2019 Sun Belt Softball Weekly News and Notes:
Week 16 Release (PDF) | Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats | Championship | Records Book
 
AROUND #SUNBELTSB
• Sun Belt softball had multiple teams in the postseason for the eighth straight year with Louisiana in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship and Appalachian State and UTA in the Postseason National Invitational Softball Championship.
 
• The Sun Belt had one team in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and boasted multiple teams in the Postseason NISC for the second time in three seasons.
 
• The Sun Belt holds an 11-9 (.550) record in five Postseason NISC appearances.
 
• UTA (33-27, 17-10 Sun Belt) is back in the NISC Championship Round for the second year in a row. The Mavericks have appeared in all three Postseason NISC. Last season, UTA became the first Sun Belt team to advance to the NISC Championship Round after winning the Region 4 title in Conway, Ark.
 
• This postseason, the Mavericks won the NISC Nacogdoches Regional with wins over host Stephen F. Austin (once) and McNeese (twice). Senior outfielder Laura Curry was named the regional’s Most Valuable Player, while sophomore pitcher Randi Phillips, senior outfielder Krista Rude and junior shortstop Whitney Walton were named to the All-Regional Team.
 
• In four postseason games this season, Curry leads the Mavericks with a .538 batting average and a team-high five RBI. Walton has a team-high eight hits, Rude has a team-high five runs scored and Phillips has earned all three wins in the circle with a 0.33 ERA in 21.2 innings pitched.
 
• UTA's 17 conference wins and No. 3 seed for the Sun Belt Softball Championship are both program records.
 
• Louisiana (52-6, 25-0) has made the NCAA Tournament field every year since the Sun Belt started sponsoring softball as a varsity sport beginning with the 2000 season. The Ragin' Cajuns made their 21st consecutive and 29th overall NCAA Tournament appearance this season.
 
 • As a conference, the Sun Belt holds a 68-59 (.535) record in 30 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Ragin' Cajuns are the only Sun Belt team to advance to the Super Regionals (2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016) and Women's College World Series (2003, 2008, and 2014).
 
• The 2019 Louisiana squad was the first Sun Belt team in conference history to finish league play 25-0 and just the second team in program and Sun Belt history to finish conference play undefeated, joining the 2004 Louisiana squad that went 18-0. The Ragin' Cajuns' 25-0 start in Sun Belt play eclipsed the previous record of 18-0 achieved twice by Louisiana in 2001 and 2004.
 
• Louisiana entered the postseason ranked sixth in the Softball America Top 25, seventh in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and ninth in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls.
 
• Appalachian State (31-25, 13-13) earned its first postseason bid in program history. The Mountaineers' 31 wins tied the program record for most wins in a single season and marked just the second time all-time to record 30 wins in a season.
 
• Appalachian State, as the No. 5 seed, earned its first Sun Belt Softball Championship appearance after its best season since joining the Sun Belt with the 13 conferences victories.
 
• Appalachian State set the program record for the longest winning streak in a season with eight-straight wins from Feb. 15 to March 1.
 
• In the NCAA Division I Softball RPI heading into the postseason, the Sun Belt had five teams in the top 100 – Louisiana (17th), Texas State (62nd), Troy (63rd), UTA (67th) and Coastal Carolina (75th). The Sun Belt ranked eighth as a conference behind the SEC, Pac-12, Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, American and Mountain West.
 
• Louisiana junior pitcher Summer Ellyson closed the season with an NCAA Division I-leading 39 wins. The Sun Belt boasted three of the nation's top pitchers in victories for the majority of the season. Troy freshman Leanna Johnson ranked tied for 14th with 25 wins and Coastal Carolina sophomore Kaitlin Beasley-Polko ranked tied for 24th with 23 heading into the second week of the postseason.
 
• Ellyson also ended her season among the nation's top 10 pitchers in three other categories – second in strikeouts (354), seventh in ERA (1.11) and 10th in hits allowed per seven innings (3.88).
 
• Ellyson’s seven Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week selections equaled the most by a Louisiana pitcher in a single season since Ashley Brignac received seven in 2011. The Ragin' Cajuns' single-season record is eight by Brooke Mitchell in 2004. Louisiana owns 88 Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week awards in program history.
 
• Louisiana senior outfielder Keeli Milligan broke the school and Sun Belt single-season records for stolen bases this season. Milligan set the school record with her 52nd stolen base on April 19 against Georgia State, eclipsing the previous mark of 51 recorded by Dorsey Steamer back in 1992. She swiped her 56th and 57th stolen bases on April 27 against Coastal Carolina, passing the Sun Belt's single-season record of 55 by WKU's Olivia Watkins in 2014. She closed the season with 60 stolen bases this season, ranked second in the nation behind Southeastern Louisiana's Jaquelyn Ramon's 63. Among active Division I players, the Texas A&M transfer finished the season second in career stolen bases with 165.
 
• The Sun Belt had 12 players receive 2019 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region honors with Ellyson and Louisiana junior shortstop Alissa Dalton earning first-team recognition.
 
• Five Sun Belt softball student-athletes graced the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-District® Softball Teams, as selected by CoSIDA. Georgia Southern junior outfielder Shelby Wilson and Georgia State redshirt senior third base Kristin Hawkins and senior outfielder Reagan Morgan and Coastal Carolina sophomore outfielder Courtney Dean were named to the District 4 first team, while UTA junior shortstop Whitney Walton was named to the District 7 first team.
 
• The 2019 Sun Belt softball postseason honors were highlighted by Louisiana capturing four individual awards – Dalton named Player of the Year, Ellyson named Pitcher of the Year, junior outfielder Sarah Hudek named Newcomer of the Year and head coach Gerry Glasco named Coach of the Year – and Troy freshman pitcher Leanna Johnson earning Freshman of the Year honors.
 
• Ellyson was one of 26 finalists for the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. Considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women’s collegiate softball, the award recognizes the outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female players across the country.

• Sun Belt softball has been honoring the life of Geri Ann Glasco, daughter of Louisiana head coach Gerry Glasco, this season. 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.

• The National Fastpitch Coaches Association, in partnership with the Natasha Watley Foundation (NWF) and the Glasco Family, has created a Geri Ann Glasco Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship will be awarded to one female assistant coach in the first five years of her career at the collegiate level. Each year this scholarship will cover costs associated with attendance to the NFCA National Convention in December.
 
• WeCOACH, in partnership with NWF and the Glasco Family, also announced the creation of a Geri Ann Glasco Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship will be awarded to a female assistant coach in the first five years of her career at the NCAA level. Each year this scholarship will cover tuition and a travel stipend to attend WeCOACH's NCAA Women Coaches Academy.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
2019 NISC CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
Friday, May 24
Game 1 - Iowa State vs. Loyola Marymount, 2 p.m.
Game 2 - Liberty vs. UTA, 5 p.m.
                                                       
Saturday, May 25
Game 3 - Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 11 a.m.
Game 4 - Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 2 p.m.
Game 5 - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser, 5 p.m.
 
Sunday, May 26
Game 6 - Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 1 p.m.
Game 7 - Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser, 4:30 p.m. (if necessary)
 
All Times Central and Subject to Change