Box Score - South Alabama 7, Louisiana-Monroe 4.pdf

MONROE, La. – The University of South Alabama softball team belted four home runs en route to a 7-4 victory on Sunday and complete the series sweep of Louisiana-Monroe at Geo-Surfaces Field.

"It was nice to have some power today; it was a real difference for us," South Alabama head coach Becky Clark said.  "KK's [Katelyn Gruich] hit in the beginning kind of set the tone and our players never took their foot off the gas; they just kept working and grinding at the plate and it really paid off for us.

"Chandler [Sparkman] did a great job on the mound for us and the defense really backed her up. Chandler did a good job of hitting her spots and she made adjustments when she needed to make them.  I would have loved for her to have been able to finish that game, but things started getting interesting there in the seventh, so we brought Devin [Brown] in, but I still thought Chandler did a great job for us today.   It was a good day all the way around."

South Alabama (28-17, 10-12 SBC) will close out its stretch of seven-straight road games at No. 16 LSU on Tuesday.  First pitch versus the Tigers is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Tiger Park.

With the series sweep, the Jaguars have now won nine straight in the series and 21 of the last 22 meetings dating back to 2011 season.  USA also improved to 17-3 in games in the series played on the Warhawks' home field.

The four home runs recorded by the Jaguars marked the first time the program has done so in a game since April 3, 2015 against Texas-Arlington.  For the series, USA recorded seven home runs during the three-game series versus ULM.

Savanna Mayo led the way with two homers – her third and fourth of the season – while Kristian Foster registered her third and Katelyn Gruich posted her second of the season and the weekend on a first-inning grand slam.  The two home run performance by Mayo marked the first time a Jag has had two or more home runs in a game since Kaitlyn Griffith had two in that same game at UTA during the 2015 season.

Amanda Minahan, Foster and Mayo each recorded multi-hit performances in the win with two hits apiece, while the latter two also scored twice.  

Chandler Sparkman (2-2), making just her third career start, went six-plus innings, allowing four runs on 11 hits.  Devin Brown entered in the seventh and set down all three batters that she faced.

Louisiana-Monroe (28-21, 10-11 SBC) dropped its sixth-straight game with the loss.  Starting pitcher Paige Porter (6-5) lasted just a third of an inning, surrendering four runs – three earned – on two hits.  Melanie Coyne entered in relief and lasted 1.2 innings, also allowing two runs on two hits.  Jessie Wyatt pitched the final five innings, allowing one run on five hits.

Sydney McKay was 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored, while Megan Shaw and Sami Billeaudeaux also had two hits apiece.

After getting off to slow offensive starts in each of the first two games of the series, South exploded for five runs on three hits in the first.  Kaleigh Todd reached on an error to start the game and then with one away USA loaded the bases on a single to left by Foster and a five-pitch walk by Minahan.  Gruich then stepped to the plate and cleared the bases as she blasted a home run deep over the wall in left on the first pitch she saw from Porter.

The grand slam by Gruich was the first by a Jag since Haleigh Lane's against Troy in the regular-season finale last season and just the 16th all-time in program history.

After a ULM pitching change, Mayo got into the long-ball act as she homered to left off of Coyne to stake USA to a 5-0 lead – the second time this spring that South has gone back-to-back (Minahan and Abby Krzywiecki, Houston Baptist, 2/11).

The Warhawks got on the board with a run in their half of the second on Shaw's RBI single to left, scoring Coyne who had led off the inning with a single to left, to make it 5-1.  

USA quickly answered back in the next half inning when Foster led off the inning with solo shot to left-center.

The Jaguars extended their lead to 7-1 in the sixth as Mayo recorded her second homer of the day – this one a solo shot down the leftfield line – to lead off the top half of the sixth.

ULM tried to mount a late rally in the seventh.  Shaw singled back up the middle and beat Todd's throw to first for a lead-off infield single.  Jayden Mount then homered to left to narrow the Jag lead to 7-3.  After McKay tripled to right, Brown was brought in.  Louisiana-Monroe was able to get another run and pull within three (7-4) on Hunter Hogan's sacrifice fly to left, but the Jag right-hander though didn't allow anything else as she got Lyon to strikeout and Coyne to pop out to Mayo at third to end the game.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. 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—