TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team opened the day with a 9-2 victory over Northern Iowa in game one of the day at the Easton T-Town Showdown held at Rhoads Stadium, but saw the Panthers score four runs over the final two innings to take game two, 5-1 on Friday.

Kamdyn Kvistad and Victoria Ortiz combined to for four hits apiece in the doubleheader, while the former added a home run, a pair of doubles, scored a run and drove in three, and the latter had a triple and a home run, while scoring a run and driving in three runs.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (8-6) will face Kent State in another doubleheader on Saturday with first pitch versus the Flashes set for 4 p.m.

SOUTH ALABAMA vs. NORTHERN IOWA
Date: 3/5
Place: Rhoads Stadium (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

Game 1
Final Score: South Alabama 9, Northern Iowa 2
Records: South Alabama (8-5), Northern Iowa (5-6)
Pitchers of Record: W – Olivia Lackie (6-2)  Hailey Sanders (0-1)
Home Runs: USA: Kamdyn Kvistad (4), Victoria Ortiz (2); UNI: Sammey Bunch (7)

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama was able to strike first with a pair of runs in the top of the second. Kvistad led off the top of the second with a solid single through the left side of the infield. Ortiz then homered over the wall in right center on the second pitch that she saw to put the Jags up, 2-0.
- The Jags added to their lead two innings later with some two-out magic. Holly Stewart and Belle Wolfenden both reached with back-to-back two-out walks. Abby Krzywiecki then worked the count full and laced a double to the gap in left center to plate a pair of runs (4-0). Bailey Welch was then hit by a pitch and pinch hitter Emma Kropp reached on a UNI error to load the bases for the Jags, setting the stage for Camryn McLemore, South's second pinch hitter of the inning. McLemore dropped in a single in left to bring around Krzywiecki and Welch, and extend the Jag advantage to 6-0.
- Kvistad extended the Jaguar lead to 7-0 as she led off the top fifth with a solo shot to center – her fourth of the season and the 22nd of her career.
- Lackie struck out 10 of the first 14 UNI batters that she faced and carried a perfect game into the fifth before having Taylor Hogan reach on a two-out, infield single. Madison Parks and Emmy Wells then earned back-to-back walks to load the bases for the Panthers, but Lackie was able to get Hannah Isley to fly out to center to end the inning and preserve the shutout.
- Sammey Bunch ended the shutout effort as she led off the bottom of the sixth with her seventh home run of the season (7-1).
- Brasher reached on UNI's second error of the contest and then moved into scoring position after swiping second. Kennedy Cronan then walked on five pitches to put a pair on. Kvistad continued her solid afternoon one batter later as she registered her third hit and second extra-base hit of the contest to score a pair (9-1).
- Bunch drove in her second run of the game with a two-out single to back up the middle in the seventh, scoring Madison Park, but that was all the Panthers would get.

NOTES
- The meeting marked the first between the two programs and just the 12th against a current Missouri Valley opponent.
- Kvistad (3-for-4) extended her reached base safely streak to six games with her leadoff single in the top of the second.
- With the three hits, Kvistad took over the 13th spot in career multi-hit games on the program charts. The three RBI also moved the Lake City, Fla., native into 13th-place for career multi-RBI games (19).
- The multi-RBI outing was the eighth of Ortiz's career, while the 2-for-4 showing at the plate was her 16th multi-hit game.
- Lackie struck out 10 and allowed just one hit in her five innings of work, lowering her earned run average to 1.92.
- The 10-strikeout performance marked the second of the season and second straight start that the freshman has recorded 10 or more.
- Lackie struck out two or more batters in four of her five innings, including striking out the side in the third.
- As a team, South Alabama had four two-out RBI in the win.
- Janaeh Finney made her Jaguar debut as a pinch runner in the top of the fourth.

Game 2
Final Score: Northern Iowa 5, South Alabama 1
Records: Northern Iowa (6-6), South Alabama (8-6)
Pitchers of Record: W – Kailyn Packard (4-1)  L – Allie Hughen (1-3)
Home Runs: UNI: Kamryn Shaffer (2)

GAME FACTS
- Shaffer led off the top of the third with her second home run of the spring – this one over the wall in left – to give UNI the 1-0 lead.
- Kvistad doubled off the base of the right-center field wall to begin the Jag fourth and place the first runner in scoring position of game two for South. Caroline Nichols, pinch-running for Kvistad, moved up to third with some heads-up base running on a ground out and came around to score on the next batter as Ortiz plated the junior with a single to right.
- Parks walked to start the sixth and moved around to second on a two-out single by Hogan, but on the play, South's throw back into the infield was errant and went into the third base dugout allowing Parks to come in and score (2-1).
- Ortiz dropped in a triple just inside the foul line in left to place the tying run just 60 feet from home in the bottom of the sixth, but Packard was able to get a fly out to left to end the inning and maintain the one-run advantage for the Panthers.
- Sammy Moss and Daryn Lamprecht both singled to begin the top of the seventh, and Bunch plated an insurance run with a single to left, ,extending the Panther lead to 3-1. With the bases loaded after a walk to Parks, Wells also earned a free pass to make it 4-1 in favor of the Panthers. The third run of the inning came one batter later on Brooke Snider's sacrifice fly to left (5-1).

NOTES
- UNI had the leadoff runner reach safely in all but the fifth inning with five of those six coming on base hits.
- Conversely, South Alabama was just 1-for-7 at the lead off position to start an inning.
- With her second two-hit performance of the day, Ortiz posted her 17th multi-hit game of her career.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On the two games:
"In game one, we strung great at-bats together and had solid pitching and defense. In game two we let UNI's pitcher keep us off balance and never adjusted to what she was doing. [Allie] Hughen pitched well enough for us to win that game, but we had some defensive miscues and they were able to capitalize. We need to put two complete games together tomorrow."

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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