MOBILE, Ala. – After Georgia State tied the game up in the top half of the fourth, the University of South Alabama softball team responded with an eight-run bottom half of the inning as the second-seeded Jaguars opened the Sun Belt Conference Championship with a 10-2 victory over the Panthers in five innings Wednesday night at Jaguar Field.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (25-19) will continue play at the Sun Belt Conference Championship on Thursday when the Jaguars face third-seeded Texas State at 1 p.m.

SUN BELT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Date: 5/11
Place: Jaguar Field (Mobile, Ala.)

Final Score: No. 2 Seed – South Alabama 10, No. 7 Seed – Georgia State (2) [5 inn.]
Records: South Alabama 25-19, Georgia State 20-32
Pitchers of Record: WP – Olivia Lackie (15-7)  LP – Hallie Adams (5-13)
Home Runs: USA: Victoria Ortiz (11), Kamdyn Kvistad (8); GSU: Sophie Mooney (4)

SCORING
- USA (1st Inn.) | Kamdyn Kvistad sacrifice bunt, RBI; Caroline Nichols scores from third, Mackenzie Brasher scores on an error, unearned (2-0, 1 out)
- GSU (4th Inn.) | Mooney homered down the leftfield line, 2 RBI; Bailee Richardson scored from first (2-2, 2 out)
- USA (4th Inn.) | Kvistad homered to right center, 2 RBI; Victoria Ortiz scored from first (4-2, 0 out)
- USA (4th Inn.) | Pinch hitter Shelby Sloan singled through the right side, 2 RBI; Meredith Keel scored from third, Gabby Stagner scored from second (6-2, 1 out)
- USA (4th Inn.) | Pinch hitter Abby Allen tripled to left, 2 RBI; pinch runner Janeah Finney scored from third, Sloan scored from second (8-2, 2 out).
- USA (4th Inn.) | Ortiz homered to left center, 2 RBI; Brasher scored from third (10-2, 2 out)

GAME FACTS
- Nichols walked and Brasher reached on a fielder's choice and both moved into scoring position after a fly out to right. The two runners came home on the next at-bat as Kvistad laid down a squeeze bunt to plate Nichols. On the play, Brasher kept running on the play and crossed the plate after an errant throw by the Panthers.
- South nearly added another run in its half of the third 
Nichols singled back up the middle with one away in the Jag third – her second time to reach in as many plate appearances. She was then sacrificed into scoring position, and then attempted to score from second on Georgia State's second error of the contest, but the Jag outfielder was tagged out at home to end the inning.
- Georgia State tied the game up (2-2) on Mooney's two-run, two-out homer that hit the left field foul pole in the top of the fourth.
- South Alabama quickly answered back in the bottom half of the inning, scoring eight runs on six hits – which included a pair of triples and a pair of two-run home runs.
- Ortiz singled to lead things off in the frame and Kvistad homered to right center two pitches later to put the Jags back out in front (4-2). Keel then followed with the third-straight hit, a triple that dropped in the gap in left center and Stagner walked to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Two batters later, Kassidy Wilcox was hit by a pitch to load the bases, setting the table for Sloan, who recorded a pinch-hit single through the right side of the infield to score a pair (6-2). With two away, Allen registered the second RBI pinch-hit for the Jaguars in the inning as she tripled off the wall in left to score two more runs and make it 8-2. Ortiz then followed with her second hit of the inning, this one a mammoth blast over the wall in right center, her 11th home run of the spring.
- Staked with the big lead, Lackie retired the side in order in the top of the fifth – her fourth time to do so in the contest – ending the game with her 11th strikeout of the evening.
- In her five innings of work, Lackie struck out 11 on just 73 pitches and didn't issue a walk.
- She went 0-2 to seven of the 17 batters that she faced, retiring all of them, six via strikeout.
- Lackie struck out the side in the first and third innings and had two or more strikeouts in all but the final frame.
- The Walker, La., native also struck out eight of the first nine Panther batters she faced.
- Ortiz was 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBI and two runs scored, while Allen (2), Sloan (2) and Kvistad (3) also drove in multiple runs.

