MOBILE, Ala. – Ninth-ranked Louisiana scored six unanswered runs over the final three innings to defeat the University of South Alabama softball team 11-7 Friday night in the Sun Belt Conference series opener at Jaguar Field.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (11-16, 1-6 SBC) will return for game two of the Sun Belt Conference series against Louisiana (24-4, 7-0 SBC) on Saturday.  First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Jaguar Field. Saturday will also be First Responders Day with the Jaguars wearing custom First Responder jerseys. The Jerseys will be auctioned on-line beginning Sun., and close Sat., April 6.

Date: 3/22
Place: Jaguar Field (Mobile, Ala.)

Final Score: Louisiana 11, South Alabama 7
Records: No. 9 Louisiana (24-4, 7-0 SBC), South Alabama (11-16, 1-6 SBC)

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME
- With South Alabama holding a one-run advantage, Louisiana scored three runs in the sixth inning on a pair of home runs by Bailey Curry and Sarah Hudek to retake the lead for good.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Savanna Mayo was 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and scored twice, while Victoria Ortiz also recorded a multi-hit night as one of her two hits was a three-run double.
- Brittani Reid also added a two-run home runs – her fourth of the season – and scored two runs, while walking twice.
- Louisiana had five players record multi-hit performances led by Hudek's 3-for-4 night at the plate. In addition to her home run, Hudek also scored two runs.
- Raina O'Neal, Alissa Dalton, Julia Rawls each had a pair of hits and scored twice, while Keeli Milligan was 2-for-4 with a RBI.
- Rawls, Curry, Hudek and Kortney Gremillion all homered for the Ragin' Cajuns.

GAME FACTS
- Louisiana jumped out in front with a pair of runs in the top of the first. O'Neal led off the game with a single to left and Dalton and Rawls both worked full count walks to load the bases. Two batters later, Hudek lined a single off the wall in center that was nearly caught by Jaguar senior Megan Harris. The long single brought in O'Neal and gave the visitors the early one-run advantage. Lexie Comeaux then walked on six pitches to score Dalton and put the Ragin' Cajuns up 2-0. A. Reid was able to escape the inning without further damage as she struck out pinch hitter Kara Gremillion and got Ko. Gremillon to fly out to left to end the inning.
- The Ragin' Cajuns doubled their lead with two more runs in their half of the third. Rawls led off the inning with her ninth home run of the season, this one a solo shot to left on a 2-2 pitch. Hudek singled back up the middle two batters later and then came into score on the second wild pitch of the inning to make it 4-0.
- After being held hitless it's first two times up, South answered back with a four-run third. Lyric Cabral singled to left to begin the inning and Mayo then blasted her second home run of the season high on the first pitch she saw from Summer Ellyson over the wall in left center (4-2). Megan Harris beat out an infield single for the third-straight hit of the frame and B. Reid then delivered South's second two-run bomb of the inning, tying the game up at 4-4.
The Ragin' Cajuns regained the lead the next half inning as Ko. Gremillion led off the frame with her third long ball of the spring and put the visitors up 5-4. Louisiana threatened to do more damage in the inning with runners at first and second, but A. Reid was able to get Curry looking to end the Cajun fourth.
- The Jaguars responded quickly with another big inning, scoring three runs in the bottom half of the fourth. Kennedy Cronan led off the inning with a single and Mayo put runners at first and second with one out with her second base-hit of the contest. B. Reid then earned a full-count walk to load the baes, setting the table for Ortiz. The freshman right fielder then lined a double that was just over O'Neal's head in center, scoring three runs and giving South the 7-5 advantage.
- With runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth, Milligan beat out an infield single, scoring Casidy Chaumont to cut the Jaguar lead to one (7-6). The Ragin' Cajuns loaded the bases with a walk to O'Neal one batter later, but A. Reid was able to get Dalton to fly out to left to get out of the jam.
- The Ragin' Cajuns used the long ball to regain the lead in the top of the sixth, registering two home runs in the inning. After Rawls walked to lead off the inning, Curry lined a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right to score two and put ULL up 8-7. Hudek then followed with a solo shot over the wall in center five pitches later (9-7). Following the home run by Hudek, Jamie Finnical entered in relief and retired the next two batters.
- Louisiana added a pair of insurance runs in its half of the seventh. O'Neal singled to left, stole second and then with runners at the corners and one out after a single by Dalton, O'Neal came home on a Jaguar error when Cabral attempted to pick her off at third but the throw was wide and went into left.  Rawls then doubled to the gap in right center to plate Dalton and extend the Louisiana lead out to 11-7.
- South placed a runner on in the bottom of the seventh, but Carrie Boswell (4-0) was able to get a game-ending double play to seal the win for the Ragin' Cajuns.

NOTES
- Friday's meeting marked the 43rd meeting in the all-time series and the 18th series meeting in Mobile.
- All three of the walks issued by A. Reid during the top of the first were on full counts.
- B. Reid extended her reached base safely streak to 20 games with her two-run home run in the third, tying former Jaguar Tara Donaldson for seventh all-time at South Alabama in the category.
- The home run was the fourth of the season and the 14th of B. Reid's career and her 12th in a Jaguar uniform, which is now tied with three other Jags forth eighth on the program's career chart. It was also B. Reid's 14th extra-base hit of the season.
- Harris extended her career-long seven-game hit streak with a single in the third as well.
- Kamdyn Kvistad saw her 10-game hit come to an end, but she did extend her reached base safely streak to 11 with a walk.
- With her three-run double in the fourth, Ortiz has now had a hit in each of her last five outings.
-The multi-hit outing was fifth of the season – all five have come over the last eight games.
- It was also Mayo's 11th career multi-hit game and the second of the season for the Little Rock, Ark., native.
- The two home runs by the Jaguars marked the sixth time this season that they have hit two or more home runs in a game.
- South also increased its home run total to 26 for the season.
- The four home runs allowed by the Jaguars were the most given up this season and the most since Louisiana hit five against Jaguar pitching on May 8, 2015. It is also only the fourth time in program history that an opponent has recorded four or more home runs in a game against Jaguar pitching.
- The back-to-back home runs given up by South in the sixth marked the first time USA has done so since March 17, 2018 at Georgia Southern.
- The 11 runs scored by the Ragin' Cajuns tied for third-most allowed by South this season and marked the fifth time an opponent has scored double figures this spring.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On the series opener: "I thought there were some places in there tonight offensively where we came back and answered with some big runs. We needed to stay aggressive against Louisiana's second pitcher, [Carrie] Boswell, and there were some places where I felt we could have had some more aggressive at-bats. We just need to have an attack-mentality and stay in compete-mode. You have to compete every pitch on the mound and in the box, and that'll be our plan going into tomorrow's game against Louisiana. This is a great series against a good team. These are the types of teams you want to play against, so the challenge for us tomorrow will be to be a little bit better and come out on top."

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.

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