ATHENS, Ga. – The University of South Alabama softball team dropped game one of the double header at 14th-ranked Georgia, 8-3 Friday afternoon, but bounced back and held on for a 9-8 victory over the Bulldogs in game two of the day at the Turner Softball Complex.

Belle Wolfenden recorded three hits (single, double, home run) and walked three times, while scoring a pair of runs and driving in four, while Kennedy Cronan had a hit, walked three times and drove in three in the doubleheader.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (1-1) will face Virginia on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m. (CT). There is inclement weather forecasted for Saturday, so check back for any schedule changes.

Date: 2/12
Place: Turner Softball Complex (Athens, Ga.)

Game 1
Final Score: No. 14 Georgia 8, South Alabama 3
Records: Georgia (1-0), South Alabama (0-1)
Pitchers of Record: W – Mary Wilson Avant (1-0)   L – Olivia Lackie (0-1)
Home Runs: UGA: Jessica Morgan (1)

GAME FACTS
- Georgia threatened breakthrough in the bottom of the first as the first three batters reached, but Lackie was able to get Sara Mosely to line out to Belle Wolfenden at second for a double play, and then a soft liner off the bat of Jaiden Fields to end the inning and escape the jam.
- The Bulldogs plated a pair of runs in their half of the second. UGA placed runners at second and third with one out. CJ Landrum then lined a single back up the middle that Lackie was unable to handle, allowing Tyler Armistead – who had singled to lead off the inning – to score from third and give the Bulldogs the 1-0 advantage. Georgia added its second run of the inning one batter later as Sydney Kuma lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Morgan doubling the deficit (2-0) for South.
- The Jaguars answered right back and took the lead with three, two-out runs the next half inning. Meredith Keel lined a single to left to start the third and Allie Hughen worked a one-out walk on four-straight pitches out of the zone. Both runners then moved into scoring position after a wild pitch from Avant. With two away in the inning, Shelby Sloan loaded the bases after earning a walk during an eight-pitch at-bat setting the table for Kennedy Cronan, who cleared the bases with a three-run double (3-2).
- UGA plated three two-out runs in the bottom of the fourth to retake the lead. With two outs in the frame, Kuma delivered her second hit of the afternoon with a two-out single to left, scoring T. Armistead and Ellie Armistead, who had both walked, to make it 4-3. Following a walk to Jayda Kearney, Lacey Fincher plated another run with a single to center, scoring Kuma (5-3).    
- With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Morgan extended the Bulldog lead to 7-3 with a two-run shot over the scoreboard in left.
- Kuma reached for the third time in the contest with a leadoff walk to begin the bottom of the sixth, and one batter later the Bulldogs put runners at the corners as Kearney singled through the right side of the infield. Fincher then drove in her second run of the game (8-3) with a sac fly to right. The Jags were able to gun down Kearney at the plate trying to also score on the play.

NOTES
- With her start, Lackie became the first true freshman start in the circle for the Jaguars in a season opener.
- The three-RBI game marked the fourth of Cronan's career and the 12th multi-RBI outing for the junior.
- In her first game in a Jag uniform, Keel recorded the lone multi-hit game for the Jags. It was also the 13th multi-hit effort of her collegiate career as the previous 12 came during her time at Wright State.
- Holly Stewart also reached base twice with a hit and a walk.
- Kuma led the Bulldogs at the plate with two hits, two runs scored and three RBI. Fincher and Morgan also drove in two runs each.
- Of Avant's 12 strikeouts, 10 were responsible for Georgia's first 12 outs of the game.
- The meeting was just the third in the all-time series between the two clubs and the first since the 2013 season.
- The eight runs where the most recorded by either team in the brief series.
- It was also the 56th time South has faced an opponent from the Southeastern Conference.

Game 2
Final Score: South Alabama 9, No. 14 Georgia 8
Records: South Alabama (1-1), Georgia (1-1)
Pitchers of Record: W – Jenna Hardy (1-0)   SV – Olivia Lackie (1)   Alley Cutting (0-1)
Home Runs: USA: Belle Wolfenden (1); UGA: Sydney Kuma (1), Lacey Fincher (1), Sydney Chamberly (1)

