South Alabama softball has beaten a ranked SEC team in each of the last three weeks, but the team against which the Jaguars ultimately measure themselves comes to Mobile this weekend.

Louisiana, winners of nine straight Sun Belt Conference championships and four straight Sun Belt tournament titles, visits Jaguar Field for three games beginning Friday. The series opener — set for 6 p.m. Friday, weather-permitting — is already a sellout, a much-anticipated matchup between the two teams picked to finish 1-2 in the league in the 2024 preseason.

Becky Clark, now in her 17th season as South Alabama’s head coach, said she is excited not only for the high-level college softball sure to be played in Mobile this weekend, but also for the potentially symbolic nature of the matchup between the Jaguars and Ragin’ Cajuns.

“I love it for our kids, for them to be able to play in that atmosphere, and I love it for the young girls who are gonna get to come here and watch them play and see what’s possible,” said Clark, who picked up her 700th career win when the Jaguars beat No. 11 Alabama on March 2. “You’re planting seeds for young ladies to know that this is a thing, and hopefully they at some point would want to be on the field and be doing what our kids are doing.

“So I think it’s a full circle kind of thing where you’re happy for your kids playing in that environment. And at the same time, you see all the little girls that come and watch and know that that’s just a cool moment for them and hopefully inspires them to do something similar.”

South Alabama is 14-8-1 after a brutal pre-conference schedule, which included tournaments at South Carolina, Alabama and Arkansas the last three weeks. The Jaguars picked up one win against each of the host teams in that time, and also tied nationally ranked Arizona during its trip to Tuscaloosa.

Louisiana is 15-12, but has also had some success against the top teams in the country. The Ragin’ Cajuns beat No. 1 Oklahoma 7-5 in extra innings on March 3, snapping the three-time defending national champion Sooners’ 71-game winning streak.

“I think that this season has definitely made us battle-tested,” South Alabama pitcher Olivia Lackie said. “It has not been easy being on the road for three weekends at three tough SEC schools. But Clark (schedules) all of that for a reason, and I think we’ll be very prepared for Sun Belt play.”

South Alabama has finished second in the Sun Belt Conference in each of the last two seasons, and made an NCAA Regional trip in 2021. But one opponent Becky Clark’s Jaguars have been unable to solve in that time is Louisiana, which has won 23 straight times against South Alabama dating to the 2015 Sun Belt tournament championship game.

It’s not just the Jaguars that the Ragin’ Cajuns have dominated. They’ve won 81 straight Sun Belt series in the last 10 seasons, with their last series loss coming when South Alabama beat them two out of three in Mobile in March 2013.

Clark dismissed the idea that her teams have had any sort of mental hurdle to clear vs. Louisiana. When the teams have met in recent years, it’s simply come down to a talented team playing well, she said.

“They’ve always got a good team,” Clark said. “And the series comes down to grit and level of play. Any time you play a good team, which they are a good team, you’ve got to match that level of play. And so for us, if you want to beat a good team, you’ve got to play as well or better than that team.”

This year’s South Alabama team is once again built on pitching and defense, with senior pitcher Olivia Lackie enjoying another stellar season. The Walker, La., product is 10-3 with a 1.32 ERA this season, with 100 strikeouts in 79.1 innings.

Lackie is already South Alabama’s career leader with 34 shutouts, and had a solid shot to become the program’s all-time record-holder in wins, appearances and strikeouts by the end of the season. (Current Jaguars pitching coach Hannah Campbell holds the program record for victories with 83, 18 head of Lackie.)

“Liv’s just a professional,” Clark said of Lackie. “She prepares, she knows who she is, she knows when she steps in the game, what she’s gonna have to do, she’s very accountable. … She’s just pitching with freedom right now, which is an amazing thing. I’m happy for her, because she works incredibly hard and she wants to be successful. She wants to see her team be successful and she does all the little things that go into that.”

Offensively, the Jaguars rely on aggressive tactics rather than 1-thru-9 slugging. Senior leadoff hitter and center fielder Mackenzie Brasher makes the South Alabama offense go, hitting .321 this season with 19 runs scored and 15 stolen bases.

Brasher — who played at Gulf Shores High School — is among four local products on the South Alabama roster, along with senior third baseman Gabby Stagner (Faith Academy), No. 2 pitcher Ryley Harrison (Fairhope) and freshman backup catcher Molly Pitts. Stagner is by far the team’s top run-producer, batting .365 with a .770 slugging percentage, eight doubles, two triples and six homers and 22 RBIs out of the No. 2 spot in the lineup this season.

“I think for me, just having confidence at the plate has been the key,” Stagner said. “It’s been about knowing that I can hit the ball well, just having an approach when I get up there hitting and sticking to it and not trying to get too big in the situations or the moments that I’m in.”

Saturday’s game is set for 3 p.m., with Sunday’s finale scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. The full series schedule will be re-evaluated based on weather on Friday morning.