2019 Sun Belt Softball Weekly News and Notes:
Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats | Championship | Records Book
 
AROUND #SUNBELTSB
• Another packed schedule for Sun Belt softball this week with 51 games on the ledger.

• Louisiana moved up to 10th in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and 11th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls on the heels of its 11-0 start. The Ragin' Cajuns are just one of five teams with perfect records ranked in the top 11 joining No. 1 Florida State (11-0), No. 2 UCLA (9-0), No. 3 Florida (11-0) and No. 6 Alabama (10-0).

• Texas State (5-4) is among the teams receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25. The Bobcats' start has been sparked by the hitting of junior outfielder Christiana McDowell, who leads the Sun Belt in batting average (.552) and on-base percentage (.639) and tied for first in hits (16).

• The Sun Belt picked up two tournament titles this past weekend as UTA (5-5) took the Getterman Classic in Waco, Texas and Louisiana won its home tournament, 33rd Louisiana Classics. UTA impressed with two wins over a ranked Baylor squad to reach the championship game and then shut out Sam Houston State for the title and a third-straight win. Louisiana took care of business at home with five victories in three days to continue its best start since 2015.

• Coastal Carolina (9-1) is on a streak of its own, winner of nine-straight games. The Chanticleers won all four games in its second home tournament of the season, Battle at the Beach. Sophomore pitcher Kaitlin Beasley-Polko earned three wins and a save with a 0.34 ERA in 20.1 innings thrown over the weekend.

• Troy (7-3) enters the week having won three straight and gone 4-1 in the Diamond 9 Citrus Bottom Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The Trojans' lone loss in the tournament was to Missouri which is receiving votes in both national polls this week.

• Sun Belt softball is honoring the life of Geri Ann Glasco, daughter of Louisiana head coach Gerry Glasco. Geri Ann Glasco passed away on Jan. 24 as a result of a multi-vehicle accident. A standout student-athlete at Oregon, she was set to serve her first season as a volunteer assistant coach for the Ragin' Cajuns. To honor Geri Ann's memory throughout the 2019 season, Sun Belt teams are wearing stickers on their helmets blazoned with her name.

• WeCOACH, in partnership with the Natasha Watley Foundation and the Glasco Family, announced the creation of the Geri Ann Glasco Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to a female assistant coach in the first five years of her career at the NCAA level.

• This season is the 20th season of Sun Belt softball. Sun Belt teams have combined for 33 postseason appearances (29 NCAA Division I Softball Championship and four National Invitation Softball Championship) in 19 seasons. Over that span, the conference has compiled 66 NCAA Tournament wins, seven NCAA Super Regional appearances, three NCAA Women's College World Series appearances and one NISC Championship Round appearance.

• The Sun Belt moves a three-day (generally Friday, Saturday and Sunday) conference schedule for the first time this season.

• The 2019 Sun Belt Softball Championship, hosted by Texas State, is set for May 8-11 at the Bobcat Softball Stadium in San Marcos, Texas.

COMMUNITY COFFEE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Logan Harrell, Georgia Southern (Sr., C/OF, Pembroke, Ga.)
Georgia Southern senior catcher/outfielder Logan Harrell hit .438 with four home runs and eight RBI with a slugging percentage of 1.250 as the Eagles went 5-2, including a 5-1 mark in their home Eagle Round Robin tournament. Harrell drilled a grand slam home run in the 19-2 win over Morehead State, her fifth career collegiate grand slam. She connected on a two-run blast in the 8-3 win over IUPUI then added solo home runs against Mount St. Mary's and UMKC. Harrell had hits in six of the seven games and also drew three walks for a .526 on-base percentage.
 
COMMUNITY COFFEE PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Summer Ellyson, Louisiana (Jr., P, Lafayette, La.)
Louisiana junior pitcher Summer Ellyson recorded five victories, including both in a doubleheader sweep of Pac-12 foe California, as the Ragin' Cajuns extended their season-opening winning streak to 11 games. Ellyson worked 30.2 innings in the circle and yielded only four earned runs and 16 base hits. She struck out 24 and issued just three walks. In three complete-game efforts of seven innings, including both games against California, Ellyson needed less than 100 pitches to net the result. In the sweep of the Golden Bears, Ellyson threw a strike on 117 of 163 pitches on the night and held California to nine hits in 14 innings. Against Austin Peay, she was in command allowing only two of 24 batters faced to pass second base. In her final outing of the weekend, Ellyson pitched 9.2 scoreless innings in pitching Louisiana to the championship game of the 33rd Louisiana Classics.

