2019 Sun Belt Softball Weekly News and Notes:
Week 14 Release (PDF) | Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats | Championship | Records Book
 
AROUND #SUNBELTSB
• The 2019 Sun Belt Softball Championship returns to San Marcos, Texas and Bobcat Softball Stadium for the third time. Texas State also served as host for the 2015 and 2016 championships.
 
• All 12 games of the 2019 championship are set for live coverage on ESPN+, available online and via the ESPN app, with Matt Stewart and Francesca Enea calling all the action. Live statistics are available on SunBeltSports.org.

• Louisiana (47-4, 25-0 Sun Belt) comes into the championship with the No. 1 seed for the 17th time. The Ragin' Cajuns seek their 15th Sun Belt Tournament title and fourth in six seasons.
 
• The 2019 Louisiana squad is 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.
 
• Troy (37-28, 19-8) won a program-record 19 Sun Belt games and earned the championship's No. 2 seed. The Trojans won five-straight conference series this season for the first time in program history. Last year, Troy played six tournament games, falling one game short of the championship game in a nine-inning loss to Texas State.
 
• UTA (29-24, 17-10), this year's No. 3 seed, was eliminated from the championship by Troy last season and fell just one game shy of advancing to the championship game in 2017.
 
• Texas State (28-23, 16-10) won its first Sun Belt regular-season and tournament titles a season ago. In the previous times hosting, the Bobcats lost in the 2016 championship game and were eliminated in their first game in the 2015 championship.
 
• Appalachian State (31-22, 13-13) is appearing in its first-ever Sun Belt Softball Championship. The fifth-seeded Mountaineers are enjoying their best season since joining the conference – 31 overall wins tie the program record for the most wins in a season and 13 Sun Belt wins are their best in five seasons in the conference.
 
• The 13 Sun Belt wins by Coastal Carolina (35-19, 13-14) are its most since joining the conference three seasons ago. The sixth-seeded Chanticleers are back in the championship for the first time since 2017.
 
• Of the eight teams in this year's Sun Belt Softball Championship, only Louisiana (58), Troy (18) and ULM (11) have 10 or more tournament wins to their credit.
 
• Louisiana enters the championship ranked fifth in the Softball America Top 25, seventh in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and eighth in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls this week.
 
• Louisiana owns the third-best record in NCAA Division I, behind Oklahoma (47-2) and UCLA (45-2). The Ragin' Cajuns' 24 wins in a row are the second-longest winning streak in the country behind Oklahoma's 38 straight.
 
• In the latest NCAA Division I Softball RPI, the Sun Belt has five teams in the top 100 – Louisiana (18th), Troy (58th), UTA (60th), Texas State (61st) and Coastal Carolina (90th). The Sun Belt ranks eighth as a conference behind the SEC, Pac-12, Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, American and Mountain West.
 
• Louisiana junior pitcher Summer Ellyson is 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. The initial list will be narrowed to the 10 finalists on May 8 before the top 3 finalists will be announced on May 22. The 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed May 28.
 
• The Sun Belt continues to be home to three of the nation's top pitchers in terms of victories this season. Ellyson continues to lead Division I with 34 wins. Troy freshman Leanna Johnson is tied for eighth with 25 and Coastal Carolina sophomore Kaitlin Beasley-Polko is tied for 21st with 22.
 
• Ellyson is also among the nation's top 10 pitchers in three other categories – third in strikeouts (303), fifth in ERA (0.98) and ninth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.45).
 
• 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.
 
• Johnson is one of only 28 pitchers in the country with 200 or more strikeouts this season. She enters the week with 224 strikeouts to her credit, which ranks 18th in the nation.
 
• Louisiana senior outfielder Keeli Milligan has broken the school and Sun Belt single-season records for stolen bases. 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. Her 57 stolen bases this season are second in the nation behind the 58 by Southeastern Louisiana's Jaquelyn Ramon. Among active Division I players, the Texas A&M transfer is second in career stolen bases with 164.
 
• The 2019 postseason honors were unveiled, highlighted by Louisiana capturing four individual awards – junior shortstop Alissa Dalton named Player of the Year, junior pitcher Summer 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.

• 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.

• 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.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
2019 SUN BELT SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Wednesday, May 8
Game 1 – No. 7 Georgia Southern vs. No. 6 Coastal Carolina (ESPN+), 10 a.m.
Game 2 – No. 8 ULM vs. No. 5 Appalachian State (ESPN+), 12:30 p.m.
Game 3 – Game 1 Winner vs. No. 3 UTA (ESPN+), 3 p.m.
Game 4 – Game 2 Winner at No. 4 Texas State (ESPN+), 5:30 p.m.
 
Thursday, May 9                                                          
Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. No. 2 Troy (ESPN+), 10 a.m.
Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. No. 1 Louisiana (ESPN+), 12:30 p.m.
Game 7 – Game 4 Loser vs. Game 5 Loser (ESPN+), 3 p.m.
Game 8 – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser (ESPN+), 5:30 p.m.
                                                      
Friday, May 10
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner (ESPN+), 11 a.m.
Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (ESPN+), 2 p.m.
Game 11 – Game 9 Loser vs. Game 10 Winner (ESPN+), 5 p.m.
                                            
Saturday, May 11
Game 12 – Game 9 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner (ESPN+), 1 p.m.
 
2019 NCAA DIVISION I SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP  
Sunday, May 12
2019 NCAA Division I Softball Championship Selection Show (ESPN2), 8 p.m.

All Times are Central and Subject to Change