MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama softball pitcher Olivia Lackie tossed a complete-game shut out Sunday afternoon as the Jaguars completed the Sun Belt Conference series sweep over Coastal Carolina with the 3-0 victory at Jaguar Field.

South Alabama scored three runs in the top of the first and Lackie made it hold.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (15-14, 7-1 SBC) will head back out on the road to open up a three-game series at Appalachian State on April 8-10 (Fri.-Sun.) at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium. First pitch of game one of the series versus the Mountaineers is set for 4 p.m. (CT), while games two and three are set for 1 p.m. (CT) and 11 a.m. (CT).

Date: 4/3
Place: Jaguar Field (Mobile, Ala.)

Final Score: South Alabama 3, Coastal Carolina 0
Records: South Alabama (15-14, 8-1 SBC), Coastal Carolina (14-20, 1-11 SBC)
Pitchers of Record: WP – Olivia Lackie (8-4)  LP – Iyanla De Jesus (0-3)

SCORING
- USA (1st Inn.) | Victoria Ortiz tripled to the gap in left center, 2 RBI | Caroline Nichols scored from second, Mackenzie Brasher scored from first (2-0, 0 out)
- USA (1st Inn.) | Kamdyn Kvistad singled back up the middle, RBI | Ortiz scored from third (3-0, 0 out)

GAME FACTS
- After retiring Coastal in order in the top half of the opening frame, South Alabama jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Nichols walked and Mackenzie Brasher reached on an infield single. Ortiz then plated the first two runs of the inning with a triple and Kvistad followed with an RBI single.
- Following a walk to Allen, CCU reliever Mady Volpe entered in relief and retired the next three Jag batters to work out of the jam. 
- Over the next five innings of work, Volpe allowed just a?? single, a walk and a hit batter to hold South Alabama in check.
- Keirsten Roose recorded the first hit of the afternoon for the Chants with a bloop single to shallow right center to start the fourth. Roose moved into scoring position on a wild pitch strike out, but Lackie didn't allow anything to come of it as she ended the inning with a pair of fly outs to hold CCU scoreless in its half of the fourth.
- Payton Ebersole and Makiya Thomas posted back-to-back singles to start the top half of the sixth for the Chanticleers, but the heart of the order due up, Lackie was able to get a strike out and then a pair of shallow fly outs to leave the CCU runners stranded and preserve the shut out.
- Gabby Stagner's one-out single in the sixth was the first hit by the Jags since the first inning. Belle Wolfeden then drew a walk to put a pair on, but two fly outs left the Jag runners stranded. For the day, South stranded six base runners.
- Lackie used just six pitches and retired the Chanticleers in order – her fourth time to do so in the game – in the top of the seventh to clinch the victory, ending the contest with her ninth strike out of the contest.
- Lackie used just 106 pitches in the complete-game effort, throwing 75 for strikes for a 70.8 strike percentage.
- The sophomore allowed just three hits, struck out nine and walked one. 
- Over her last six outings, she has walked just seven batters and struck out 66.
- Brasher was one of four players in the South Alabama lineup to record a hit and the lone player in the game to post multiple hits.
- In addition to her triple, Ortiz was also hit by a pitch and drove in two of South's three runs.
- Abby Allen drew two walks, bringing her team-leading total to 22.
- Volpe (CCU) tossed six innings of scoreless relief and allowed just five base runners, while striking out five.

NOTES
- South Alabama picked up its seventh-consecutive win in the all-time series versus the Chanticleers.
- The Jaguars have won nine of their last 10 and the 8-1 start to conference play is the best for the program after nine league games since 2014, the only other time South has been 8-1 to begin league action.
- With her first-inning walk, Nichols extended her career-best reached base safely streak to 11 games.
- Brasher's first-inning single extended her career-best reached base safely streak to 12 games. She has had either a hit or a walk in 19 of her last 20 outings accumulating eight walks and 20 hits over that stretch. 
- With her two-hit performance, Brasher recorded the 25th multi-hit game of her career, moving her into a four-way tie for 20th all-time in the category.
- It was also Brasher's team-best sixth multi-hit game of the season.
- The triple was the first of the spring for Ortiz and her team-leading 13th extra-base hit. The extra-base hit was also the 45th of her career, moving her into a tie with Stephanie Pilkington (2013-16) for ninth all-time in the category.
- Ortiz has now driven in at least one run in six of her last nine outings and seven of South's nine conference games this spring.
- For the series, Ortiz batted .667 and reached base safely in six of her eight plate appearances. She drove in four, scored three runs, while posting a 1.500 slugging percentage with her triple and home run.
- The first-inning RBI moved Kvistad into a tie with Kaitlyn Griffith (2012-15) for fifth all-time at South as she has 111 for her career.
- The game also marked the 200th for Kvistad in a Jaguar uniform.
- The complete-game, shut out was the 11th of Lackie's career. She now has gone the distance 24 times in her career. The win was the 27th of her career tying her for fifth-place all-time in the category.
- The shut out was also the eighth of the spring for the Jaguar pitching staff and the fourth that has come in Sun Belt Conference play.

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Becky Clark
- On the series: 
"Huge sweep for us this weekend; it was great to be back on our home field and get back into the swing of things. We had the layoff and I think that kind of hurt us a little bit. We're just trying to get going and get back to where we were before. I don't think we're playing incredibly well, we're not playing our best right now, but we're playing good enough to win, so that's always a good thing."

- On the season moving forward: 
"To get some momentum going as we're going into April—App [State] has been playing really well—so, going up there and playing them on the road and then [Louisiana-] Lafayette here on our home field so, we have to keep moving forward, we have to keep looking for ways to get better. We've got to get back into a little bit of a stride, I feel like we lost our stride and we have to get back in that groove."

Sophomore P Olivia Lackie
- On her performance: 
"What was working for me today was my curveball and rise ball, I was kind of using that to keep them [Coastal Carolina] off-balance, along with a changeup here and there." 

- On her and the team's recent play: 
"I think I had a few rough patches at the beginning of the season and that's something I had to work through. I just had to rely on my teammates to back me up when I was struggling. I feel like the past two weekends have been good for me and I hope to keep going up from here. I would say that we had rough preseason and now that we're getting into conference play I think we're getting it together and saying 'hey this is what we need to do, let's go get it.'."

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—