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama threatened to crack open on the scoreboard in the top half of the opening inning after Mackenzie Brasher beat out an infield single to start the game and then moved all the way around to third on Keel's sacrifice bunt. However, Cutting left her stranded as she recorded a strikeout looking and a ground out to second to end the frame.
- For the second straight inning, South set the table for a scoring opportunity as Emma Kropp reached on a single and Wolfenden walked, but Cutting retired the next three Jag batters with the final two coming on back-to-back strikeouts.
- After some missed opportunities the previous two innings, South Alabama was able to capitalize in its half the third. USA loaded the bases without the benefit of a hit and Wolfenden then plated the first run with a two-out walk (1-0) to score Keel who had reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the inning. Shelby Sloan kept the scoring going with a solid single through the left side of the infield to score Cronan (2-0). Abby Allen then drew South's third walk of the inning to bring home Stewart (HBP) to make it 3-0 and force a pitching change for the Bulldogs. The Jags then drew their third bases-loaded walk of the inning as Caroline Nichols garnered the free pass after four straight outside the zone to give USA a four-run advantage.
- Georgia's pitching continued to struggle with its control in the fourth as Cronan, Stewart, Wolfenden and Sloan each earned the free base, with the latter scoring Amanda Flynn, who pinch ran for Cronan, stretching South's lead to 5-0.
- The Bulldogs took advantage of a pair of Jaguar errors in their half of the fourth. Mosely reached on a one-out error and Sydney Chambley then tripled off the base of the wall in center to score Mosely for the first run (unearned) and trim South's lead to 5-1. Morgan then reached on the Jags' second error of the inning, which allowed Chambley to score another unearned run (5-2). After a walk to E. Armistead, pinch hitter Jaiden Fields loaded the bases with a single to left, but Jenna Hardy entered in relief of Hughen and was able to induce a fielder's choice ground out to third to end the threat.
- South had an opportunity to do more damage the next half inning. Brasher recorded her second infield single of the game to start the fifth and Keel lined a double to center to put runners in scoring position. Cronan walked for the third time – the 10th of the game by Jaguar hitters – to load the bases, but UGA reliever Lauren Mathis was able to get a pop out on the infield and a strikeout to end the frame.
- Wolfenden doubled high off the wall in left to start the Jag sixth, but South would leave her stranded there as Mathis recorded three more strikeouts to end the inning.
- Hardy issued a leadoff walk to Puckett in the bottom half of the sixth and then with the count full, Chambley homered over the wall in center to cut South's lead to one (5-4). Hardy and Wolfenden ended the threat, as the former was able to strikeout the next two batters while the latter made an outstanding defensive play to end the inning.
- in the top of the seventh, Keel reached with a one-out double – her second of the game – and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Mathis looked as if she was going to get out of the inning unscathed, but Stewart's fly out to left was dropped allowing Keel to score (6-4) and keep the inning alive. Kropp was then hit by a pitch and Wolfenden made the Bulldogs pay as she lined a three-run home run over the wall in left to stretch the lead to five (9-4).
- Georgia rallied back in the last inning as Kuma led off the bottom half of the seventh with a solo shot deep over the scoreboard in left (9-5). Two batter later, Fincher cut the Bulldog deficit to 9-7 with a two-run shot of her own over the centerfield wall. UGA then loaded the bases after a pair of hits and a walk, and Morgan drew a bases loaded walk to pull within a run (9-8).
- Lackie entered the game with the bags still full of Bulldog baserunners and no outs in the inning, but the freshman was able to get E. Armistead to strikeout swinging and then induce back-to-back ground-ball outs to shut the door and give South the win.

NOTES
- Wolfenden reached base safely in all five of her plate appearances – three walks, a double and a three-run home run.
- Cronan also walked three times in the nightcap and scored a run.
- The last time two Jag hitters drew three walks in a game was back on last March when Kamdyn Kvistad and Jordan Calderon did so against Appalachian State.
- Of South's 10 walks drawn, four came with the bases loaded.
- Hughen didn't allow a hit her first time through the order and only one base runner (error) during that stretch. UGA's first hit didn't come until the bottom of the third with two outs (Kuma's single).
- South Alabama had the leadoff batter reach base each of the first three innings and five of the seven innings in the win.
- The Jaguars moved at least one runner into scoring position each of the seven frames.
- South sent 10 batters to the plate during its half of the third and scored four runs on one hit and four walks, including three with the bases loaded.
- The win over the Bulldogs marked the first win over a ranked team since defeating then seventh-ranked Florida State, 3-1 in Mobile on Feb. 21. 2018.
- It was also the first win over a ranked team on their home field since the Jags defeated 18th-ranked Louisiana, 8-4 on April 12, 2014 in Lafayette.
- The win also snapped a streak of 12-straight losses against an SEC opponent, 10 of which had come on the road. South's last win over an opponent from the league on their home field came in Starkville, Miss., during the 2016 season when South picked up a 2-1 win over the Bulldogs.
- The two meetings against Georgia on Friday marked the 56th and 57th times South has faced an opponent from the Southeastern Conference.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On getting the split today with Georgia:
"It was a big team win for us in the second game. We gave ourselves something to build off going into the rest of the weekend. We definitely have some things we need to clean up, but at the same time hopefully this allows us to see what's possible for us and the potential that this team has. To me, that's a motivator to clean up the little things. We had a couple of untimely walks and a couple of errors. I was really proud of our team though. I feel we competed the entire time, especially in the second game. We had some people step up in some big moments. Obviously, those runs we added at the end were huge. We just need to take this win and build off of it."
- On players stepping up:
"We had some people who had some huge games. [Belle] Wolfenden and [Meredith] Keel both did. [Olivia] Lackie was able to come in and slam the door after entering with the bases loaded and no outs. You can't overlook what Allie [Hughen] did on the mound as the starter. I thought she had a great start and gave us a chance to win that game. She has to get as much credit as anyone for the start that she had. She did a really good job keeping [Georgia] off balance."

Freshman Pitcher Olivia Lackie
- On her first start:
"I was definitely a little nervous, but when I got out there and had all my teammates behind me, I was just really able to settle in and do what I'm supposed to do on the mound. My teammates were there to back me up."
- On entering the game in the seventh in the high-pressure situation:
"I came in just looking to make good pitches and get ground balls for my team to be able to work behind me and get outs."

Junior Infielder Belle Wolfenden
- On what it means for the team to be able to get a split with No. 14 Georgia:
"We came into today very excited about the opportunity and to be able to get a split with Georgia will motivate us. We dropped the first one, but were able to come back really strong and push through. We have a lot to look forward."
- On her performance:
"My biggest saying is 'Simplicity is king'. I just tried to keep things simple and it all worked out."

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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