TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Meredith Keel recorded a pair of hits, including the eventual game-winner, and Olivia Lackie tossed a complete game shut out Sunday afternoon as the University of South Alabama softball team knocked off second-ranked Alabama at Rhoads Stadium.

In her seven innings of work, Lackie (7-3) tossed her second complete game of the season, struck out six and held Alabama to just three hits, while not issuing a walk.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (10-7) will continue its road trip with a midweek contest against another SEC member, Ole Miss. First pitch versus the Rebels is set for 6 p.m., on Wednesday at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. The game will be streamed on SECNetwork+.

SOUTH ALABAMA vs. No. 2 ALABAMA
Date: 3/7
Place: Rhoads Stadium (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

Final Score: South Alabama 1, No. 2 Alabama 0
Records: South Alabama (10-7), Alabama (19-1)
Pitchers of Record: WP – Olivia Lackie (7-3)  LP – Montana Fouts (7-1)

GAME FACTS
- South struck first with a run in the second inning. Abby Krzywiecki lined a one-out single back up the middle and two batters later Belle Wolfenden lined a single to left to put a pair of runners on with two outs in the inning. Meredith Keel then battled back from a 0-2 deficit to work the count and lined a single to left on the 11th pitch of the at-bat, plating Janeah Finney (1-0), who was pinch running for Krzywiecki
- Following Keel's fourth-inning single, Fouts settled down and retired the next 10 batters over the final three-plus innings. Over that stretch, Fouts recorded five of her 12 strikeouts and had two or more strikeouts in all but the fifth inning.
- Claire Jenkins recorded the first base hit for the Crimson Tide to lead off the bottom of the fifth as she lined a ball down the third-base line. Lackie responded to the big moment as she struck out Bailey Dowling looking and then retired Savannah Woodard and pinch hitter Lexi Kilfoyl swinging to end the inning and strand the Tide base runner.
- Alabama was able to put the tying run aboard each of the final three innings, but following Jenkins' double, Lackie didn't allow a Crimson Tide runner to advance passed first.

NOTES
- The matchup marked the 16th in the all-time series between the two in-state programs. The Jaguars last faced Alabama when they were ranked No. 2 nationally at the 2012 NCAA Regional in Tuscaloosa.
- It was also the first time South has faced an opponent ranked this high since the Jags faced then-top-ranked Florida State on Feb. 20, 2019 in Tallahassee.
- The matchup was one of four scheduled this spring versus an SEC opponent.
- The win was the first over Alabama in the series and the highest win over a ranked opponent in program history.
- The walk issued to Wolfenden in the top of the fourth was just the fourth given up by Fouts this spring.
- Finney has now scored all three times this season that she has been used as a pinch runner.
- Matched up against Fouts, Lackie only used 102 pitches and threw 73 for strikes, and didn't throw more than 13 pitches in an inning through the first four innings.
- Alabama came into the game hitting .324 as a team and was held to a season-low three hits.
- For their performances over the weekend, Lackie and Kamdyn Kvistad were both selected to the all-tournament team marking the third all-tournament honor for both this season.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On the win:
"I'm proud of the mentality we played with tonight. Our message has been to play a complete game and we were able to carry that throughout all seven innings tonight. I'm incredibly proud of Olivia [Lackie] and the poise and fight that she showed tonight. This is just the beginning for her and our team. Our defense was solid behind her and we were able to apply pressure offensively to get the run we needed. This is a big win, especially going into conference play. We have to build off of this and keep that momentum moving forward."

Pitcher Olivia Lackie
- On her focus going into the game:
"Going into the game, I knew Alabama was a good hitting team. I just focused on making my pitch, and if I made that pith that they weren't going to beat me. If they did make contact, I knew my defense was behind me the whole time."
- On striking out three-straight batters to leave the tying run at second in the fifth:
"In that inning, I'm not going to lie, but I was a little nervous. I really buckled down though, believed in my defense and what I'm capable of doing as a pitcher. We were able to work out of it."

Infielder Meredith Keel
- On what was working well for her against Alabama pitcher Montana Fouts:
"We knew coming in that she likes to throw up in the zone, so our approach at the plate was to just attack everything that wasn't under the belt. That's what worked in my first at-bat, so during my second at-bat I decided to keep it simple and attack the first pitch because I knew she was going to throw a strike."
- On Olivia Lackie's performance in the circle:
"She was awesome out there tonight and looked focused and determined, and really wanted to finish the game out. I knew she want to grit out the game and that's what she did the whole seven innings. It was an awesome game by her.

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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