Weekly News and Notes
Current Stats
NEW ORLEANS - Sophomores Ive Drake of Georgia State and Kylee Jo Trahan of UL Lafayette earned Community Coffee Weekly Softball honors after leading their perspective teams to several non-conference victories over the weekend.
Drake is the Community Coffee Softball Student-Athlete of the Week. She led GSU to a 5-1 record this week with wins over St. John’s, Villanova, Eastern Michigan (twice) and Seton Hall. Drake hit .625, going 10-for-16 at the plate with eight extra base hits. The catcher clobbered three home runs, four doubles and a triple. Two of her home runs came in the same inning against Villanova on Sunday. Drake finished the week with nine RBI and was walked eight times, keeping her in the top 10 in the country in walks per game. Drake’s extra base hits earned her a 1.563 slugging % for the six games. Drake struck out just once in her 16 at-bats.
The Panthers improved their record to 9-7 on the season, winning their last four contests.
Trahan, the Community Coffee Softball Pitcher of the Week, tossed a pair of no-hitters, including a perfect game, and struck out 19 over 10 innings pitched in last weekend’s Ragin’ Cajuns Invitational. It marked the first no-hitters of her career. The perfect game vs. Alcorn State was the first by a Cajuns pitcher since Feb. 11, 2011. The Burkburnett, Texas, faced only two over the minimum over the 10 innings she worked, and retired the final 19 batters she faced after her second walk of Friday’s Rutgers contest. She reached at least eight strikeouts for the third and fourth time this season with her 10 strikeouts vs. Rutgers tying her career high and being the most recorded by a Cajuns pitcher this season. She struck out the side three times and record seven innings with multiple strikeouts.
The Cajuns are currently second in the league standings with a 14-1 record; and have won their last eight games.
UT Arlington reamins undefeated with a 15-0 record. The Mavericks and two-time defending National Champions Florida are the only two NCAA Division I teams without a loss this year.
COMMUNITY COFFEE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Ivie Drake, Georgia State, Catcher, Sophomore
Sophomore Ivie Drake led GSU to a 5-1 record this week with wins over St. John’s, Villanova, Eastern Michigan (twice) and Seton Hall. Drake hit .625, going 10-for-16 at the plate with eight extra base hits. The catcher clobbered three home runs, four doubles and a triple. Two of her home runs came in the same inning against Villanova on Sunday. Drake finished the week with nine RBI and was walked eight times, keeping her in the top 10 in the country in walks per game. Drake’s extra base hits earned her a 1.563 slugging % for the six games. Drake struck out just once in her 16 at-bats.
COMMUNITY COFFEE PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Kylee Jo Trahan, UL Lafayette, Sophomore
Trahan tossed a pair of no-hitters, including a perfect game, and struck out 19 over 10 innings pitched in last weekend’s Ragin’ Cajuns Invitational. It marked the first no-hitters of her career. The perfect game vs. Alcorn State was the first by a Cajuns pitcher since Feb. 11, 2011. The Burkburnett, Texas, faced only two over the minimum over the 10 innings she worked, and retired the final 19 batters she faced after her second walk of Friday’s Rutgers contest. She reached at least eight strikeouts for the third and fourth time this season with her 10 strikeouts vs. Rutgers tying her career high and being the most recorded by a Cajuns pitcher this season. She struck out the side three times and record seven innings with multiple strikeouts.
