BOONE, N.C. – The University of South Alabama softball team sent 14 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs on six hits and two Mountaineer errors as the Jaguars defeated Appalachian State, 14-5 in five innings at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (12-19, 2-9 SBC) will close out the series with the rubber match on Sunday with first pitch versus the Mountaineers set for 11 a.m. (CT).

Date: 3/30
Place: Sywassink / Lloyd Family Stadium (Boone, N.C.)

Final Score: South Alabama 14, Appalachian State 5 (5 inn.)
Records: South Alabama (12-19, 2-9 SBC), Appalachian State (22-9, 9-2 SBC)

Box Score

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME
- Holding a four-run advantage, South Alabama sent 14 batters to the plate and broke the game open with a 10-run third inning.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Taylor Stevens was one of four Jaguars to finish with double-figure hit tallies as the senior catcher went 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and a RBI.
- Brittani Reid reached base all five of her plate appearances as she was 2-for-2 with two walks, a hit by pitch and three runs scored. Victoria Ortiz was 2-for-5 with a RBI and two runs scored as well.
- Kennedy Cronan and Savanna Mayo drove in three runs apiece, while Holly Stewart also plated a pair. Mayo also had two hits.
- Katelyn Gruich was hit by a pitch twice and scored twice in the win, while Dayla Gulledge tied a career high with three walks, scoring twice as well.
- Jamie Finnical (2-2) had a no-hitter through three and two-thirds before allowing a hit in the fourth.
- For App State, Caylie Kifer, Jenny Dodd and Alison Durrence (home run) each had a RBI for the Mountaineers.

GAME FACTS
- South loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first and got their first run of the inning came on Stewart's fielder's choice which scored B. Reid. The Mountaineers had a play at the plate for the force, but Baylee Morton was unable to cleanly field the throw from first as B. Reid slid and knocked Baylee Morton off balance. Mayo then lined a single to center, scoring Gulledge (walk) and Katelyn Gruich (hit-by-pitch) to make it 3-0 Jaguars.
- B. Reid and Ortiz singled to start the second and Gulledge earned her second walk in as many at-bats to load the bases for the third time in the game for the Jags. Gulledge fell behind 0-2 in the count, but worked it full and fouled off a two-strike pitch before gaining the free pass. Taylor Nichols entered in relief for App State starter Sydney Holland (7-5) and retired the next two batters and looked as if she was going to get out of the bases-loaded jam, but Ortiz was ruled safe at home on Cronan's fielder's choice (4-0).
- The Jaguars sent 14 batters to the plate and exploded for 10 runs on six hits and two Mountaineers errors during their half of the third. With runners at first and second, Ortiz plated another run for the Jaguars as she lined a double high off to score MC Nichols (5-0). Gulledge then walked for the third time in the game to load the bases and with Gruich at the plate, B. Reid came into score on a wild pitch (6-0).
- Gruich was then hit by a pitch for the second time to again load the bases and Stewart singled to left to score another run for the Jaguars. Cronan (2), Mayo and Stevens then followed with RBI base hits. With the bases loaded for the third time in the inning three batters later, South plated three more runs on a fielding error at second base. The ball got between the fielder's legs and went all the way to the wall in right center, allowing Mayo, Stevens and B. Reid to score and give the Jags a 14-run advantage.
- The Mountaineers broke up Finnical's no-hit bid as Durrence homered to center with two outs in the fourth, but the sophomore right struck out pinch hitter Gabby Buruato to end the inning.
- Appalachian State plated four runs in the bottom of the fifth. The Mountaineers loaded the bases with one out after Keri White walked on four-straight, and Kifer then drew a walk to bring in the first run of the inning to make it 14-2. Two runs then scored one batter later as Dodd singled to left – extending her reached base safely streak to 28 games. The ball was misplayed in left allowing White to come around to score as well and make it 14-4. Kifer scored the fourth run of the inning two batters later on a wild pitch (14-5), but Jag reliever Samantha Yarbrough was able to get a strikeout for the final out of the game to give South the nine-run victory.

NOTES
- The meeting marked the 14th in the all-time series and the eighth in Boone, N.C.  
- The start at first for Stewart was the second of her career and the first at a defensive position. Stewart's previous start was as the designated player against in game three of the Texas State series (3/17).
- It was also Gulledge's first start this season and the 40th of her career as the designated player. Gulledge's 11 other starts this season had come in right field.
- After starting the first 24 games of the season behind the plate, Stevens moved back into the starting role as catcher against the Mountaineers on Saturday.
- Gruich has now been hit by a pitch 10 times this season and 26 for her career
- The multi-hit game was B. Reid's team-leading 10th of the season and the 22nd of her career, which moves her into a tie for 19th all-time at South with former Jag Chloe Rathburn.
- The game also marked the 13th career multi-hit effort and the seventh career multi-RBI game for Mayo.
- It was also Stevens' fifth, Cronan's eighth and Ortiz's sixth career games with two or more hits.
- The Jaguars loaded the bases six times in the contest.
- The three-walk outing by Gulledge marked the third time this season that the senior has drawn three free passes in a game and the third time a Jaguar has done so. Both Gulledge and B. Reid walked three times versus Mercer on Feb. 16.
- The 10-run third tied for the fourth-most runs scored in a single inning in program history and was the most runs scored in an inning since USA put up 12 runs in the third inning against Central Arkansas on Feb. 13, 2016.
- The 14 runs scored by South Alabama were a season high and the most recorded by the Jaguars in a game since scoring 14 at Georgia Southern on April 16, 2016.
- App State used four pitchers in the loss.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On bouncing back with the win: "Today was a huge bounce-back win for us. I'm really proud of our players. I thought we had some great at-bats. [Jamie] Finnical threw strikes for us and I would have loved to have seen her finish the game, but Sam [Yarbrough] came in and closed it out for us. We really needed this today."
- On the energy of the dugout: "We had a lot of energy and our dugout was great. They brought a lot of energy for us."
- On the entire lineup contributing: "We strung together quality at-bats; that's what we've been trying to get to. When you're good at the plate its contagious and when you aren't it can be as well. It was good to see us have some great at-bats. The 14 runs is a big number, but I feel that we earned every single bit of it. We had great at-bats and hit the ball well. We made some really good decisions and had some places where it could've went either way. I liked seeing them in control out there. That part of it was a plus for us today."

Sr., C, Taylor Stevens
- On the importance of getting the win on Saturday: "It was huge for us. After our loss [on Friday], we had a long talk as a team and the biggest thing that came from that meeting was for all of us to just bring the juice for each other, and to just come together and fight for each other. We came out here today with our guns blazing and it was awesome to see us come together. We just need to keep building off of today's performance. We just need to stay consistent, and remember the feeling we have after today's win for the rest of the year, because obviously it works."

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—