TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 4 Alabama scored twice in the fifth and added an insurance run in the sixth to pull away from the University of South Alabama softball team Tuesday night and defeat the Jags at Rhoads Stadium.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (9-10) will open up Sun Belt Conference play on the road as the Jaguars travel to Arlington, Texas to take on UTA in a three-game series, beginning on Fri., (March 8) at 5 p.m. at Allen Saxe Field. Games two and three will be Sat. (March 9) and Sun. (March 10) at 1 p.m. and 12 p.m., respectively.

Date: 3/5
Place: Rhoads Stadium (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

Final Score: No. 4 Alabama 5, South Alabama 2
Records: Alabama (21-0), South Alabama (9-10)

Box Score

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME
- After South had tied the game up in the top half of the fifth on a Brittani Reid solo home run, Alabama answered back with a pair of runs to take the lead for good.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- B. Reid was 1-for-3 at the plate with a home run and a walk, and also scored both runs for the Jaguars.
- Abby Krzywiecki reached base two of her three plate appearances as she also had a walk and a hit.
- Kamdyn Kvistad and Kately Gruich recorded the two other hits for South against the Crimson Tide.
- Reagan Dykes tied a career high in hits as she was 3-for-3 with a run scored and a double.
- Bailey Hemphill made her one hit count as it was a two-run home run in the bottom of the first.
- Kaylee Tow reached twice – walk and a hit – and scored a run and drove in a run.
- Montana Fouts picked up her first save of the season as she tossed two innings of one-hit relief, striking out four.

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama put runners at the corners in the top of the first after a leadoff walk by B. Reid and a two-out single from Krzywiecki. Gruich then worked the count full and Sarah Cornell's ball four pitch was wild and went to the back stop allowing B. Reid to score and give South the early 1-0 advantage.
- Bama answered back in the home half of the opening frame on Hemphill's two-run shot off the scoreboard in left center, scoring Tow who had walked after beginning down in the count 0-2. It was Hemphill's eighth of the season.
- Dykes reached on a single when her pop up dropped in right center to start the bottom of the second. The Tide catcher moved into scoring position one batter later as she was sacrificed. After a walk to Claire Jenkins put runners at first and second for Alabama with one out, A. Reid was able to keep the Tide off the scoreboard as she got a pop out to third and a fly out to left to end the inning.
- South threatened to get something going with two outs in the third. Kvistad lined a two-out single to left and Krzywiecki then walked on five pitches to put runners at first and second, but Cornell was able to induce a pop out at home plate to end the inning.
- Alabama had a chance to double its lead in the fourth as Dykes recorded her second hit of the evening – a double to center. After Dykes moved over to third on a ground out, A. Reid was able to get Jenkins to ground out to third to end the frame and leave the runner stranded.
- South took advantage of the missed opportunity by the Crimson Tide the next half inning as B. Reid drilled a 2-2 pitch to left center for her second home run off the season to tie the game up at 2-2 in the fifth.
- Skylar Wallace led off the bottom of the fifth with a double to the gap in left center and was then moved up a base one batter later on KB Sides' ground out. Elissa Brown then hit a grounder at short allowing South's Kennedy Cronan to come home on the play, but Taylor Steven's was called for obstruction (blocking the plate) allowing Wallace's run to count (3-2). Brown then stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch, and Tow plated the second run of the inning on an infield single (4-2).
- Alabama added some insurance its next time up, loading the bases after a pair of singles to begin the inning and a one-out walk from Wallace. Pinch hitter Caroline Hardy then plated Dykes on a fielder's choice to make it 5-2.

NOTES
- The meeting versus Alabama marked the 15th in the all-time series and the 11th on the Crimson Tide's home field.
- The meeting versus the Tide marked the 17th time South has faced an opponent ranked in the top 5 of the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and the 23rd meeting versus a top 5 opponent in the USAToday/NFCA poll. The Jags have now faced the No. 5 team in both polls, seven and eight times, respectively.
- The last time South Alabama faced a team ranked fourth nationally in any poll was Feb. 15, 2017 when the Jags fell 3-1 at Alabama
- Tuesday night's contest also marked the 53rd against a current Southeastern Conference member. The 15 meetings against Alabama are the most against by the Jaguars against a SEC member.
- The first inning run by the Jaguars marked just the third time this season that an opponent has scored first against the Crimson Tide in their first 21 games.
- With her leadoff walk to start the game, B. Reid extended her reached-base-safely streak to 12 games, and Krzywiecki also reached double digits as she has now reached base safely in each of her last 10 outings.
- The fifth-inning home run was the 12th of B. Reid's career and extended her hit streak to eight games.
- Of her 12 career home runs, five have come to lead off an inning, and seven of her nine during her Jaguar career have been of the solo variety.
- The home run also marked the 13th time in South's last 16 games in which the Jags have recorded at least one home run.
- Both teams struggled with runners in scoring position as the two clubs went a combined 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left a combined 12 runners on base.
- South left a runner in scoring position in the third and sixth innings.
- Following B. Reid's home run to start the fifth inning, Tide pitching allowed just one hit and retired nine of the final 10 batters they faced.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On the team's performance against Alabama: "I thought we actually played better as a team than we have been playing. I felt that we competed the entire game. There are always things you want to clean up, but I thought we did what we needed to for the most part. I had asked the team coming into the game to do the mental work and play as a team and compete, and I thought we did that."
- On the team's execution: "I thought we executed for the most part. [Abby] Krzywiecki did what we wanted her to do on the hit-and-run [in the first inning]. We were also able to get some bunts down, and I liked that part of it. There were also some places where we had some really good at-bats. We also had some players get some experience in this type of atmosphere who haven't experienced that before; that's always a good thing. I thought Lex [Reid] gave us a chance to win and that she did well on the mound. She competed the entire game. Obviously, the scoreboard didn't show it, but overall I thought tonight was a step forward for us as a team."

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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