2019 Weekly Award Winners
Player
February 12: Raina O'Neal, Louisiana
February 19: Logan Harrell, Georgia Southern
 
Pitcher
February 12: Kendra Lamb, Louisiana
February 19: Summer Ellyson, Louisiana
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Wednesday, February 20    
Georgia at Georgia State, 4 p.m.
Troy at Florida A&M, 4 p.m.
South Alabama at Florida State, 5 p.m.
Sam Houston State at Texas State, 6 p.m.
Troy at Florida A&M, 6 p.m.

Friday, February 22    
2-Texas State vs. Virginia Tech, 10:30 a.m.
3-ULM vs. Minnesota, 11 a.m.
4-Troy vs. Eastern Illinois, 11:30 a.m.
5-Coastal Carolina vs. Pittsburgh, Noon
6-Louisiana vs. Kent State, 12:30 p.m.
7-Appalachian State vs. Dartmouth, 1 p.m.
3-ULM vs. Missouri State, 1:30 p.m.
5-Coastal Carolina at Central Florida, 2:30 p.m.
9-Stephen F. Austin at South Alabama, 2:30 p.m.
2-Georgia State at South Florida, 3:30 p.m.
8-Prairie View A&M at UTA, 4 p.m.
9-Illinois at South Alabama, 4:45 p.m.
6-Louisiana at Baylor, 5:30 p.m.
7-Appalachian State at College of Charleston, 6 p.m.
4-Troy vs. North Dakota State, 7 p.m.
 
Saturday, February 23
5-Coastal Carolina vs. Penn State, 9 a.m.
1-Georgia Southern vs. UMBC, 9 a.m.
2-Georgia State vs. Virginia Tech, 9 a.m.
4-Troy vs. Eastern Illinois, 9 a.m.
6-Louisiana vs. North Texas, 10 a.m.
3-ULM vs. Missouri State, 11 a.m.
1-Georgia Southern vs. UMBC, 11:15 a.m.
5-Coastal Carolina vs. Pittsburgh, 11:30 a.m.
1-Georgia Southern at North Carolina State, 11:30 a.m.
2-Texas State vs. Virginia Tech, 11:30 a.m.
4-Troy vs. Villanova, 11:30 a.m.
7-Appalachian State vs. Radford, 12:15 p.m.
9-Hofstra at South Alabama, 1:30 p.m.
2-Georgia State at South Florida, 2 p.m.
6-Louisiana vs. TBD, 3/5:30 p.m.
8-Prairie View A&M at UTA, 3 p.m.
2-Texas State at South Florida, 4:15 p.m.
7-Appalachian State vs. Iowa State, 4:45 p.m.
8-Wichita State at UTA, 5:30 p.m.
3-ULM vs. Minnesota, 6 p.m.
9-Stephen F. Austin at South Alabama, 6 p.m.
 
Sunday, February 24
2-Georgia State vs. Virginia Tech, 8 a.m.
1-Georgia Southern vs. UMBC, 9 a.m.
6-Louisiana vs. TBD, 10 a.m./12:30 p.m.
2-Texas State at South Florida, 10:30 a.m.
1-Georgia Southern vs. Murray State, 11:30 a.m.
7-Appalachian State vs. Marshall, 12:30 p.m.
9-Nicholls at South Alabama, 1:30 p.m.
3-ULM at Alabama (SEC Network Plus), 1:30 p.m.
8-Abilene Christian at UTA, 2 p.m.
4-Troy at Auburn, 2 p.m.

All Times are Central and Subject to Change

KEY:
1-Fairfield Inn & Suites Crabtree Invitational, Raleigh, N.C.
2-USF-Rawlings Invitational, Tampa, Fla.
3-Easton Bama Bash, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
4-Tiger Invitational, Auburn, Ala.
5-Knights Classic, Orlando, Fla.
6-Baylor Invitational, Waco, Texas
7-Holy City Showdown, Charleston, S.C.
8-Maverick Invitational, Arlington, Texas
9-Mardi Gras Invitational, Mobile, Ala.