last 17 road games dating back to the 2013 season and have now won the last six meetings against the Blazers to improve their record against them to 9-2 all-time.
“This was the matchup people were looking for in opening night – a pitcher’s night,” Jaguar head coach Becky Clark said. “All four pitchers were sharp. There wasn’t a lot of offense, because there was good pitching and good defense. It was a great game.”
“I was proud of our freshmen tonight,” Clark continued. “They stepped up. Taylor Rodgers had some great at-bats. Minahan, Chloe [Rathburn] and those guys stepped up. They’ve been working really hard, and I’m proud of them.”
The 7-1 Jaguars will travel to Orlando this weekend for the Diamond 9 Classic at Walt Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
USA Softball Face UAB This Afternoon
The #19 ranked South Alabama Jaguar softball team will be in action in Birmingham this afternoon as they take on the UAB Blazers at 4pm.
This is the second meeting between the two teams this season and is the first of six games this week for them.
The Jags opened the season with an 8-0 mercy-rule win over the then #21 ranked Blazers in the first game of the Mardi Gras Invitational in Mobile. It was the first of five games that weekend for the Jaguars where they won each game to get off to their best start in program history.
UAB (3-6) is returning to action after going 2-3 in the Baylor Getterman Classic where their wins over Drake and Iowa were sandwiched between losses to #18 Missouri and #14 Baylor.
USA has an all-time record of 8-2 against the Blazers and have won the last five contests between the two teams. UAB posted an 18-3 record at home last season with the Jags being one of the three home losses.
The will travel to Orlando this weekend for five games at the Diamond 9 Classic held at Walt Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
USA Hires Mike Adams To Coach Linebackers
Former South Carolina State defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Mike Adams will join the USA staff and coach linebackers. | Photo: scsuathletics.com
All but the official announcement has been released, but head coach Joey Jones has hired Mike Adams to fill one of the remaining positions on his staff.
Adams, the former defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at South Carolina State will reportedly coach linebackers at South Alabama.
Adams joined the Bulldogs in 2006 as a defensive backs coach for two seasons before being promoted to defensive coordinator and changed his assignment to the linebackers.
While at SC State, his defense was regularly considered one of the best units in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the FCS ranks. He helped lead the team to MEAC championships in 2008 and 2009 and a share of the championship in 2010.
Adams began his coaching career at his alma mater Ball State in 1997 as a student assistant working with the linebackers. He was then an assistant coach at St. Joseph’s (Indiana) where he coached several positions. In 1998 he coached wide receivers and running backs, then in 1999 he moved to the defensive side coaching defensive backs for two seasons.
After the 2000 season he accepted a position at West Georgia where he spent five seasons as a defesive backs and special teams coach prior to SC State.
Adams graduated from Ball State in 1998 with a bachelor’s in sports administration.
His 2010 defensive unit at SC State finished in the top five in several defensive statistical categories. They finished first in the nation in total defense, rushing defense and passing defense. They finished second in the nation in scoring defense, sacks per game, Pass Efficiency Defense and 1st downs allowed. They finished fifth in 3rd down conversions and sixth in the nation in tackles for loss.
He coached the defensive player of the year for the MEAC, had one player named to the 1st Team All-Conference honors and five named 2nd Team All-Conference.
In an interview with WNSP, it was mentioned he had a recommendation from Senior Bowl Executive Director Phil Savage.
Welcome Coach Adams!
USA Baseball Falls To Alabama State 5-0
The USA Baseball team fell at home to Alabama State on Tuesday night at Eddie Stanky Field, 5-0. The Jags could only muster four hits in the shutout.
ASU righty Mike Estevez threw five shutout innings while only allowing three hits with five strikeouts and five walks for his first win of the season. Jaguar lefty Jared Gates took the loss after sevens innings of work by allowing only one run on just three hits with three strikeouts and a walk.
The game started with ASU’s Richard Amion hitting a solo home run to left center field to put them up 1-0 in their first at-bat. Gates would then settle in and retire 18 of the next 19 batters he faced, with only a walk in the sixth inning as a blemish. He would then force the next batter into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Jags looked like they were even the game when Logan Kirkland singled to left field with a runner in scoring position, but the Hornet’s left fielder threw Davis Knapp out at the plate with a great throw.
Again, in the bottom of the seventh the Jags loaded the bases on three walks with two outs but the Hornet’s righty Hunter McIntosh worked himself out of the jack with a flyout to center ending the threat.
