ULM’s McKay, Louisiana’s Trahan earn Community Coffee Sun Belt Softball Weekly Honors

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2018 Sun Belt Softball Weekly News and Notes:
Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats | Championship Information
FACTS
• Another busy week for Sun Belt softball with 51 games on the schedule, highlighted by three games on ESPN3 and one on SEC Network Plus.• All 10 Sun Belt teams won at least one game over the opening weekend with Louisiana (5-0) and Troy (3-0) sitting perfect so far.

• In the NCAA Division I statistics, Troy ranks tied for first in fielding percentage (1.000) and tied for sixth in earned run average (0.37) and ULM ranks tied for third in doubles per game (2.75) and tied for sixth in stolen bases per game (3.40).

• Louisiana is 16th and South Alabama is listed among the teams receiving votes in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Poll. The Ragin’ Cajuns are tied with Michigan for 19th in this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll.

• Louisiana senior pitcher Kylee Jo Trahan and South Alabama junior pitcher Alexis Reid were mentioned among the selected top performances in this week’s Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I weekly honors.

• The 2018 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship is set for May 9-12 at Alfred and Helen Lamson Park on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sydney McKay, ULM (Jr., Outfielder, Pearland, Texas)
ULM junior outfielder Sydney McKay hit .588 (10-for-17) with seven runs scored and seven RBI in leading ULM to a 3-1 record in its season-opening Mardi Gras Classic.

McKay was a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts. McKay went 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI in the Warhawks’ win 11-2 win over Grambling. She picked up an RBI with an infield single in the second and had an RBI single in the fifth. McKay went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI in the ULM’s 12-10 win over North Texas. She delivered a pair of two-run singles in the third and fourth innings. The Pearland, Texas, native went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in ULM’s 9-3 victory over Stephen F. Austin in the second game of a doubleheader. Her RBI single in the fifth tied the score at 3-3.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Kylee Jo Trahan, Louisiana (Sr., Pitcher, Burkburnett, Texas)
Louisiana senior pitcher Kylee Jo Trahan earned three victories and yielded just five hits over 15 innings pitched for the Ragin’ Cajuns in the Mardi Gras Classic.

Trahan limited foes to a .098 average in her time in the pitching circle. In her two starts, she yielded just one run, four hits and struck out 13 over a combined 12 innings. The senior hurler added a win in relief by retiring six of seven batters faced during extra innings vs. Eastern Illinois. The Burkburnett, Texas, native capped off a successful season-opening weekend with a one-hit shutout of Iowa in which she faced only three batters over the minimum.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Tuesday, February 13    
Texas Tech at UTA, 3:00 PM
ULM at LSU (TV: SEC Network Plus), 6:00 PM

Wednesday, February 14    
Georgia Tech at Georgia State, 4:00 PM
Auburn at Troy (TV: ESPN3), 5:00 PM

Thursday, February 15
Oregon State at Louisiana (TV: ESPN3), 6:00 PM

Friday, February 16
Delaware vs. Georgia State (Auburn, Ala.), 10:00 AM
Montana vs. Troy (Tucson, Ariz.), 10:00 AM
Illinois State vs. Texas State (Tempe, Ariz.), 10:00 AM
Akron vs. Appalachian State (Montgomery, Ala.), Noon
Canisius vs. UTA (Jacksonville, Fla.), Noon
St. Francis (Pa.) vs. Georgia State (Auburn, Ala.), 12:30 PM
Bryant vs. ULM, 1:00 PM
Kent State at Coastal Carolina, 1:30 PM
UTA at Jacksonville, 2:30 PM
Jacksonville State vs. Georgia Southern (Madeira Beach, Fla.), 3:00 PM
North Dakota vs. Texas State (Tempe, Ariz.), 3:00 PM
Robert Morris at Coastal Carolina, 4:00 PM
Nicholls vs. Appalachian State (Montgomery, Ala.), 5:00 PM
Troy at Arizona, 5:00 PM
Monmouth vs. Georgia Southern (Madeira Beach, Fla.), 5:30 PM
Colorado State vs. ULM (Tucson, Ariz.), 8:00 PM

Saturday, February 17
Bryant vs. Troy (Tucson, Ariz.), 10:00 AM
South Dakota State vs. UTA (Jacksonville, Fla.), 11:00 AM
Murray State vs. South Alabama (Starkville, Miss.), 11:00 AM
Kent State at Coastal Carolina, 11:00 AM
Delaware vs. Georgia State (Auburn, Ala.), 11:30 AM
UMKC vs. Georgia Southern (Madeira Beach, Fla.), 12:30 PM
Rider at Coastal Carolina, 1:30 PM
South Alabama at Mississippi State, 1:30 PM
UTA at North Florida, 1:30 PM
Holy Cross vs. Appalachian State (Montgomery, Ala.), 2:00 PM
Colorado State vs. Troy (Tucson, Ariz.), 2:00 PM
North Dakota vs. Texas State (Tempe, Ariz.), 2:15 PM
Montana vs. ULM (Tucson, Ariz.), 3:00 PM
Florida at Louisiana (TV: ESPN3), 5:00 PM
ULM at Arizona, 5:00 PM
Abilene Christian vs. Georgia Southern (Madeira Beach, Fla.), 5:30 PM
St. Francis (Pa.) vs. Georgia State (Auburn, Ala.), 7:00 PM
Texas State at Arizona State, 7:15 PM
Appalachian State at Alabama State, 7:30 PM

Sunday, February 18
UT Martin vs. Appalachian State, 10:00 AM
Montana vs. Troy (Tucson, Ariz.), 10:00 AM
Eastern Michigan vs. Georgia Southern (Madeira Beach, Fla.), 10:30 AM
UTA at North Florida, 10:30 AM
Drake vs. South Alabama (Starkville, Miss.), 11:00 AM
San Diego vs. Texas State (Tempe, Ariz.), 11:30 AM
Connecticut at Coastal Carolina, 12:45 PM
Georgia State at Auburn, 1:00 PM
Florida at Louisiana, 1:00 PM
Murray State vs. South Alabama (Starkville, Miss.), 1:30 PM
San Diego vs. ULM (Tucson, Ariz.), TBD
About the Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference continues to establish itself as a force to be reckoned with in competition.  The 2016-17 athletic season showed that the Sun Belt Conference takes a back seat to no other league in its competitive balance and in proving itself deserving of its status as a member of the NCAA’s highest conference tier.The Sun Belt has gone 8-3 in bowl games the past two years, which makes the Sun Belt’s winning percentage the best among all conferences. In fact, over the past four years no one ranks higher in bowl winning percentage than the Sun Belt. The Sun Belt also had the most wins and best win percentage among the “Group of Five” peer conferences, including victories over teams in the two top-rated leagues in the final computer rankings.During the recent 2016-17 academic year, Sun Belt member institutions awarded over $50 million in scholarships to more than 3,100 student-athletes, while also providing life experiences such as team building, domestic and foreign travel, community service, mentoring and recognition through honors and awards.

Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, ULM, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy will give the league 10 football members and enable the Sun Belt to inaugurate divisional football play and stage a conference championship game in 2018. Little Rock and UTA compete as Sun Belt members in all sports other than football.

For more information on the Sun Belt Conference, visit www.sunbeltsports.org
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