2018 Sun Belt Softball Weekly News and Notes:
Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats | Championship Information

#FUNBELT FACTS
• Sun Belt softball closes out the month of April with 22 games on the ledger this week. One matchup is scheduled for live coverage on ESPN3 – Mississippi State at Troy on Wednesday, April 25.
 
• In the most recent NCAA RPI through the games of April 22, the Sun Belt boasted six teams in the top 100 – Louisiana (22nd), Texas State (24th), South Alabama (54th), Georgia State (57th), Georgia Southern (77th) and UTA (90th). The Sun Belt enters the week ranked seventh as a conference, behind the SEC, Pac-12, Big 12, American, ACC and Big Ten.

• Eight Sun Belt teams have winning records and nine have recorded 20 or more wins so far this season.

• Texas State (35-10, 15-2) moves up to 21st and Louisiana (31-12, 16-5 Sun Belt) remains at 22nd in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Poll. The Ragin’ Cajuns are 22nd and the Bobcats are 23rd in this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. Louisiana has been ranked in both polls all season, while Texas State appears in the USA Today/NFCA Poll for the fifth time in six weeks and remains in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll for the third-straight week.
 
• Among the NCAA Division I active career leaders entering the week, Texas State senior pitcher Randi Rupp is first in pitching appearances (175), games started (149), innings pitched (984.0), strikeouts (1,221) and shutouts (41) and second in wins (103) and complete games (98), Georgia State senior catcher/first base Ivie Drake is second in total bases (524), third in RBI (210), tied for third in home runs (62), fourth in hits (276) and runs scored (203) and fifth in walks (164) and South Alabama senior pitcher Devin Brown is fourth in strikeouts per seven innings (9.04), tied for fourth in shutouts (31) and fifth in strikeouts (898).
 
• Rupp enters the week second in the nation in strikeouts with 268. Her strikeout-to-walk ratio (9.56) ranks fifth, victories (21) rank tied for seventh and strikeouts per seven innings (9.2) rank 19th.
 
• Drake leads the Sun Belt in batting average (.424), slugging percentage (.894), RBI (55), home runs (15) and total bases (118). Her slugging percentage and total bases rank eighth and RBI per game average (1.22) ranks 10th in the nation.
 
• Rupp and Drake are among the 10 finalists for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate softball. Nationwide fan voting is open now to help select the winner and fans are encouraged to submit votes online at the Senior CLASS Award website through May 14. Fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winners. The Senior CLASS Award recipient for softball will be announced during the 2018 NCAA Women’s College World Series® in Oklahoma City, May 31 through June 6.

• Rupp and Brown were both drafted by the Cleveland Comets in the 2018 National Pro Fastpitch College Draft on April 24. Rupp was the fourth overall pick and Brown was the third pick in the fourth round.

• Among the NCAA Division I team leaders entering the week, Coastal Carolina (22-26, 5-15) ranks fourth in home runs per game (1.29) and UTA (24-20, 12-8) ranks ninth in double plays per game (0.57).

• Among the NCAA Division I individual leaders entering the week, ULM sophomore infielder Jayden Mount ranks second in hit by pitch per game (0.52) and fifth in on-base percentage (.581). Warhawk junior outfielder Sydney McKay ranks eighth in hits (65), while Louisiana freshman outfielder Casidy Chaumont and Troy junior outfielder Stephanie Snyder are tied for sixth in sacrifice flies (5).
 
• The Sun Belt and the American Cancer Society are teaming up for the 2018 Cover Your Bases initiative with the conference’s baseball and softball programs, as a part of the Sun Belt Fights Cancer (SunBeltFightsCancer.org) partnership. At games through the end of the regular season and at the Sun Belt Softball Championship (May 9-12) and Baseball Championship (May 22-27), the conference and its teams will create moments to support the mission of the American Cancer Society and develop impact/fundraising opportunities in their respective communities. Through in-game recognitions, contests and live broadcast mentions, the Sun Belt schools will extend the messages of protection and prevention.
 
• 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. All games of the championship will be available exclusively on ESPN+.

