NO. 12 SOFTBALL BATTLES TROJANS IN MIDWEEK ROAD CLASH

—USA—

No. 12 University of South Alabama takes its nine-game win streak to Troy on Wednesday for a midweek Sun Belt Conference matchup with the Trojans.First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. A link to live stats can be found above, as well as on the softball schedule page. Play-by-play audio will be provided free of charge by Braden Cheek as part of Jaguar All-Access.USA (25-3) hosts the Trojans (14-18-2) on Saturday, May 3, in a doubleheader that will round out the league series.The Jaguars enter the midweek clash fresh off a series sweep of UT-Arlington at Jaguar Field last weekend. USA outscored the Mavericks, 19-1, in three games to move to the top of SBC standings with a 3-0 league record.South Alabama appeared at No. 12 in this week's USA Today/NFCA Division I Top-25 poll, marking the program's highest-ever rank. The Jags were also ranked 7in the first edition of the NCAA RPI poll, another program-best.The Jaguar pitching staff leads the nation in ERA for the second straight week after seeing its overall ratio shrink to 0.90, powered by the country's leader in the category, Farish Beard, who boasts a 0.41. Counterpart Hannah Campbell ranks fifth in the nation with a 0.70.Troy enters Wednesday's contest on a six-game losing streak after being swept by Western Kentucky last weekend in Bowling Green. The Trojans are 2-2-1 at home this year and will be playing in front of their home crowd for the first time since Feb. 9.USA leads the all-time series with the Trojans, 12-8, last defeating them in the first round of the 2013 SBC Championships, 5-1, at Troy Softball Complex.For the second week in a row, No. 12/13 University of South Alabama's pitching staff leads the NCAA in ERA, with a 0.90. Junior righty Farish Beard is the nation's individual leader with a 0.41 ratio, while senior left-hander Hannah Campbell moved two spots to fifth this week, currently boasting a 0.70.Beard also leads the country in hits allowed per seven innings (2.05), is fourth in strikeouts per seven innings (11.5) and ranks seventh in victories (14). Campbell is fourth in walks allowed per seven innings (0.62) and 10in saves (3).Since dropping a road game to top-ranked Alabama last season in Tuscaloosa, South Alabama has won 16 straight road contests. USA was 14-1 on the road last season, the nation's best road ratio, and is 4-0 on the road in 2014.USA received its highest-ever ranking in this year's first edition of the NCAA RPI poll, the Jaguars appearing at No. 7.On Monday, USA appeared at No. 12 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top-25 poll, marking the program's highest-ever poll placement, after the Jaguars got as high as 13ahead of the NCAA postseason last year.The Trojans are 14-18-2 this season after being swept by Western Kentucky in the teams' first taste of Sun Belt Conference action. WKU outscored Troy, 16-1, in three games in Bowling Green, behind ace Emily Rousseau, who no-hit the Trojans in the finale.Troy in currently on a six-game losing streak and will be playing in front of its home crowd for the first time since falling, 7-1, to Alabama on Feb. 9. Troy is 2-2-1 at home this year.The Trojans are currently last in the league in batting average (.214), slugging percentage (.313), on-base percentage (.290), doubles (24), triples (1), total bases (264) and walks (69) and lead in errors (48). They are tied for second in the league with Georgia State for the most hits given up (214) and have issued the second-most walks in the SBC (102).Troy is batting .222 overall and has outscored its opponents this year, 117-112. Opponents are batting .246 against them and have outhit them, 192-171.Ebony Wright leads the Trojans at the plate, batting at a .361 clip on 26-of-72 hitting. She leads the club with 12 runs scored and has gone 8-for-9 in stolen bases this year. Michelle Phillips leads in RBI with 23 on the year. She and Amanda Winters lead the club in homers with four apiece.Jaycee Affeldt is 7-9 in the circle with a team-low 2.33 ERA. Affeldt has made 13 starts and given up 85 hits, 52 runs (34 earned) and struck out 99 batters to 38 walks in 102 innings pitched.For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).