In the top of the eighth, ASU loaded the bases with one out before their catcher hit a two-run single to left field to put them up 3-0. The final runs of the game came in the top of the ninth on a two-run homer by Dexter Price.
The Jags left 14 runners on base.
The Jags (1-3) will travel to New Orleans this weekend for a three game series beginning at 6:30pm on Friday.
Men’s Basketball Ends Six-Game Skid And Sends WKU A Farewell Loss
The South Alabama men’s basketball team ended their six-game losing streak at Western Kentucky to bid farewell to the Hilltoppers, 69-62. This is the first road win for the Jaguars this season and could not have come at a better time.
The Jags never trailed in the game and built up a 19-point advantage at one point in the game. Augustine Rubit and Mychal Ammons both turned in double-double’s in the Jags final regular season game against WKU before they join Conference USA this summer.
Ammons led all players with a season-high 20 points and added 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. That was the most points by Ammons since December 1, 2012.
Rubit came away with a game-high 13 rebounds with 12 points and five blocks, tying his career best, to earn his first double-double in six games.
“We came in with a plan to win,” head coach Matthew Graves said. “The bottom line is our guys really communicated with one another. They understood this was a big game. This is a tough place to come in and play. Their fans are really good. We needed to come in here and play with energy and effort and communicate with each other, and from the opening tip we did that throughout the entire game.”
“I’m really proud,” Graves said. “It’s no secret Mychal has really struggled lately. Hopefully this will jumpstart him for the rest of the reason and we can continue to build off this. His mindset was just different tonight. He came in and attacked the rim. He didn’t settle too much. I’m really proud of how he bounced back.”
The Hilltoppers used two 10-2 runs in the second half to cut the 19-point Jaguar lead down to just seven with 5:32 left in the game. But Ammons and Rubit both held firm and answered each run to keep the Jaguars in the lead.
The Jags forced misses on three-consecutive possessions and got a layup from Aakim Saintil and three free throws from Antoine Allen adn Rubit to keep the Hilltoppers at bay.
“Well the one thing I told our players is WKU is a great program,” Graves said. “They have a culture and toughness about them, They’re going to make a run. We’ve just got to stay the course, continue to make hard cuts, and make good plays at the rim. Tonight, what we did different than in the past is when teams would make a run, we would settle for contested 3s or late-shot clock 3s and we did that a little tonight, but we also got a couple layups. Mike and Aug attacked the basket. We got to the free throw line. Guys stepped up for us and made some free throws for us down the stretch.”
Rubit passed Ed Rains for third place in school history and 13th place in conference history with 1,810 points and is only two away from 12th place. He also is within one double-double of Terry Catledge for first place in school history in the category with his 51st.
The Jags improve to 8-17 overall, 2-10 in conference play. While they are still in last place in Conference Standings, the Jags are only two games out of the eighth and final spot for in the conference tournament. The Jags have six games left this regular season.
The Jags will travel to Texas State on Thursday in the first of two games left this season against the Bobcats. Tipoff is scheduled for 7pm.
USA Softball Splits A Pair Of Games On Saturday
The Jaguar softball team went to Baton Rouge after their trip to Athens, Georgia was cancelled due to wintry weather. So instead they picked up two games against Northwestern and #21 LSU instead.
In the first game on Saturday, the Lady Jaguars fell 2-1 against Northwestern. But in the second game of the day, they would recover and defeat the Tigers by the same score, 2-1.
The Jags (6-1) will travel to UAB for a Wednesday game against the Blazers before they head to Orlando, Florida for the Diamond 9 Classic where they will face Indiana, Purdue University Fort Wayne, East Carolina, Lehigh, Mercer and Georgia.
USA’s Farish Beard took her first loss since April 18, 2012 against the Wildcats after giving up both runs (unearned) in the first inning. She hit the leadoff batter and she would eventually score on a Jaguar error. Mari Majam reached on the error and scored two batters later.
USA second baseman Julie Moss hit a sac fly to scored Amanda Minahan to cut the led to 2-1, but the Jags could not make any further inroads into the score.
Minahan, Chloe Rathburn and Alex Breeden all went 1-for-3 and represented the Jags only offensive production of the game. Beard struck out seven in five innings of work with only one walk.
In the second game the Jags wasted no time and loaded the bases in the top of the first inning.
