2018 Sun Belt Softball Weekly News and Notes:
Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats | Championship Information
#FUNBELT FACTS
• A busy mid-week schedule leads into an action-packed weekend of conference play for Sun Belt softball with 26 games on tap for the week with one game scheduled for live coverage on ESPN3.
• Louisiana is 20th in this week’s
ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll and 21st in this week’s
USA Today/NFCA Poll.
• Texas State (17-7, 2-0 Sun Belt) and South Alabama (14-10, 2-0 Sun Belt) are the only teams to come out of the first weekend of league play undefeated. Each enters the week on a three-game winning streak.
• ULM is fourth nationally in doubles per game (1.85), Coastal Carolina is eighth in home runs per game (1.33) and Louisiana is eighth in stolen bases per game (2.35). On the defensive side, Troy remains in the top 10 nationally ranked seventh in fielding percentage (.983).
• ULM (.321) and Georgia State (.301) are the only two Sun Belt teams hitting above .300 so far this season. Warhawks junior outfielder Sydney McKay leads the conference in batting at .447 with Panthers senior catcher/first base Ivie Drake close behind at .441. Drake is tied for second in the nation in doubles (10).
• Texas State senior pitcher Randi Rupp is second in the country in strikeouts with 137. She enters the week behind FIU’s Shannon Saile’s 154 strikeouts. In other NCAA Division I statistical individual categories, Appalachian State Sidney Russell is tied for sixth in triples (4) and Georgia Southern senior pitcher Kaylee Ramos and Troy sophomore pitcher Peyton Glover are tied for ninth in saves (3).
• The 2018 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship is set for May 9-12 at Alfred and Helen Lamson Park on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
COMMUNITY COFFEE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ariel Ortiz, Texas State (Sr., SS, Waxahachie, Texas)
Texas State senior shortstop Ariel Ortiz was a force in the middle of the Bobcat lineup for the week. Ortiz batted 6-for-10 at the dish, blasted one home run and hit one double, while driving in five runs. She had two multi-hit games during the week, including a 3-for-4 outing in a 10-inning victory over Georgia State. Ortiz totaled 10 bases in three games.
COMMUNITY COFFEE PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Devin Brown, South Alabama (Sr., P, Mobile, Ala.)
South Alabama senior pitcher Devin Brown had an outstanding three games for the week, helping lead the Jaguars to three wins and a 2-0 start in Sun Belt play. For the week, Brown posted a 2-0 record and did not allow a run in her 11 innings of work. She allowed just two hits, struck out 16 and walked just one batter. Brown began the week with two innings of scoreless relief at Southern Miss. In South Alabama's conference opener, the right hander tossed a complete-game, one-hit shutout against UTA to pick up her eighth win of the season. Brown retired the first 13 batters that she faced and recorded first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 24 UTA batters that she faced and got ahead 0-2 to nine batters. The Mobile, Ala., native made her second relief appearance of the week in Game 2 of the doubleheader against the Mavericks as she entered the sixth with a runner on in a tie game. Brown was able to get a pop up on a sacrifice bunt attempt and then was helped out by her defense as South Alabama turned a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. With a runner in scoring position in the seventh, Brown was able to induce a ground out to third and a pop out to short to end the threat. The Jags won in the bottom half of the inning on a walk-off home run. Brown started the third game of the series against UTA on Sunday and looked to be just as good as she had four strikeouts in her three innings of work, but the game was halted and eventually cancelled due to weather.
2018 Weekly Awards Archive
Player
Feb. 13: Sydney McKay, ULM
Feb. 20: Hailey MacKay, Texas State
Feb. 26: Courtney Dean, Coastal Carolina and Hunter Hogan, ULM
Mar. 06: Reagan Morgan, Georgia State
Pitcher
Feb. 13: Kylee Jo Trahan, Louisiana
Feb. 20: Summer Ellyson, Louisiana
Feb. 26: Randi Rupp, Texas State
Mar. 06: Annie Willis, Troy
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Tuesday, March 13
Iowa State at UTA, 2:00 PM
Incarnate Word at Texas State, 2:00 PM
Wednesday, March 14
Georgia Southern vs. UTSA (Orlando, Fla.), 12:30 PM
Georgia Southern at UCF, 2:30 PM
Incarnate Word at UTA, 4:00 PM
Western Kentucky at South Alabama, 4:00 PM
Georgia State at Kennesaw State (TV: ESPN3), 5:00 PM
Texas State at Baylor, 6:00 PM
Thursday, March 15
Troy at Southern Miss, 3:00 PM
Troy at Southern Miss, 5:00 PM
Texas at Coastal Carolina, 5:00 PM
FIU at Louisiana, 6:00 PM
Saturday, March 17
*South Alabama at Georgia Southern, Noon
*Georgia State at UTA, 1:00 PM
*Coastal Carolina at Texas State, 1:00 PM
*Troy at ULM, 1:00 PM
*Appalachian State at Louisiana, 2:00 PM
*South Alabama at Georgia Southern, 2:00 PM
*Georgia State at UTA, 3:00 PM
*Coastal Carolina at Texas State, 3:00 PM
*Troy at ULM, 3:00 PM
*Appalachian State at Louisiana, 4:00 PM
Sunday, March 18
*South Alabama at Georgia Southern, 11:00 AM
*Georgia State at UTA, Noon
*Coastal Carolina at Texas State, Noon
*Troy at ULM, Noon
*Appalachian State at Louisiana, 1:00 PM
* - Sun Belt Conference game