MONROE, La. – The University of South Alabama softball third baseman Meredith Keel homered and tripled to help the Jaguars take game one of the series at ULM Friday night with a 4-1 victory at the ULM Softball Complex.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (18-17, 9-4 SBC) will continue the series versus the Warhawks on Saturday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m.

Date: 4/22
Place: ULM Softball Complex (Monroe, La.)

Final Score: South Alabama 4, ULM 1
Records: South Alabama (18-17, 10-4 SBC), ULM (23-18, 9-10 SBC)
Pitchers of Record: WP – Olivia Lackie (10-6)  LP – Kinsey Kackley (8-6)
Home Runs: USA: Meredith Keel (1)

SCORING
- USA (1st Inn.) | Abby Allen walked, RBI; Caroline Nichols scored from third (1-0, 2 out)
- USA (1st Inn.) | Belle Wolfenden, RBI; Victoria Ortiz scored from third (2-0, 2 out)
- ULM (3rd Inn.) | Kennedy Johnson singled to left, RBI; Lourdes Bacon scored from second (2-1, 2 out)
- USA (5th Inn.) | Meredith Keel homered to center, RBI (3-1, 0 out)
- USA (5th Inn.) | Ortiz singled back up the middle, RBI; Nichols scored from second (4-1, 1 out)

GAME FACTS
- The Jaguars put up a pair of runs on five walks to take the early lead in the top of the first. South loaded the bases with one away in the opening frame after walks to Nichols, Ortiz and Kamdyn Kvistad. With two away in the inning, Allen drew her team-leading 26th free pass of the spring to plate the first run of the game. South then took a 2-0 lead after another walk by Wolfenden brought home Ortiz.
- After retiring the first two batters of the ULM third, Lackie ran into a little two-out trouble. Bacon walked and stole second to move into scoring position, and then came around to score the first run of the game for the Warhawks on Johnson's single to left (2-1).
- South Alabama plated a pair of insurance runs in the top of the fifth. Keel led off the inning with a homer to center, and after a single by Nichols and a sac bunt, Ortiz drove in the second run of the inning with a single back up the middle to make it 4-1.
- Keel finished the night 2-for-3 at the plate with a home run and a triple.
- Lackie tossed her 10th complete game of the season and the 27th of her career as she struck out six, while allowing five hits and one walk.

NOTES
- The multi-hit game was the fifth of the season for Keel and the 21st of her Jaguar career. It was also the 33rd multi-hit game of her career.
- With her first-inning walk, Nichols has now reached base safely in 15 of her last 17 outings.
- Ortiz extended her reached base safely streak to 12 games with her walk in the top of the first.
- The first-inning walk drawn by Kvistad marked the 71st of her Jaguar career, moving her into a tie for seventh all-time with former Jag Carolina Mendoza (2007, '09-11). She then walked for the second time in her next at bat to move into seventh-place alone with 72.
- The five walks drawn by South Alabama in the top of the first nearly matched the club's season high (8) at UTA (3/13) in the first conference series of the spring.
- With their two first-inning runs, the Jaguars have now scored at least one run in the first inning in each of their last nine outings.
- The home run to lead off top of the fifth marked the third lead-off homer by a Jag this season and the first of Keel's Jaguar career.
- Brasher extended both her 18-game reached base safely streak and eight-game hit streak with her seventh-inning single.
- The 18-game reached base safely streak is tied for 15th longest in program history and second-longest by a Jag this spring – Allen (21).
- The 27 career complete games move Lackie into a tie for sixth-place all-time in the category at South.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On the win: 
"[Olivia] Lackie pounded the zone and did a good job of keeping them off-balance. Offensively, we were patient early and had quality at-bats and then were able to extend the lead in the fifth and ultimately finish it off."

Senior INF Meredith Keel
- On her night at the plate: 
"This week, Coach [Kristina] McCain and I worked on some of my mechanics, which helped me see the ball much better. Tonight, I went to the plate trusting that, and thinking about attacking the ball early in the count."
- On the importance of taking game one of the series: 
"Coming out tonight and taking game one the way we did is huge, because it's going to give us the momentum and confidence for tomorrow. ULM is a gritty team, so if we come out each day with the same aggressive mindset, I feel we will set ourselves up for success."

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—