MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team swept both games of Sunday's doubleheader versus ULM at Jaguar Field and picked up its 12th Sun Belt Conference victory of the season.

The Jaguars put up three runs in the bottom of the first in game one and then added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as they took game one of the doubleheader 4-2. Olivia Lackie picked up her 15th win of the spring as she tossed her 12th complete game.

In game two, South Alabama used a three-run fifth to break a 2-2 tie, with the big hit of the inning coming off the bat of Jaguar pinch hitter and Monroe, La., native Abby Allen. Jenna Hardy went the distance and struck out five in her seven innings of work.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (25-13, 12-5 SBC) will head out on the road for its final Sun Belt Conference road series of the spring at Georgia Southern, April 30-May 2. Game one of the series versus the Eagles is set for Friday at 4:30 p.m. (CT) at Eagle Field in Statesboro, Ga.

SOUTH ALABAMA vs. ULM
Date: 4/25
Place: Jaguar Field (Mobile, Ala.)

Game 1
Final Score: South Alabama 4, ULM 2
Records: South Alabama (24-13, 11-5 SBC)
Pitchers of Record: WP – Olivia Lackie (15-6)  LP – Gianni Hulett (4-6)
Home Runs: USA: Kennedy Cronan (2), Kamdyn Kvistad (8)

GAME FACTS
- With one out in the bottom of the first, Mackenzie Brasher was hit by a pitch and then stole second. Victoria Ortiz worked the count full before drawing a free pass, and two batters later, Cronan drilled a three-run shot over the wall in left – her second of the season – to give South the 3-0 advantage.
- ULM placed a pair of runners in scoring position in its half of the third after a leadoff single by Madison Blount and a two-out double from Korie Kreps. Andie Edwards then dropped in a single to score a pair and trim South's lead to 3-2.
- Brasher singled back up the middle with one out in the bottom of the third, and with two outs in the inning, the sophomore outfielder moved to third on a stolen base – her second of the game – and a Warhawk throwing error. Abby Krzywiecki then drew a full-count walk, but Hulett was able to get a ground out back to the circle and leave the runners stranded.
- With the tying run aboard in the fifth, Lackie was able to win a 14-pitch at-bat and strike out Edwards as the ULM right fielder looked at a called third strike to end the inning. Edwards fouled off seven two-strike pitches before being retired.
- Nichols walked to start the next half inning, who was then moved into scoring position on Brasher's sacrifice bunt. Ortiz then walked for the second time, but Hulett got the next two Jaguar batters to fly out to center to get out of the jam.
- South Alabama added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as Kvistad led off the inning with her eighth home run of the season as she drove a 2-2 offering over the wall in right center.
- Jessica Williams walked to start the seventh and Blount followed with a single back up the middle to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Kreps drew a two-out walk, but Lackie was able to get a foul out to left to end the game and give South Alabama the 4-2 victory.

NOTES
- Five of the six runs scored by the two teams came with two outs.
- Lackie moved into seventh on the Jaguar career strikeout list versus ULM as she now has 186 For her career.
- The Walker, La., native's strike out to end the third moved her into a tie with Devin Brown for both the freshman strikeout record and a tie for 10th on the single-season strikeout list. Her strikeout of Kreps in the fifth inning was her 184th of the season, eclipsing Brown's freshman mark.
- Like Wednesday night's win over the Golden Eagles, Lackie was able to get ahead with an 0-2 count eight times against ULM. She started with an 0-2 count against nine Southern Miss batters.
- The first-inning home run was the 13th of Cronan's career and was the 24th multi-RBI game of her career. It was also the eighth multi-RBI game this spring for the Daphne, Ala., native – which leads the club.
- The Cronan home run extended her hit streak a season-best five games and her reached base safely streak to seven games.
- The home run by Kvistad in the sixth marked the 26th of her Jaguar career moving her into third-pace on South Alabama's career list in the category. It was also the 48th career extra-base hit and 95th career RBI for the Lake City, Fla., native.
- The leadoff home run by Kvistad also marked the eighth time in her career that she has homered to start an inning.
- The two-hit performance by Wolfenden marked her seventh game with two or more hits this season.

Game 2
Final Score: South Alabama 5, ULM 2
Records: South Alabama (25-13, 12-5 SBC)
Pitchers of Record: WP – Jenna Hardy (2-1)  LP – Adrianna Chavarra (1-9)
Home Runs: USA: K. Kvistad (9)