RECENT RESULTS
February 24
St. John’s at Georgia State W, 8-7
Troy at Alabama L, 8-0
South Alabama at LSU L, 5-0
February 25
Texas Tech at UL Lafayette W, 6-2
Texas Tech at UL Lafayette W, 11-5
February 26
UT Arlington at Savannah State W, 10-2
Texas State at Northern Illinois L, 7-3
Texas State at Montana W, 8-0
Appalachian State at Canisius L, 8-2
Appalachian State at Rider L, 8-0
UT Arlington at Charleston Southern W, 4-3
Georgia State at Villanova W, 15-2
Rutgers at UL Lafayette W, 12-0
Bowling Green at South Alabama W, 5-0
Dayton at Troy W, 7-3
Georgia State at Eastern Michigan W, 11-0
Georgia Southern at Iowa W, 7-4
UL Monroe at Arkansas-Pine Bluff W, 14-2
February 27
UT Arlington at Savannah State W, 8-5
UT Arlington at Delaware State W, 10-2
Texas State at Montana W, 2-0
Appalachian State at Brown L, 4-1
Dayton at Troy W, 3-2
Georgia State at Seton Hall W, 10-7
Rutgers at UL Lafayette W, 8-0
Appalachian State at Wagner L, 5-3
Dartmouth at South Alabama L, 12-7
Missouri State at Troy W, 5-2
Texas State at Grand Canyon L, 10-0
Alcorn State at UL Lafayette W, 12-0
Wichita State at South Alabama L, 0-3
Georgia Southern at Coastal Carolina L, 9-5
UL Monroe at Middle Tennessee State W, 8-0
UL Monroe at Belmont L, 5-4
February 28
Texas State at Northern Illinois L, 8-6
Georgia Southern at Coastal Carolina W, 8-4
Appalachian State at Towson L, 12-9
Alcorn State at UL Lafayette W, 9-0
UT Arlington at Delaware State W, 7-5
Austin Peay at Troy W, 9-3
Dartmouth at South Alabama W, 8-0
Mercer at Troy W, 4-1
UL Monroe at South Dakota State W, 9-1
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
March 1
UL Monroe at LSU Baton Rouge, La. 6:00 PM
March 2
Kennesaw State at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. 5:00 PM
at Texas State San Marcos, Texas 6:00 PM
March 4
Appalachian State at Loyola-Chic Buies Creek, N.C. 9:00 AM
Texas State at Purdue Clearwater, Fla. 10:30 AM
Georgia State at Murray State Auburn, Ala. 12:30 PM
Appalachian State at Marshall Buies Creek, N.C. 2:00 PM
Georgia State at Indiana Auburn, Ala. 3:00 PM
Texas State at South Florida Clearwater, Fla. 3:00 PM
Troy at Youngstown State Nashville, Tenn. 3:00 PM
North Dakota at Georgia Southern Statesboro, Ga. 3:30 PM
South Alabama at Florida A&M Gainesville, Fla. 3:30 PM
March 5
Appalachian State at Loyola-Chic Buies Creek, N.C. 9:00 AM
Texas State at Penn Clearwater, Fla. 9:00 AM
South Alabama at Illinois State Gainesville, Fla. 9:45 AM
Troy at Indiana State Nashville, Tenn. 10:00 AM
Appalachian State at Campbell Buies Creek, N.C. 11:30 AM
South Alabama at Florida Gainesville, Fla. 12:00 PM
Troy at Lipscomb Nashville, Tenn. 12:30 PM
UL Lafayette at Southern Miss Hattiesburg, Miss. 1:00 PM
UT Arlington at SLU Hammond, La. 1:00 PM
North Dakota at Georgia Southern Statesboro, Ga. 1:30 PM
UL Lafayette at Southern Miss Hattiesburg, Miss. 3:00 PM
UT Arlington at SLU Hammond, La. 3:00 PM
Harvard at Georgia Southern Statesboro, Ga. 3:45 PM
Georgia State at Bryant Auburn, Ala. 5:30 PM
Texas State at Detroit Clearwater, Fla. 11:15 PM
UL Monroe at Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. TBA
UL Monroe at DePaul Tuscaloosa, Ala. TBA
March 6
South Alabama at FIU Gainesville, Fla. 9:00 AM
Texas State at IPFW Clearwater, Fla. 10:00 AM
UT Arlington at SLU Hammond, La. 11:00 AM
Troy at Furman Nashville, Tenn. 12:00 PM
UL Lafayette at Southern Miss Hattiesburg, Miss. 1:00 PM
EKU at Georgia Southern Statesboro, Ga. 1:30 PM
Georgia State at Auburn Auburn, Ala. 1:30 PM
UL Monroe at North Dakota State Tuscaloosa, Ala. TBA
AROUND THE #FUNBELT
Mavs Sweep Tournament to Remain Perfect
In the final game of the Wingate by Wyndham Invitational Sunday, UT Arlington softball beat Delaware State 7-5 to remain undefeated. The Mavericks and two-time defending National Champions Florida are the only two NCAA Division I teams without a loss this year. “I thought the entire team did a good job of not getting ahead of themselves and really taking this weekend one game at a time,” UT Arlington coach Kristie Fox said. A trio of Mavericks (15-0) recorded multi-hit games to lead UTA. Sandra Mendoza and Rebecca Stokes each had two hits, while Krista Rude was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate. The Mavs fell behind early, surrendering a run in the top of the first. UTA pushed into the lead with three runs in the second on RBI singles by Stokes and Mendoza. Mendoza’s base knock extended her hitting streak to 15 games. Sam Montes took the mound in relief to start the third, giving up two base hits before inducing the team’s seventh double play of the season to erase the threat. The Mavs scored three in the fifth on an RBI double by Britnea Barilli to score Laura Curry, followed by Rude’s RBI single to extend her hit streak to 12 games scoring pinch runner Kayci Moore and Barilli. Taylor Simmonds replaced Montes in the circle in the fifth and silenced the Delaware State hitters through two innings. However, DSU attempted a comeback in the final inning and pulled within two runs. Samantha Clakley earned her third save of the season as she induced the final out of the game. “The entire pitching staff really compliments each other and even more important than that they support each other,” Fox said. “They have become a small support system within themselves. That creates an environment that breeds success.” The Mavs continue on the road next weekend, playing at Southeastern Louisiana in a three-game series in Hammond, La. March 5-6. UTA returns home for the Maverick Classic, hosting No. 15 Arizona, No. 24 Texas and Samford.
