2018 Sun Belt Softball Weekly News and Notes:
Week 13 Release (PDF) |  Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats | Championship Information
 
LAFAYETTE, La. – The 2018 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship gets underway on Wednesday, May 9 and concludes with the title game on Saturday, May 12. All games of the championship are set for live coverage exclusively on ESPN+.
 
Drew Fellios and Francesca Enea are slated to call all the action from Alfred and Helen Lamson Park.

#FUNBELT FACTS
• The 2018 championship returns to Lafayette, La. and Lamson Park for the fifth time (2000, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2018) since the championship began with the 2000 season.
 
• The championship is over four days utilizing both a single-elimination format as well as a double-elimination format to determine the Sun Belt Tournament champion and recipient of the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship. The first two games of the tournament utilize a single-elimination format. Beginning with Game 3, the tournament moves into a double-elimination format.
 
•Texas State (39-13, 18-5 Sun Belt) captured its first Sun Belt regular-season title and No. 1 seed for the championship since joining the league beginning with the 2013-14 academic year.  
 
• Louisiana (36-13, 21-6) has the No. 2 seed and a first-day bye with Texas State. The Ragin’ Cajuns have won three of the last Sun Belt Tournament titles and 14 overall since 2000.
 
• Georgia State (30-22, 14-11) is the No. 3 seed for the second-straight year and third time in five seasons, while UTA (26-24, 14-12), as the No. 4 seed, has its highest seed since joining the conference beginning with the 2013-14 academic year.  
 
• In the most recent NCAA RPI through the games of May 6, the Sun Belt boasted six teams in the top 100 – Louisiana (21st), Texas State (31st), Georgia State (62nd), South Alabama (66th), Georgia Southern (81st) and UTA (84th). The Sun Belt enters the week ranked eighth as a conference, behind the SEC, Pac-12, Big 12, American, ACC, ASun and Big Ten.

• Louisiana remains at 21st and Texas State remains at 23rd in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Poll. The Ragin’ Cajuns are also 21st with the Bobcats receiving votes 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 seventh time in eight weeks.

• Texas State senior pitcher Randi Rupp is one of 25 finalists for the 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women’s collegiate softball, recognizes the outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female players across the country. The top 10 finalists will be announced on May 9 while the top 3 finalists will be announced on May 23. The 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed on May 29.

 • Rupp and Georgia State senior catcher/first base Ivie 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 South Alabama senior pitcher Devin 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 active career leaders entering the week, Rupp is first in pitching appearances (180), games started (153), innings pitched (1,014.1), strikeouts (1,239) and shutouts (41) and second in wins (106) and complete games (101), Drake is second in total bases (543), third in home runs (65) and RBI (215), tied for third in hits (285) and walks (174) and fifth in runs scored (211) and Brown is tied for fourth in shutouts (31) and fifth in strikeouts (917) and strikeouts per seven innings (8.96).
 
• Rupp enters the week third in the nation in strikeouts with 286. Her strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.41) ranks seventh, victories (24) rank tied for 12th and strikeouts per seven innings (8.5) rank tied for 29th.
 
• Drake enters the week leading the Sun Belt in batting average (.436), on-base percentage (.568), slugging percentage (.919), RBI (60), home runs (18) and total bases (137). Her total bases rank fifth, RBI total and slugging percentage rank eighth and home runs rank tied for 11th in the nation.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
All Times Central and Subject to Change
 
Wednesday, May 9
Game 1 – #8 ULM vs. #5 Troy (ESPN+), 10:00 AM
Game 2 – #7 Georgia Southern vs. #6 South Alabama (ESPN+), 12:30 PM
Game 3 – Game 1 Winner vs. #4 UTA (ESPN+), 3:00 PM
Game 4 – Game 2 Winner vs. #3 Georgia State (ESPN+), 5:30 PM
 
Thursday, May 10                                                          
Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. #1 Texas State (ESPN+), 10:00 AM
Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. #2 Louisiana (ESPN+), 12:30 PM
Game 7 – Game 4 Loser vs. Game 5 Loser (ESPN+), 3:00 PM
Game 8 – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser (ESPN+), 5:30 PM
                                                       
Friday, May 11
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner (ESPN+), 11:00 AM
Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (ESPN+), 2:00 PM
Game 11 – Game 9 Loser vs. Game 10 Winner (ESPN+), 5:00 PM
                                             
Saturday, May 12
Game 12 - Championship Game (ESPN+), 1:00 PM
 
Sunday, May 13
NCAA Division I Softball Championship Selection Show (ESPN2), 9:00 PM