GAME FACTS
- ULM loaded the bases with two outs after a pair of infield singles and a fielder's, and Lara beat the throw to first for the Warhawk's third infield hit of the inning, plating Kreps to give the visitors the early 1-0 advantage.
- Two-out walk issued to Mount and Kreps lined a hard single off Keel's glove at third to put a pair of runners on for ULM the next half inning. Edwards followed with a single back up the middle that allowed Mount to score from second and increase the Warhawk lead to 2-0.
- Kvistad cut the deficit in half as she homered to left center – her ninth of the season and second of the doubleheader – to make it 2-1.
- Johnson led off the ULM third with a single to center and moved into scoring position on a ground out, but Hardy came back with a strikeout and then got help from her defense as Kvistad made a nice play at the net on a foul ball to end the inning and leave the runner stranded.
- The Warhawks put a pair on in the fourth after an infield single by Mount and a walk to Edwards, but Hardy was able to get a fielder's grounder to Keel at third to end the inning.
- South Alabama put runners at the corners in the bottom of the fourth after back-to-back one-out hits by Victoria Ortiz (double) and Krzywiecki (single). Two batters later, Kvistad tied the ball game at 2-2 with a double off the wall in left, which scored Ortiz.
- The Jags placed a pair on with one out in the bottom of the fifth after Keel singled and Brasher walked. Pinch hitter Abby Allen – playing against her hometown team –lined a run-scoring double to right to bring in Keel. Brasher also scored on the play after an errant throw back into the infield. Ortiz then plated the third run of the inning with a single back up the middle, which allowed Caroline Nichols – who had re-entered the game for Allen – to score from second (5-2).
- ULM brought the tying run to the plate in the sixth after a leadoff walk to Kennedy Page and a single to Mount, but Hardy was able to retire the next three batters with the final out coming on a fielder's choice as Wolfenden dove to tag the bag at second and retire Mount on a bang-bang play.
- The Warhawks brought the tying run to the plate for the second straight inning as they had runners at the corners with two outs in the top of the seventh, but Hardy was able to get Page to fly out to center to end the game.

NOTES
- Game two of the doubleheader marked the 46th series meeting versus the Warhawks. The 46 meetings against ULM are the second-most versus a Sun Belt opponent, second only to the 48 versus Louisiana.
- With the doubleheader sweep, South Alabama has won 12 of last 13 in the series at Jaguar Field.
- The win also marked the sixth come-from-behind victory this season for the Jaguars and third in Sun Belt play.
- The start for Hardy was her sixth of the season and first since Missouri (2/26) and her longest outing.
- The second-inning home run by Kvistad was the 27th of her career and gave her 97 RBI for her career, moving her into a tie for 10th with former South Alabama player Tara Donaldson (2007-09) on the Jaguar career list. Kvistad passed Donaldson her next at-bat with her RBI double in the bottom of the fourth.
- Her two extra-base hits against the Warhawks helped her become just the eighth player in program history to eclipse the 50 extra-base hit mark.
- The home run by the Jaguar catcher also marked the sixth-straight game that South Alabama has homered as they have recorded eight during that stretch
- Her RBI double in the fourth marked the seventh time this spring that Kvistad has driven in multiple runs. It was also the 23rd time in which Kvistad has driven in two or more runs during her career, tying her with Stephanie Pilkington (2013-16) for 10th all-time in the category.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On Sunday's doubleheader sweep of ULM:
"This was two big wins for us today on our home field. We knew they [ULM] were going to compete and hats off to them, I thought they played two great games. Our kids just hung in there and fought. In the second game, I thought it was a big boost for [Jenna] Hardy to get the complete game. [Olivia] Lackie did her thing in the first game, but having Hardy come behind her and finish up was huge. The three-run innings were the difference makers."
- On the team building confidence:
"We're at the point of the year where you know how to catch, you know how to throw and you know what to do; it's just a matter of going out there and doing it. You have to be more competitive and execute better than the other team. I thought that's what we did today. We could have easily given in when we were facing [Hulett] for the second time. I was proud of them for breaking through and getting something going. That gave us a chance to have the big inning [in the second game]. Those little things are huge, when you battle and battle then breakthrough when you're frustrated because you haven't had success [earlier] at-bat, that is a big deal."

Pitcher Jenna Hardy
- On her complete-game win today:
"It was fun. I love coming out here and working with the team. I have been cheering them on, now I finally got the chance and was like let's go have some fun and compete."
- On what was working for her in the circle:
"I thought my curve was working the most for me, but then I had my change up popped in there which was able to get a few batters out."
- On the defense backing her up:
"It makes it so much easier because I know they are behind me and I can trust them. They're working just as hard as I'm working."
- On the team continuing to build momentum:
"It just seems as we get deeper into the season, we are all working and want it. When we beat Alabama, it was like we knew we can do this. We're working harder and harder each day."

Catcher Kamdyn Kvistad
- On her performance at the plate:
"I had a good approach going up to the plate. I was able to stay nice and calm at the plate. I was just looking to get a good part of the bat on a good part of the ball and find a way to help my team out. It was a good day for everyone and great to get good cuts on the ball."
- On the team's confidence continuing to grow:
"At this point of the season, I think we're in a really good spot. Everybody has great confidence and we mesh well together as a team on and off the field. I think that's going to help us going into this part of the season. This part of the season can be tough and it can be pretty draining, but I'm excited to see where we go the rest of the season."
- On the performance of both pitchers:
"For [Jenna] Hardy to come in and finish that game is awesome, I am really excited for her and that is a good confidence booster for her. [Olivia] Lackie got the record for most strikeouts by a freshman. They both competed well, made pitches and it did the job today to get the two wins today, so I am pumped for them."

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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