Warhawks Win Again
The Warhawks finished the weekend 3-1 at the UCA Invite, notching wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Middle Tennessee State and South Dakota State. Junior left fielder Rochelle Roberts finished the weekend batting a team-best .769, notching 10 hits including two triples and a double. She scored a team-high nine runs. Roberts also extended her reached base streak to 14 and hitting streak to 11, matching her highest hitting streak mark from last year. Senior shortstop Faith Bohack hit .615 with seven RBIs and a homer while junior designated player McKinley Marks hit .417 and drove in a team-high nine runs. Freshman Sydney McKay also had a productive weekend offensively, hitting .400 and stealing a team-best six bases. The Warhawks lead the Sun Belt in triples (10) and stolen bases (54) largely in part of Roberts (four triples, 18 SB) and McKay (two triples, 12 SB). ULM heads down to Baton Rouge Tuesday to face No. 5 LSU before heading to the Alabama-hosted Crimson Classic this weekend.
Sanders and Vincent Fuel Cajun Offense, Brown No-Hits Alcorn
DJ Sanders was 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI and Victoria Brown no-hit Alcorn State as the No. 6-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns softball team closed out the Ragin’ Cajuns Invitational at Lamson Park with a 9-0 win in front of a crowd of 1,449. Sanders reached three RBI for the second straight game and closed out the Ragin’ Cajuns Invitational 5-for-6 with six RBI over the final two outings. Brown struck out a career-high 10 batters in landing her first career no-hitter. The 10 strikeouts tied for the highest output by a Cajuns pitcher in 2016 (Kylee Jo Trahan vs. Rutgers on Feb. 26). Kelsey Vincent joined Sanders in top RBI honors, collecting three with a sacrifice fly and two-run single. Vincent finished as the Ragin’ Cajuns Invitational leader with nine RBI. She also increased her career total to 94 with Sunday’s output. Brown’s no-hitter was the Ragin’ Cajuns pitching staff’s third of the tournament and the shutout was the staff’s fourth in as many games. Louisiana’s pitchers yielded only three base hits in 21 innings during the Ragin’ Cajuns Invitational. No. 6 Louisiana (14-1) returns to action next weekend in a three-game series in Hattiesburg, Miss., at Southern Miss scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, March 5-6 with 1 p.m. start times both days. The team’s next game at Lamson Park is Wednesday, March 9 vs. Longwood, a 6 p.m. single game. Brown wasted little time in building her strikeout tally, retiring all three Alcorn hitters she faced in the first inning via a strikeout. Haley Hayden (hit by pitch) and Shellie Landry (single) got aboard the base path in the bottom of the first setting the stage for sacrifice flies from Lexie Elkins and Vincent for a 2-0 lead. Louisiana added single runs to the lead in the second and third inning, getting an RBI single from Sara Corbello and Sanders, respectively, to increase the advantage to 4-0. An errant throw by Sanders with one out in the top of the fourth gave the Braves (4-9) their only baserunner of the contest. Brown bounced back with strikeouts of Vanessa Sanders and Montana Holyfield to end the inning. A bunt single by Kelli Martinez and walks from Landry and Elkins loaded the bases for the Cajuns in the bottom of the fourth. Vincent greeted Alcorn reliever Bianca Benavides with a sharp single back up the middle to score Martinez and Landry and give Louisiana a 6-0 lead. Aleah Craighton kept the Cajuns attack going with an RBI single up the middle of her own. Benavides then surrendered a two-run single to Sanders, which stretched the lead to 9-0, before being able to close out the inning. Brown successfully fielded a bunt attempt from Madison Chitwood with two outs in the fifth inning to preserve the no-hitter. Brown improved to 2-0 with the victory and lowered her ERA to 0.78. She’s now held opponents to five hits and struck out 11 in nine innings. Sanders upped her season RBI total to 15, the third-highest tally on the team trailing only Elkins (26) and Vincent (18).
