HATTIESBURG, Miss. |
Gabby Stagner went a combined 5-for-7 with three doubles and eight runs driven in as South Alabama swept Sunday's doubleheader versus Southern Miss to complete the Sun Belt Conference series sweep of the Golden Eagles at the USM Softball Complex.
For the series, Stagner was 7-for-10 at the plate with three doubles, a grand slam, three runs scored and 12 RBI to lead South Alabama (35-13, 17-4 SBC) against Southern Miss (20-22, 4-16 SBC).
In the circle,
Jenna Hardy (15-7) went eighth innings and struck out a career high 13 batters in the opener, while
Olivia Lackie (19-6) struck out nine in her one-hit shutout.
Quotable – head coach Becky Clark
- On Sunday's doubleheader sweep: "Two great team wins today. Liv (
Olivia Lackie) and Jen (
Jenna Hardy) were dominant today. Offensively, I thought we worked together and attacked pitches all day long. Gabby (Stagner) had a career weekend. I'm proud of her and the work she has put in. Overall, I thought our offense took a big step forward."
Senior P Jenna Hardy
- On the team getting the series sweep: "This weekend was great for our team. Being able to come out and take all three is a step in the right direction. We pushed hard to win and rallied behind each other."
- On her Sunday performance in the circle: "Today was a great day for me because all my pitches were working. It really helped knowing I had my defense behind me and that the team was working hard in the box to get some runs across. I know that no matter what that my team will do what they need to in order for us to pull it out in the end and that they support me."
Sophomore 1B Gabby Stagner
- On her performance at the plate in the series: "This weekend, we talked a lot about attacking the pitch you wanted to hit and that was my mindset going up to the plate every at-bat."
- On coming through with the big hits in both games on Sunday: "I wanted to be in those big situations. I didn't try to do too much and I knew I had to work the middle to opposite field, and it worked. It was exciting to get the big hits to get the rallies going and get us on top."
Game 1 – South Alabama 4, Southern Miss 1 (8 inn.)
Hardy struck out a career-high 13 batters in her eight innings of work, allowing an unearned run on four hits and just one walk, while the Jags scored four runs in the top of the eighth to clinch the series with a 4-1 victory in game two of the series.
Stagner was 2-for-3 at the plate and broke the scoreless tie in extra innings with a two-run double, while
Victoria Ortiz extended her reached base safely streak to 24 games with her eighth-inning RBI double.
Mackenzie Brasher,
Odalys Cordova and
Bailey Welch also had two-hit performances for the Jags.
Meredith Keel led the game off with a single to left and Brasher reached on an infield single, but Morgan Leinestock (11-14) induced a ground out fielder's choice and struck out the next two Jag batters to end the frame.
Jana Sims led off the bottom half of the second with an infield hit, but Hardy left the runner stranded as she struck out the next three batters.
Stagner led off the fourth with a single to center – the first hit for the Jags since the first inning – who moved into scoring position one batter later on after a ground out. South looked as if it had put the first run of the game on the board two batters later. With two away, Cordova lined a single back up the middle and Stagner was initially ruled safe after obstruction was called at the plate. However, after a meeting with the umpires and an official review, Stagner was called out and the obstruction call was taken away.
Hannah Borden flared a single to left center, but again Hardy pitched around and retired the next three USM batters.
Welch led off the top of the fifth with a single through the right side of the infield and was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by
Emma Kropp. With Welch at third and two away in the inning, but Leinestock again held the Jags off the scoreboard, inducing a ground out to second.
Scout Jennings led off the Golden Eagle fifth with a single to left, but she was later thrown out attempting to steal by Kropp – the senior catcher's 16th caught stealing of her career. Hardy then struck out Caroline Worrell to end the inning – her 10th of the game and the second double-digit strike out game of her career.
After reaching on a fielder's choice, Ortiz moved to second on a wild pitch with two outs in the sixth, but Leinestock ended the inning with a ground out to second.
Cordova flared a single out to center to begin the seventh who then moved into scoring position on Welch's sac bunt. Cordova then stole third with two outs to put the go-ahead run 60-feet away, but a fly out left the Jaguar runner stranded.
Keel reached on an error to lead off the top of the eighth and Brasher singled off the USM first baseman's glove who was drawn in on the play to cover the possible bunt attempt. Stagner then broke the scoreless tie as she lined a double to the gap in right center, scoring Keel and Brasher (2-0). Ortiz then followed with an RBI double of her own to plate the third run of the inning. Ortiz came around to score when Leinestock's throw to first was off the mark on Willem's sacrifice bunt (4-0).
Jennings reached on Jaguar error and Maddie Moody put a pair on with a one-out pinch-hit single to right in the bottom half of the eighth. With two out, Southern Miss ended the shutout effort as Jennings came home on the second error of the frame. Hardy was able to finish off the Golden Eagles one batter later with a fly out to left.
