KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Alexis Reid and Devin Brown combined to toss a two-hit shutout as the Jaguars closed out the Diamond 9 Citrus I Classic with a 2-0 win over Bradley (4-6) Sunday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.  South recorded two-out runs in the second and third innings and made them stick en route to earning the win.

UP NEXT
-South Alabama (7-8) will remain on the road and travel to Birmingham, Ala., to take on UAB on Wednesday.  First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Mary Bowers Field.

Box Score (PDF)

Date: 2/25
Place: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (Kissimmee, Fla.)
Final Score: South Alabama 2, Bradley 0
Records: South Alabama (7-8), Bradley (4-6)

SCORING PLAYS 
-2 Inn. — USA, 1-0 — Katelyn Gruich (pinch hitter) walk (RBI), scoring Brittani Reid
-3 Inn. — USA, 2-0 — B. Red single to left (RBI), scoring Kristian Foster

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME
-With a runner on and South Alabama holding a 2-0 lead, Bradley looked as if it had tied the game up as Stacia Seeton drove a ball down the left field line, but Jaguar leftfielder Haleigh Lowe reached over the fence and brought the ball back preserving the two-run lead for South.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
-B.Reid recorded her third multi-hit game of the season going 2-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI.
-Foster also had one hit – a double – in her three plate appearances and scored a run, while Lowe registered the other base hit for the Jaguars.  Gruich had the other RBI for South.
-Devin Brown (5-4) earned the win in relief as she pitched five innings of one-hit ball, allowing just three baserunners.
-Maria Schroeder and Jillian Navarro recorded the two base hits for Bradley, while Allison Apke walked twice in the contest.
-BU's Emma Jackson entered the game in the bottom of the fifth after a leadoff walk and tossed two innings of no-hit ball, retiring all five batters that she faced.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Both of South Alabama's two runs came with two outs in the inning.
-After have four batters reach base in the first two innings, South Alabama pitching only allowed three the rest of the way – a walk, a hit and an error. 
-The Braves left seven runners on base.
-After using just 13 pitches in the bottom half of the first, Bradley starter Julie Kestas (2-2) threw 85 pitches over the next three-plus innings, including 39 in the second inning alone.
-Foster's leadoff at-bat to start the second was a 12-pitch at-bat for the Jaguars.  During the at-bat, Foster fouled off seven pitches, including six two-strike pitches from Kestas.

GAME FACTS
-Bradley loaded the bases in to opening frame with a hit batter, a single to left and a walk.  The Braves looked as if they might take the early lead as Wysocki was hit by a pitch, but she was ruled to have leaned into it and was brought back to the plate.  A. Reid later retired Wysocki swinging and then recorded a fly out to left to end the inning.
-South Alabama loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom half of the second.  B. Reid dropped in a single in shallow center to get things going and Lyric Cabral was then hit by a pitch from Kestas.  USA loaded the bases the next at-bat as Hannah Smith worked the count full and then drew a walk.  Gruich then worked the count full as well and drew a base-on-balls to plate B. Reid.
-The Jaguars worked some more two-out magic their next time up.  Foster double to center to ignite things.  Abby Krzywiecki then drew a walk and on ball four, Kestas' pitch was high going to the back stop allowing Foster to advance to third.  With runners at the corners, B. Reid lined a single to left to make it 2-0.
-Apke reached on a fielding error with one out in the top of the sixth and with two outs in the inning, Seeton drove a ball to deep left that looked as if it were going to tie the contest up at two-runs apiece.  Lowe though reached over the left field fence and brought the ball back ending the inning and preserving the two-run lead for the Jaguars.
-The Braves again had a chance to tie the game up in the seventh as Navarro doubled down the leftfield line with one out, but Brown was able to get a fly out to center and a ground out to first to end the game.

NOTES
-The 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second marked the first of the weekend for the Jaguars and the first in their last five outings.
-The relief win was the 56th of Brown's career.
-Gruich's second-inning walk was the seventh pinch-hit walk of the season and the third with the bases loaded that has plated a run for South.
-The meeting versus the Braves marked the first in the all-time series between the two clubs and the second versus a Missouri Valley Conference opponent this season (Drake).

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
-On the game: "I thought we had some gritty at-bats against Bradley and were able to string some of those at-bats together.  To me, that was the difference in the game.  Alexis [Reid] came in and did what we needed her to do and then Devin [Brown] came in and closed the door.  It thought the two of them did a great job today and our offense worked behind them.  There are still pockets of stuff that we need to work on and figure out, but I was happy with the fight, the grit and us stringing together quality at-bats, and getting results for those at-bats."
-On Kristian Foster sparking the offense with her at-bat to begin the second: "I thought Foster had a really good day yesterday and she had another good day today.  She just had that champion's mind set of 'You aren't going to beat me'.  She just willed her way there and fought her way there, and that's what we need right now.  We need that mental toughness and I thought that's what she provided for us." 

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_Jags. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Bullpen Club, the softball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  Members have access to purchase parking passes and receive Jaguar Softball gear.  All donations to the Bullpen Club go directly to support the South Alabama softball program.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/bullpenclub

—USA—