Stephanie Pilkington drew a leadoff walk, then Blair Johnson reached on a fielding error by the LSU shortstop. Kaitlyn Griffith then singled to right center to load the bases for Rathburn, who hit into a fielder’s choice that allowed Pilkington to score from third for an early 1-0 lead for USA.
In the bottom of the first, the Tigers evened the score with an RBI double to left center.
In the bottom of the fourth, LSU threatened with two runners on base with only one out, but Johnson executed a double play to get Hannah Campbell out of a pickle where she had hit a batter and allowed a single up the middle.
In the top of the fifth, Pilkington added to her team leading RBI total by driving in Emily Messer, who pinch ran for Taylor Rodgers after a walk.
USA Baseball Lose First Series Of Season To TTU
The South Alabama baseball team lost the series to Tennessee Tech over the weekend 2 games to 1.
On Friday night, the Jags took the game to the 11th inning before a bases loaded walk scored the eventual game-winning run in the top of the inning. Jag lefty James Traylor struck out the first two batters before allowing a single and two walks to load the bases.
The Jags had a 3-0 lead through the first two innings before TTU came back. But could not hold onto it and lost the first game 5-4.
In the second game on Saturday, the Jags scored five runs in the bottom of th eighth inning to defeat TTU 6-3. The Jags trailed 3-1 through seven-and-a-half innings before a two-run double down the right field line by Erik Hindmon tied it up. Drew LaBounty followed with a go-ahead single to center field to drive in Logan Kirkland. Cameron Cummings entered earlier in the game as a pinch-runner would get a RBI single to right field to score Cole Jarman, who came on to pinch run for Hindmon. Bud Collura then added the final run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Tripp Hobbs earned teh win in three innings of relief. He allowed only one run on two hits with four walks and a strikeout.
With the series tied at 1-each, USA and TTU both entered Sunday wanting to win the series. But TTU would score five runs in the fourth inning as they held on to a 5-4 series-clinching win.
The Jags led by a run through three innings after a two-out double in the first inning. But TTU’s Daniel Miles led off the fourth with a single before loading the bases with consecutive one-out walks. Jordan Hopkins then hit a two-run double downt he right-field line to give the Golden Eagles a 2-1 advantage.
David Allen then hit a two-out, two-run double to left-center to take a 4-1 lead. An RBI single through the left side of the infield game them a 5-1 lead and chased Jaguar righty Ben Taylor from the game. But the damage had already been done.
The Jags put the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth, but a game-ending groundout ended the game.
USA returns to action on Tuesday when they host Alabama State at Eddie Stanky Field for a 6:30pm game.
Jags Fall To Arkansas State
Arkansas State, already up 10-2 early in the game, used a 20-2 run which included 18 unanswered points to comfortably defeat the Jaguars on Thursday night 85-61.
This is the Jaguars worst home loss since the 2008-09 season.
The Jags fall for the sixth consecutive game, running their record to 7-17 overall and 1-10 in Conference play while Arkansas State improves to 14-8 overall and 7-4 in Conference play.
The Jags are in last place in the Sun Belt Conference standings. Only the top eight will play in the Conference tournament in New Orleans. Currently Texas State holds the eighth and final spot with a 3-7 conference record with Troy a half-game behind at 3-8.
With seven games remaining on the Jaguars schedule, they still have a shot to make the conference tournament, but they have to turn around their season fast.
They have Texas State twice, Troy once, Western Kentucky, ULM, ULL and Texas-Arlington remaining on the schedule.
The Jags will travel to Bowling Green, Kentucky on Saturday to face the Hilltoppers. The game is scheduled to be aired on ESPN3 as well as WNSP.
USA Softball Heads To Baton Rouge Instead Of Athens Georgia
The University of South Alabama softball team will not make their trip to Athens, Georgia this weekend. The 2014 Georgia Softball Classic has been cancelled due to wintry conditions.
Instead the Jaguars have picked up a trip to Baton Rouge. They will face Northwestern on Saturday at 10am then the #21 ranked LSU Tigers at 3pm.
“We were looking forward to facing some quality opponents in Athens [Ga.] this weekend,” said head coach Becky Clark. “But, fortunately, LSU was able to work us into their tournament, so we’re happy to still face a couple of quality teams on Saturday.”
Director Of Video Rumored For Position At BYU
It is being rumored that South Alabama video director Errol Seaver has accepted the same position at BYU. This has not been confirmed yet. He has been the director of football video at South Alabama for the past three seasons.