MOBILE, Ala. – Fresh off being named the Sun Belt Conference pitcher of the Week, University of South Alabama softball pitcher Jenna Hardy tossed her second-straight complete game shut out as the Jaguars picked up a 3-0 win over Nicholls State Wednesday night in their home opener at Jaguar Field.

Hardy (4-7) tied a career high with nine strikeouts and Meredith Keel also went 3-for-3 at the plate and scored a run.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (10-13, 3-0 SBC) will continue its homestand with a three-game Sun Belt Conference series versus Texas State over the weekend. The Jaguars will open the series on Friday with first pitch set for 6 p.m. Jaguar Field. Game two is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. and game three at 11 a.m.

Date: 3/16
Place: Jaguar Field (Mobile, Ala.)

Final Score: South Alabama 3, Nicholls State 0
Records: South Alabama (10-13), Nicholls State (8-17)
Pitchers of Record: WP – Jenna Hardy (4-7)  LP – Brittney Turner (5-7)
Home Runs: USA: Stephanie Gonzalez (2)

SCORING
- USA (2nd Inn.) | Gonzalez homered to right center (1-0, 1 out)
- USA (3rd Inn.) | Gabby Stagner doubled to left; Abby Allen scored from first (2-0, 2 out)
- USA (6th Inn.) | Keel scored from third on a Colonel throwing error (3-0, 2 out)

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama loaded the bases in the top half of the first as the first three Jaguars reached base, but Turner battled back and retired the next three batters to get out of the jam.
- Nicholls placed a runner in scoring position each of first two innings, but Hardy ended both frames with a strikeout.
- The Colonels had a pair of two-out hits in the third, but Hardy induced a ground ball out on a fielder's choice at third to end the inning and keep Nicholls scoreless.
- Gonzalez put the Jags on the board in the bottom of the second as she drove the first pitch she saw over the wall in right center to put South up 1-0.
- Stagner added to the Jaguar lead (2-0) the next time up as she doubled off the base of the wall to bring around Allen, who had been hit by a pitch with two away.
- South tacked on an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth as Keel scored from third on an errant throw on a pickoff attempt.
- Hardy struck out the side in the top of the first and ended the night with nine strikeouts, which matched a career high for the Jag righty.
- After allowing a single to Nicholls' Alexa Poche', Hardy retired the final 13 batters that she faced.
- Hardy threw 74.3 percent of her 109 pitches for strikes in the win.
- Three of Nicholls' four hits came with two outs.

NOTES
- With the win, South Alabama improves to 15-6 in the all-time series, and have now won 12 of the last 13 meetings.
- The win was the 10th in the series at Jaguar Field and the 40th against a current Southland Conference opponent.
- The two clubs are also scheduled to meet each other in Thibodeaux on April 20.
- South Alabama has homered in four of its last five games and five of its last seven dating back to the Virginia (3/4) game.
- With two outs in the third, Allen was hit by a pitch to extend her reached base safely streak to 19 games. The streak now tied with five other players for ninth-longest reached base safely streak in program history. 
- Belle Wolfenden saw her six-game hit streak come to an end.
- With her third-inning RBI, Stagner has now driven in a run in each of her last four games and plated 10 over that stretch.
- The three-hit performance marked Keel's 18th multi-hit game at South Alabama and the 30th of her collegiate career as she had 12 at Wright State before transferring.
- The three hits also tied a career high for the Jaguar third baseman.
- The two stolen bases by Caroline Nichols were a new career best for the senior.
- After not recording a shut out in any of her first 31 starts as a Jaguar, Hardy has now accomplished the feat in back-to-back outings.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On playing at home: 
"[We were] excited to be on our home field and in front of our fans. We have such amazing fans and to be able to come back and finally get in front of them and play on Jaguar Field was a big deal for us today."
- On the team's performance: 
"It's always great on your home field and it's always great to get a win on opening day. I thought, for the most part, we played well. We weren't as aggressive as I would like to see us, I think offensively we were holding back a little bit. I don't know if it was first home game jitters or what, but I would like to see us be more aggressive at the plate and we'll figure that out before this weekend."
- On the team coming together: 
"We had an awesome weekend; we got great pitching, defense and hitting. So, we put it all together and that's what we're going to have to do again this weekend. Just working together and keeping a competitive and attack mindset."

Junior P Jenna Hardy
- On playing at home: 
"I told everybody while we were warming up that it didn't even feel like we were about to play a game, it felt like we were about to go into practice and have a fun day, which is exactly what we did."
- On her pitching: 
"Everything was really working well. I've been working a lot of spin-work recently, just to get the ball where I want it to be. It makes everything a reality, because I've been working so hard. [In the] offseason you work so hard and to finally come out on the field and see it all put together, it's just like a dream come true."

Senior INF Meredith Keel
- On playing at home: 
"Finally being able to play on our home field in front of our fans was big for us because we've gone a month without playing at home. So, being back home is big for us, we feel comfortable with the momentum from this past weekend so it was really big to come out here today and get the win at home." 
- On her performance: 
"Just being comfortable and taking a good part of the barrel to a good part of the ball. Coming off of this past weekend and being home, we can be excited. So, just being simple at the plate and doing what I do best."

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—