STARKVILLE, Miss. – After dropping a 3-2 decision to Longwood in the first game of the day, sophomore pitcher Olivia Lackie and Kamdyn Kvistad helped lead the University of South Alabama softball team to a 1-0 victory over Mississippi State Saturday on day two of the Snowman held at Nusz Park.
UP NEXT
- South Alabama (4-9) will close out play at the Snowman on Sunday with a single game against Mississippi State. First pitch versus the Bulldogs is set for 1 p.m.
THE SNOWMAN (Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament)
Date: 2/26
Place: Nusz Park (Starkville, Miss.)
SOUTH ALABAMA vs. LONGWOOD
Final Score: Longwood 3, South Alabama 2
Records: Longwood (5-8), South Alabama (3-9)
Pitchers of Record: WP – Sydney Backstrom (4-4) LP – Jenna Hardy (1-5)
Home Runs: LU: Sydney Jacobsen (1)
SCORING
- LU (3rd Inn.) | Jacobsen homered to left, RBI (0-1, 0 out)
- LU (3rd Inn.) | Ale Wayland singled up the middle, RBI; Laura Taylor scored from second, unearned (0-2, 2 out)
- USA (5th Inn.) | Kennedy Cronan reaches on an error at third; pinch runner Janeah Finney scored from third, unearned (1-2, 2 out)
- USA (6th Inn.) | Kamdyn Kvistad ground out to third, RBI; Mackenzie Brasher scored from third (2-2, 1 out)
- LU (7th Inn.) | Taylor reached on a fielder's choice to third base, SAC, bunt, RBI; pinch runner Lauren Fox scored from third, unearned (2-3, 1 out)
GAME FACTS
- Backstrom retired the first 10 Jaguar batters that she faced before allowing Meredith Keel's single to left.
- Backstrom was able to get nine ground-ball outs in the game and struck out five in her seven innings of work.
- South Alabama moved its first runner into scoring position in the top of the fifth after pinch runner Janeah Finney stole second, and with runners at the corners, cut the deficit in half when Kennedy Cronan reached as her ground ball went through the legs of the LU third baseman, allowing Finney to score.
- Brasher stole a pair of bases in the top of the sixth and then slide under the tag attempt at home on Kvistad's RBI ground out. to tie the game at 2-2
- South put the potential go ahead run at third after Kropp doubled to the gap in left center and moved to third on a fly out to right, Backstrom was able to get a fly out to left to keep the game tied.
- In the bottom half of the inning, Kayla Devivi singled and advanced to second on a Jaguar throwing error. She was sacrificed up a base.
- Both clubs struggled with runners on as they were a collective 2-for-14 in those situations. South was just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
NOTES
- The meeting was just the second ever between the two clubs.
- Jacobsen's leadoff home run to start the bottom half of the third was the first to lead off an inning by an opponent this season and the eighth solo shot.
- With her infield single in the top of the fifth, Emma Kropp extended her career-best hit streak to four games.
- Kropp also posted her second career multi-hit games with her 2-for-3 performance at the plate. Her sixth-inning double was the third of her career and first since last season at Ole Miss (3/10/21).
- Abby Allen extended her reached base safely streak to seven games with her walk in the sixth.
SOUTH ALABAMA at MISSISSIPPI STATE
Final Score: South Alabama 1, Mississippi State 0
Records: South Alabama (4-9), Mississippi State (8-7)
Pitchers of Record: WP – Olivia Lackie (2-2) LP – Kenley Hawk (3-1)
Home Runs: USA: Kamdyn Kvistad (2)
SCORING
- USA (4th Inn.) | Kvistad homered to left, RBI (1-0, 0 out)
GAME FACTS
- The Jags had chances early on as they got the leadoff batter aboard in the second and third, and had a runner on base each of the first three innings.
- South Alabama had a runner at third in both the second and third innings, but wasn't able to come up with the two-out hit.
- Shea Moreno's one-out double to left marked the first hit of the game by either team and the first Bulldog runner to move into scoring position.
- Kvistad put the Jags out in front (1-0) as she hammered a 2-1 offering off Hawk that went deep over the wall in left to start the fourth.
- South loaded the bases with one away in its half of the fifth after an MSU error, an infield single by Mackenzie Brasher and a hit batter, but Hawk was able to retire the next two batters and hold the Jag lead to just the one run.
- MSU had the tying run reach and move into scoring position with one out in the sixth after a Jaguar error, but Lackie was able to get a fly out to left and a ground out to third to leave the runner stranded.
- Lackie retired the side in order in the final half inning, marking her fourth 1-2-3 inning of the game.
- In her seven innings of work, Lackie allowed just three base runners – one hit and two walks – while striking out five.
- She ended the inning with a strikeout in three of the final four innings of the game, including the final out.
NOTES
- Prior to the start of the contest, LeAnn Wilcox, mother of the late Alex Wilcox for whom the tournament is in honor of and current Jaguar catcher Kassidy Wilcox, threw out the first pitch.
- With her first-inning walk, Allen extended her team-best and career-high reached base safely streak to nine games.
- The meeting versus the Bulldogs marked the 10th in the series and first since the two clubs met during the 2018 season. USA now holds six wins versus MSU, four of which have come in Starkville.
- Ortiz's hit by pitch to start the second inning marked just the second Jag batter to be hit this spring.
- Kvistad's home run was the 30th of her career and the ninth to lead off an inning.
- The home run also marked the 55th extra-base – 24 doubles, one triple, and 30 home runs – hit by the senior as she now ranks seventh in that category.
- Welch reached base three times – walk, error, double.
- Lackie has now retired the side 14 times this season.
- The one hitter was the second of the season and the weekend for Lackie as she also held Belmont to just one hit on Friday.
- Prior to tonight's shutout, the only other two programs to hold the Bulldogs scoreless this spring are Oklahoma and UCLA.
- The shutout was the eighth of Lackie's career, moving her to fifth-place in the program's career chart. It was also her 20th career complete game.
- Her 21 career wins are tied with three other players for sixth most at South Alabama.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On the win and Olivia Lackie's performance in the circle:
"Tonight was a great team win. Liv [Olivia Lackie] dialed in and pitched a great game. I thought that was her best outing of the season. We were better offensively and applied pressure the entire night.
- On Kamdyn Kvistad's home run:
"On the home run, Kam got a pitch to hit and didn't miss it. This game gives us something to build on and continue to move forward."
Sophomore pitcher Olivia Lackie
- On what was working well for her in the circle against Mississippi State:
"I was able to work my curve ball on both sides of the plate as well as my off-speed pitch. I haven't had either of those pitches for much of the season so far, but tonight it all came together and was working well."
- On the importance of the team bouncing back with the win tonight after the one-run loss earlier in the day:
"It was a big deal for us because the one-run loss to Longwood earlier in the day was a heartbreaker, and we all decided we were going to come out here tonight and give it all we had. It was a great team win because we did exactly that."
Senior catcher Kamdyn Kvistad
- On the fourth-inning home run:
"I've been working through my at bats because I've been on top of a lot of balls. I was really trying to work the center half of the ball and just time up the pitch so I could hit something solid. That one felt good."
- On what she saw from Olivia Lackie behind the plate:
"Liv looked awesome tonight. She stayed locked in the entire game and didn't have a single pitch phase her. She didn't let it affect her when anyone got on base. She came out fired up on the very next pitch. All her pitches were working and we did a really good job of keeping them [Mississippi State] off balance. We threw some change ups, along with some high balls and low balls. It felt like they were just guessing as the game progressed. Liv really attacked the zone and worked both sides of the plate well."
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.
—USA—