NOTES
- The meeting marked the fourth time the two clubs have meet in the Sun Belt Conference Championship event, and was the first series meeting since the 2019 season.
- For the second straight tournament, South Alabama scored 10 or more runs in its tournament opener (11, Appalachian State, 5/12/21).
- The 10 runs scored are also tied for second most in a conference tournament game for the Jaguars.
- With her walk to start the bottom half of the first, Nichols has now reached base safely in 12 of her last 13 contest, and scored at least one run in 10 of her last 12.
- Kvistad has driven in at least one run in eight of her last 12 outings, and 16 runs over that same stretch.
- The multi-RBI game was also the 31st of Kvistad's career moving her into third place in the category, just two back of Brittany Fowler's (2010-13) program mark of 33.
- The third-inning home run by Kvistad was the 36th of her career and with her three RBI, she has down driven in 128 during her career.
- Keel has now recorded five triples this spring, which ties former Jags Emily Messer (2016) and Amanda Minahan (2015) for the most in a single season at South Alabama.
- The 12 triples this season by the Jaguars are the most since the 2017 campaign which also recorded 12.
- The 11 strikeouts marked the sixth double-digit strike out game of the season for Lackie and the 13th of her career, which ties her for third all-time in the category at South with former Jag Beth Pilgrim (2007-10).
- Prior to Wednesday night, South Alabama pinch hitters had driven in just six runs, but recorded four in the win.
- The eight-run fourth inning marked the most runs scored by South in an inning this season and were the most since putting up eight runs against Appalachian State (5/12/21) in last season's conference tournament.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- Opening statement: 
"What a great way to open up on our home field, tons of energy. I thought we were getting production all the way throughout the lineup, Liv [Olivia Lackie] coming out and doing what she does. Great way to open up, thank you to all our fans who showed up and supported, just a great way to open up on our home field."
- On Olivia Lackie's performance in the circle: 
"Liv had a great night. Someone asked if the home run fazed her, and it made her mad, she comes back in there and bears back down. I was proud of our offense for picking her up, that was huge. We talk about answering up and man, they answered up in a big way."
- On being aggressive from the outset: 
"We knew Georgia State was very aggressive and that's how they try to beat you with their aggressiveness, and mentally I just went into it, my goal was to beat them at their own game. We're going to be more aggressive than they are, and that worked out for us. That's our philosophy. 
"At this time of year you have to be able to win a lot of different ways, right, you have to have pitching and defense, you're going to win sometimes with that, sometimes you're going to win with your speed, sometimes you're going to win with your power. I think what was cool tonight was that we won with all of it. You cannot be one dimensional and go deep into postseason, so I was happy to see tonight that we got production from all areas and we got great production off the bench. We had some great at-bats coming off the bench that did some big stuff for us. You get production out of the top of the order and out of the bottom of your order, you're going to win that way. 
"Every chance we get to be aggressive we're going to be aggressive, and like Liv said, at the end you see who won the game. My thing is, you have to go after people. What I told [Assistant coach] Hannah [Campbell] when she pitched, here's my best stuff, you give me your best stuff and let's see who wins. I thought tonight we gave them our best stuff."
- On playing Texas State tomorrow: 
"What a great team, a well-coached team. I think that these are the games that you want to play. We know that Mullins is going to step on the mound and be aggressive, assuming that's who they pitch, I don't have a crystal ball, but I would assume. We know that we're going to compete every single pitch, so just bring the same mentality tonight and bring that tomorrow."

Junior (RS) OF Victoria Ortiz
- On her home run: 
"She [Georgia State relief pitcher Emily Buck] had given me that pitch, the other pitcher too [starter Hallie Adams] a couple of times, I had pulled it down the first base line, so I felt it was about time I did something with it instead of pulling it all the way down there. I just trusted myself. It's easy to do that when we were going like we were. I actually led off that inning and got back in there, so it was really cool."
- On being aggressive on the bases: 
"I just think we were on go mode, our saying's all gas and no breaks and I definitely think we showed that tonight. So, I think we were taking every opportunity they gave us. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, mostly it worked tonight so it was really cool."
- On playing Texas State Thursday: 
"We played them here on our field, and our Friday game was one of the most intense games I've ever played in, so they're not going to get taken for granted. They're going to come out hard, all their pitchers are going to throw their best game, so we have to come ready and trust ourselves and go with our best effort."

Sophomore P Olivia Lackie
- On what was working for her in the circle: 
"I think my rise ball and my screwball were working very well for me tonight. It's easy to go out there and perform really well whenever you have a lot of energy from your teammates behind you and knowing you can trust them to make plays behind you."
- On playing Texas State in the next round: 
"I think they're not a team to be taken lightly, and that it's going to be a great matchup. The way the ball falls is the way the ball falls. We just have to leave it all out on the line."

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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