ARLINGTON, Texas – After the University of South Alabama softball team jumped out to a quick one-run lead, UTA answered back with a four-run frame in the bottom half of the first to take control and go on to defeat the Jaguars 7-2 at Allan Saxe Field in game two of the Sun Belt Conference series.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (9-12, 0-2 SBC) will close out the three-game series at UTA (12-10, 2-0 SBC) on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for noon at Allan Saxe Field.

Date: 3/9
Place: Allan Saxe Field (Arlington, Texas)

Final Score: UTA 7, South Alabama 2
Records: UTA (12-10, 0-2 SBC), South Alabama 9-12, 0-2 SBC)

Box Score

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME
- UTA scored four runs on two hits, four Jaguar walks and a hit batter to take the lead in the first inning and was never really threatened from there.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Kamdyn Kvistad was 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, while Victoria Ortiz and Kennedy Cronan also had two hits apiece and homered for the Jaguars.
- Whitney Walton led UTA as she was 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored.
- Melanie Mendoza and Reagan Wright each drove in a pair of runs while Aileen Garcia chipped in with a solo home run.
- Allie Gardner (2-3) picked up her second win of the series as she tossed four innings of relief, allowing six hits and one run.

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama took the early 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Ortiz recorded her second home run of the season when she drove a 1-1 pitch over the right field wall.
- UTA came right back in the bottom half of the inning with a big inning, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring four runs on two hits, four walks and a hit batter. Walton singled to begin the inning and stole second. After a walk to Laura Curry, the two runners moved into scoring position on a ground out to short. Wright then plated the two Mavericks as she lined a single to left giving UTA the 2-1 advantage. The Mavericks loaded the bases after two more walks and extended their lead to 4-1 following a base-loaded walk to Kayci Moore and a hit-by-pitch on Mendoza.
- Taylor Stevens reached on a UTA error with one out in the second, and later moved to third with two away in the inning after a ground out and a wild pitch, but JoJo Valencia was able to get a pop out to short to end the frame.
- South Alabama put runners at the corners with one out in its half of the third after a leadoff single by B. Reid and a base hit by Kvistad two batters later, but Valencia was able to get a pair of pop outs on the infield to keep the Jags off the scoreboard.
- UTA loaded the bases to start its half of the third after a pair of hit batters and an infield single by Moore.  Mendoza then scored Bri Burchanti from third on a sacrifice fly to make it 5-1, and Walton beat out an infield single to score Wyllie (6-1) who had advanced to third on the previous play.
- South Alabama cut the deficit to four (6-2) in the top of the fourth as Cronan led off the inning with her sixth home run of the season, this one a solo shot to left.
- The Mavericks got the run back the next half inning as Garcia hit her first home run of the season, this one over the left center field wall (7-2).

NOTES
- The meeting between South Alabama and UTA marked the 18th in the all-time series between the two clubs. 
- With her third inning single, Brittani Reid extended her career-best hit streak to 10 games, while also reaching base safely for the 14th consecutive outing. With the 10-game hitting streak, she is now just one game shy of moving into the program's top 10 in that category.
- Abby Krzywiecki had her 11-game reached base safely streak come to an end.
- With Otiz's first-inning home run, South has now recorded at least one home run in 15 of its last 18 games.
- Cronan's leadoff home run in the top of the fourth marked the third Jag home run to start an inning this season, and the fifth multi-home run game of the 2019 season for South.
- After recording homering twice on Friday and two times on Saturday, it was the first time this season that the Jaguars have hit multiple home runs in back-to-back games this season.
- Ten of South Alabama's 22 home runs in 2019 have been solo shots.
- With the 10 hits against the Mavericks, South has recorded double digits hit tallies in four of its last five contests.
- Jaguar pitching held UTA to just five hits, but issued six walks and hit four batters.
- South Alabama left nine runners on base and was 2-for-18 with runners on and 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
- With her three-hit performance, Kvistad posted her sixth multi-hit game of the season and the 16th of her career, moving her into a three-way tie for 25th on South's all-time list.
- The multi-hit effort was Cronan's seventh of the season, while it was Ortiz's second of the weekend.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On falling behind early and not getting timely hits: "We got behind the eight-ball early on. We outhit UTA today and there were some places in there where we needed to get the big hit, but we couldn't quite come up with it."
- On the free passes given up: "We've got to eliminate the free passes. We are giving up too many of them; we need to make our opponents earn those bases. That's just having a bulldog mentality and going after people."
- On learning from the first two losses of the series: "I think that we have an opportunity to learn something from yesterday and today, and I hope that we take advantage of that opportunity and figure some things out 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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