COMMUNITY COFFEE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Haleigh Lowe, South Alabama (Sr., OF, Prattville, Ala.)
South Alabama senior outfielder Haleigh Lowe came up clutch several times and played a huge role in all three of the Jaguars’ wins for the week. In her four contests, Lowe was 10-for-16 (.625) at the plate with five extra-base hits (three doubles, one triple and one home run), three runs scored, eight RBI and a 1.125 slugging percentage. In the midweek clash with Troy, Lowe helped kick-start the offense as her first-inning, inside-the-park two-run home run to put South Alabama on top early. The inside-the-park homer was the first of her career and just the fourth in program history. Lowe finished the night 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in a career-high five runs. She was a double away from becoming the first Jaguar to hit for the cycle. In Game 1 of the weekend series against Appalachian State, Lowe continued her hot hitting as she went 4-for-4 with a double and the game-winning RBI. In the second game of the day, she recorded just one hit but made it count. With South Alabama holding a narrow one-run advantage with two on and two out in its half of the sixth, the Prattville, Ala., native bounced a two-run double back up the middle to score the first two runs of a three-run inning. In Game 3, Lowe went 2-for-4. That multi-hit game was her 10th of the season and the 30th of her career, moving her into 14th on program’s all-time list.

COMMUNITY COFFEE PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Summer Ellyson, Louisiana (So., P, Lafayette, La.)
Louisiana sophomore pitcher Summer Ellyson worked 25 innings in the circle and claimed all four of the Ragin’ Cajuns’ victories for the week. Ellyson closed the week with 22 consecutive scoreless innings pitched, allowing only one run. She recorded a 0.28 ERA and limited foes to a .163 average. After recording the win to claim the Texas State series, Ellyson pitched 18.2 innings of scoreless softball against McNeese and Georgia Southern. She shut out McNeese the first four innings. After the Cowgirls trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the fifth, Ellyson re-entered and proceeded to work 2.2 additional scoreless innings. The Lafayette, La., native had a hand in both shutouts of Georgia Southern, tossing a complete-game, four-hit shutout in the opener and combining for a three-hit shutout in the series finale.
 
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
Mar. 13: Ariel Ortiz, Texas State
Mar. 20: Logan Harrell, Georgia Southern
Mar. 27: Kamdyn Kvistad, South Alabama
April 3: Ivie Drake, Georgia State
April 10: Kaylee Hussey, Troy
April 17: Kourtney Gremillion, Louisiana
 
Pitcher
Feb. 13: Kylee Jo Trahan, Louisiana
Feb. 20: Summer Ellyson, Louisiana
Feb. 26: Randi Rupp, Texas State
Mar. 06: Annie Willis, Troy
Mar. 13: Devin Brown, South Alabama
Mar. 20: Randi Rupp, Texas State
Mar. 27: Alexis Reid, South Alabama
April 3: Randi Rupp, Texas State
April 10: Randi Rupp, Texas State
April 17: Randi Rupp, Texas State
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Tuesday, April 24
South Alabama at LSU, 6:00 PM
UTSA at Texas State, 6:30 PM

Wednesday, April 25    
Appalachian State at Gardner-Webb, 4:00 PM
Lamar at ULM, 4:00 PM
Appalachian State at Gardner-Webb, 6:00 PM
Lamar at ULM, 6:00 PM
Mississippi State at Troy (TV: ESPN3), 6:00 PM
 
Saturday, April 28
*Appalachian State at Georgia Southern, Noon
*South Alabama at Coastal Carolina, Noon
*Texas State at Troy, 1:00 PM
*Georgia State at ULM, 1:00 PM
*Louisiana at UTA, 1:00 PM
*Appalachian State at Georgia Southern, 2:00 PM
*South Alabama at Coastal Carolina, 2:30 PM
*Texas State at Troy, 3:00 PM
*Georgia State at ULM, 3:00 PM
*Louisiana at UTA, 3:00 PM
 
Sunday, April 29
*South Alabama at Coastal Carolina, 11:00 AM
*Appalachian State at Georgia Southern, Noon
*Texas State at Troy, Noon
*Georgia State at ULM, Noon
*Louisiana at UTA, Noon

* - Sun Belt Conference game