Eagles Down Coastal Carolina, 8-4
The Georgia Southern softball team scored early and often to wrap up play Sunday at the Coastal Carolina Invitational with an 8-4 win over the host Chanticleers The Eagles erupted for six runs in the top of the first inning, chasing CCU’s starting pitcher after 36 pitches. Lydia Witkowski reached on an infield single and the flood gates opened from there. Morgan Robinson drew a bases-loaded walk to plate the first run and then Taylor Rogers scored on a passed ball. Hannah Farrell drove in Robinson with a sharp single to right field to make it 3-0 and then Mann cleared the bags with a double to the gap to make it 6-0. In the seventh inning, A.J. Hamilton singled and did the slow trot home on Mann’s monstrous home run to dead center field to make it 8-0. Coastal finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring four runs, but it wasn’t enough. Dixie Raley (W, 6-3) was dominant in the circle. The freshman tossed a complete game, allowing four runs – all in the final inning – on six hits with three walks while striking out a career-high 11 batters. At the plate, Mann led the way going 3-for-4 to compliment her five RBI. Farrell, Witkowski and Emily Snider all had a two hits while Hamilton had one. GS (8-7) will host the Eagle Classic next weekend in Statesboro, welcoming Eastern Kentucky, Harvard and North Dakota to town. Play starts on Friday at 2 p.m. with EKU and North Dakota, followed by the Eagles and North Dakota at 4:30 p.m.
MERCY-RULE WIN CAPS SOUTH ALABAMA INVITATIONAL
University of South Alabama softball scored six runs in the third inning and rode Devin Brown’s season-high, 12-strikeout performance to cap the 2016 South Alabama Invitational with an 8-0, run-rule win over Dartmouth on Sunday. The Jaguars (8-6) avenged their 12-7 Saturday loss to the Big Green (1-4) and snapped a two game losing streak, as USA pulled even to 2-2 on the weekend. South Alabama concludes the tournament portion of its regular-season schedule next weekend when it travels to Gainesville, Fla., to take part in the Aquafina Invitational, hosted by Florida, where it faces Florida A&M, Illinois State, the host Gators and Florida International. Brown’s 12 strikeouts marked the second most she’s ever thrown in a game, topping the previous season high of 11 that she’s recorded four times this year and in three appearances prior to Sunday. The Mobile, Ala., native scattered four hits on the day, walked only one and fanned six of the final eight batters she faced. Kaleigh Todd tied her career high in hits after leading USA on 3-for-4 hitting with a pair of RBI and a run scored. Emily Messer was 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, and Alex Breeden drove in a pair of runs. Six Jaguars recorded hits on Sunday, as USA combined for nine total. USA wasted no time jumping ahead in the contest, with Todd scoring Messer with a double down the left field line to put USA ahead, 1-0, in the first inning. A six-run explosion in the bottom of the third gave USA a 7-0 lead, keyed by Breeden’s two-run double to left field, which scored Haleigh Lane and Kristian Foster. Savanna Mayo scored USA’s fourth run on a fielder’s choice that allowed Paige Holmes to reach. Messer’s team-leading second triple of the year plated Holmes and Breeden for a 6-0 Jaguar lead, and Todd doubled for a second time to score Messer. Stephanie Pilkington’s RBI double to center field plated Todd, who singled and stole second, in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the mercy rule into effect. Brown evened her record to 4-4 with the win. The sophomore now has 82 strikeouts in 50 total innings, and the shutout was her third this season in seven starts. Dartmouth starter Lauren Stone fell to 0-2 on the year after allowing seven runs (all earned) on six hits with three strikeouts and as many walks in 2 2/3 innings. Reliever Breanna Ethridge gave up one run (earned) on three hits with six strikeouts and a walk in 2 1/3 innings.