Scoring Summary
• 8th Inn | Stagner doubled to right center, 2 RBI; Keel scored, unearned, and Brasher scored (2-0, USA)
• 8th Inn | Ortiz doubled to right, RBI; Stagner scored (3-0, USA)
• 8th Inn | Willems sacrifice bunt; Ortiz advanced to third and scored on error by p, unearned (4-0, USA)
• 8th Inn | Borden reaches on a error by ss; Jennings scored (4-1, USM)
Postgame Notes
• The extra-inning game was third game this spring to go eight or more innings
• It was also the eighth extra-inning game in the series (USA, 3-0)
• With her leadoff single to start the contest, Keel has had at least one hit in 33 of South's 47 games
• She has also had a hit in 15 of her last 19 and reached base safely in 23 of her last 25 contests, including 16 of her last 17
• Brasher has had a hit in six of her last eight with her first-inning single
• With her two hits, Brasher (41) moved into a tie with Amanda Minahan (2014-17) and Stephanie Pilkington (2013-16) for seventh in career multi-hit games
• Brasher has scored at least one run in 15 of her last 24, registering 24 runs scored during that span
• Cordova has had a hit in 14 of her last 19 and reached base safely in 16 of her last 18
• Hardy set a new career high in strikeouts, eclipsing her previous mark of 11 set earlier this spring against Missouri State (2/17/23)
• Hardy double-digit strikeouts in six of her eight innings of work, striking out the side in the second
• Ortiz extended her reached base safely streak to 24 games – the third longest streak in program history
• Ortiz has had a hit in 23 of her last 27 – including nine straight
• The RBI double by Ortiz (163) was the 163rd hit of her career, tying her with Pilkington for ninth at South
• Stagner's double also marked the ninth-straight game in which she has reached base safely, as she has had a hit 11 of her last 14
• The 10 hits mark the fifth-straight game in which the Jag offense has reached double figures in the category
Game 2 – South Alabama 11, Southern Miss 0 (5 inn.)
South Alabama scored a run in all five innings and Lackie picked up her 19th win as she tossed a one-hit shutout with an 11-0, run-rule victory.
Stagner was 3-for-4 in the contests and drove in a career-high six runs. Brasher added a pair of hits and scored three runs, while Keel had a hit and a walk and scored twice.
Keel walked on four-straight out of the zone to start the game and the graduate senior stole sixth base of the spring to move into scoring position. Stagner then drove a ball to the gap in right center – her 13th of the season – to score Keel and give South the early lead (1-0).
The Jaguars broke the game open with five runs on six hits in the top of the second. South Alabama put a pair on with one out after a
Marley Sims' bunt single – the second of the inning – and Keel reached on an infield single to load the bases. Brasher then dropped in a single in shallow left to plate pinch runner
Erin McGlothln. Stagner and Ortiz followed with a two-run singles of their own to extend the lead to 6-0.
With one out in the third, Welch blasted her first career home run when she drove a 1-2 pitch over the wall in right (7-0).
Brasher led off the Jaguar fourth with an infield single – her second of the contest – and with two outs, Willems lined a single to left center to score the cente rfielder and make it 8-0.
Stephanie Gonzalez dropped in a one-out single in the fifth and pinch hitter
Sophia Mendoza was hit by a pitch one batter later to put a pair on. After a ground out moved the runners up a base, pinch hitter
Shelby Garrett drew a two-out walk to load the bases. Stagner then continued her excellent series as she cleared the bases with her second double of the contest, this one stretching the Jaguar lead to 11-0.
Scoring Summary
• 1st Inn | Stagner doubled to right center, RBI; Keel scored (1-0, USA)
• 2nd Inn | Brasher singled to left, RBI; McGlothlin scored (2-0, USA)
• 2nd Inn | Stagner singled to ss, 2 RBI; Sims scored and Keel scored (4-0, USA)
• 2nd Inn | Ortiz singled up the middle, 2 RBI; Brasher scored and Stagner scored (6-0, USA)
• 3rd Inn | Welch homered to right, RBI (7-0, USA)
• 4th Inn | Willems singled to left center, RBI; Brasher scored (8-0, USA)
• 5th Inn | Stagner doubled to right center, 3 RBI; Gonzalez scored, Sims scored and Brasher scored (11-0, USA)
Postgame Notes
• The 12 hits marked the sixth-straight game in which the Jaguar offense has reached double figures in the category, the first time the club has done so since the 2019 season
• The leadoff walk for Keel marked the 17th time in her last 18 games in which she has reached base safely and the 24th in her last 26 outings
• The shutout for Lackie was the 31st of her career, matching former Jag
Devin Brown's (2015-18) program mark in the category
• Lackie also matched Brown's single-season shutout mark as it was her 12th
• Since her Feb. 17 start vs. Mississippi Valley State, Lackie has allowed one or fewer runs in 16 of her starts, tossing 12 solo shutouts and combined on 3 more over that stretch
• Keel has now had at least one hit in 34 of South's 48 games, including 16 of her last 20
• Keel has also scored a run in nine of her last 10, crossing the plate 12 times over that span
• The 14 doubles by Stagner this spring are tied with three other players for sixth-most in a season
• Stagner's second-inning double also marked the 10th-straight game in which she has reached base safely, as she has had a hit 12 of her last 15
• Stagner has recorded eight extra-base hits over her last nine contests
• The six runs driven in were not only a career best for Stagner, but the single-game record for the Jags, which have been done four other times in program history
• The first-inning walk drawn by Ortiz extended her reached base safely streak to 25 games
• Over her last nine games, Ortiz has recorded 14 hits, scored eight runs and driven in 14 runs
• Ortiz has had a hit in 24 of her last 28 – including 10 straight
• Ortiz (164) moved passed Pilkington for ninth at South in career RBI
• Brasher has had a hit in seven of her last nine with her second-inning RBI single
• Brasher has scored at least one run in 16 of her last 25, registering 25 runs scored during that span
• The multi-hit game was the 42nd of her career, which is seventh-best at South
• Willems has had at least one hit in eight of her last 11, reaching base safely in 12 of her last 13
• Mendoza has reached base safely in seven of her eight pinch-hit opportunities this season
Up Next
• South Alabama will return home for its final Sun Belt Conference series of the season with a three-game set against in-state rival Troy. First pitch of game one versus the Trojans is set for Thursday at 6 p.m. at Jaguar Field.
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