MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama softball moved up in both national polls released Tuesday after a 5-0 weekend at the 2014 Mardi Gras Invitational at Jaguar Field.
The Jaguars climbed from No. 20 to No. 18 in the USA Today/NFCA poll and from No. 22 to No. 19 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
UAB Drops Out
South Alabama opened the tournament with an 8-0 win over then-No. 21 UAB. The Blazers finished the weekend 1-3 and fell out of the rankings.
South Alabama is now the highest-ranked Sun Belt Conference team in both polls. Louisiana-Lafayette dropped from No. 13 to No. 20 in the USA Today poll and from No. 15 to No. 20 in the ESPN.com poll.
Alabama remains the highest-ranked team from the state. The Crimson Tide rose from sixth to fourth in the USA Today poll and stayed sixth in the ESPN.com poll.
Bulldog Invitational Next
The Jaguars travel to Athens, Ga., this weekend for the Bulldog Invitational. South Alabama plays Ohio at 9 a.m. and Mercer at 11:30 a.m. Friday, then Furman at 8 a.m. and host Georgia at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Jaguars and Bulldogs meet again at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Georgia is No. 19 in the USA Today poll, one spot behind South Alabama, and No. 17 in the ESPN.com poll, two spots ahead of the Jaguars.
