MOBILE, Ala. | Olivia Lackie and Madison Lagle combined to toss a five-inning no-hitter Friday evening as the South Alabama softball team bounced back with a 9-0, run-rule victory over Mississippi Valley State at Jaguar Field on day one of the Mardi Gras Classic presented by Beebe's Termite & Pest Control. The Jags dropped game one of the day, 3-1 to Missouri State.

Against the Diamond Devilettes, South Alabama (2-4) set a new school record with eight steals, while Meredith Keel had three hits, drove in three, stole a pair of bases and scored a run in the two games.

Quotable – head coach Becky Clark
- On day one of the Mardi Gras Classic: "We got outplayed in game one and then came back in game two and competed. We need to come out tomorrow and play two complete games."

Junior pitcher Olivia Lackie
- On what was working well in the circle for her: "Tonight, my rise ball and my screw ball were working really well for me. I was able to come inside with my rise ball and then finish with the screw ball or sometimes my curve."

- On what the difference was tonight from her previous starts this spring: "I was able to take the mistakes that I made from my first few outings and learn from them. I know my teammates have my back and I just need to go out there and throw, and the rest will happen."

Game 1 – Missouri State 3, South Alabama 1
After being held hitless the first time through the order, Missouri State broke through with three runs on a pair of hits in the top half of the fourth. After a walk and a two-out single, Kelsie Lewis lifted a ball to right center that went over the fence for a three-run home run to put the Bears up 3-0.

South Alabama answered in the bottom half of the inning with a run of its own. Marley Sims came around to score from second on Keel's single to center. South could have had a bigger inning, but Mackenzie Brasher was thrown out at home and the Jags left runners at second and third after a fly out to center ended the frame.

The Jags had another scoring opportunity in their half of the sixth, placing a pair of runners in scoring position with two out, but Gracie Johnston was able to get a fly out to left to work out of the jam. 

South Alabama brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh after Emma Kropp lined a two-out single to left, but Johnston was able to snag a hot-shot, liner back up the middle to end the contest.

Scoring Summary
•    4th Inn | Lewis homered to right center, 3 RBI; Annie Mueller scored, Olivia Krehbiel scored (0-3, MSU)
•    4th Inn | Keel singled to center, RBI; Sims scored (1-3, USA)

Postgame Notes
•    The meeting versus Missouri State marked just the second in the all-time series and first since 2019
•    Jenna Hardy struck out eight of the first 10 batters that she faced, and didn't allow a base runner until a one-out walk in the top of the fourth
•    With her two strikeouts in the second inning, Hardy (192) tied and moved passed Destin Vicknair (185 – 2016-17) for eight-place all-time in career strikeouts at South
•    Hardy tied her career high in strikeouts with her second put away of the fourth and then set a new career best with her third strikeout of the frame.
•    Brasher led off the bottom of the fourth to extend her hit streak to seven games, which dates back to the final two games of the 2022 campaign 
•    Keel has a three-game hit streak of her own and has had at least one hit in four of her first five outings this spring
•    Gabby Stagner extended her reached base safely streak to five games with her walk
•    All three of Missouri State's hits came with two strikes and two outs; the Jaguars were just 1-for-8 with two outs

Game 2 – South Alabama 9, Mississippi Valley State 0 (5 inn.)
In the night cap, Lackie tossed four perfect innings and struck out 10, while Lagle pitched a hitless fifth, as the Jags recorded the program's 20th no-hitter – first combined – and the ninth at Jaguar Field.

Keel (2-for-3) led the way with a pair of steals, two RBI and a run scored, while Odalys Cordova also had a pair of hits in her three at-bats, scoring two runs and driving in one. Brasher nearly set a single-game stolen base record herself as she had three in the win, while scoring twice and reaching base safely twice with a hit and a walk.

Lackie didn't allow a base runner in her four innings of work, and struck out two or more batters each inning, striking out the side in in the third and fourth innings.

South Alabama set the tone in the opening frame. Lackie set the Diamond Devilettes down in order, recording a pair of strikeouts in the top half of the first, and the Jag offense answered with a six-run bottom half of the frame, sending 11 batters to the plate.

Keel (single), Cordova (triple), Stagner (double) each had run-delivering hits, while Bailey Welch and Sims earned back-to-back, bases-loaded walks. The final run of the inning came when Shelby Garrett – making her first career start in a South Alabama uniform – scored on Mississippi Valley State's third error of the inning. 

Scoring Summary
•    1st Inn | Keel singled to left, RBI; Brasher scored (1-0, USA)
•    1st Inn | Cordova tripled to right, RBI; Keel scored (2-0, USA)
•    1st Inn | Stagner doubled to left, RBI; Cordova scored (3-0, USA)
•    1st Inn | Welch walked, RBI; Stagner scored (4-0, USA)
•    1st Inn | Sims walked; RBI; Ortiz scored (unearned) (5-0, USA)
•    1st Inn | Brasher reached on an error by 3b, RBI; Garrett scored (unearned) (6-0, USA)
•    2nd Inn | Ortiz fly out to left, sacrifice fly, RBI; Cordova scored (7-0, USA)
•    3rd Inn | Sims stole home (8-0, USA)
•    3rd Inn | Keel singled to left field, RBI; Brasher scored. (9-0, USA)

Postgame Notes
•    The three stolen bases by Brasher were a new career best for the senior outfielder and one shy of Evelyne Pare's program mark of four set vs. Northwestern State (3/25/08)
•    South Alabama had three players with multiple stolen bases Brasher (3), Keel (2) and Sims (2)
•    With their eight steals in the contest, the Jags set both a new single-game stolen base record (7, vs. Lehigh, 2/22/14) and Jaguar Field record (6, vs. Northwestern State, 3/25/08 and vs. Belmont, 2/20/10)
•    Keel's stolen base in the bottom of the third was the eighth of the game, setting a new single-game mark
•    As a team, South had recorded just one stolen base through its first five games
•    With her leadoff single in the top of the first, Brasher extended her hit streak to eight games dating back to last spring
•    Keel wasted little time extending her hit streak to four straight; she has had at least one hit in all but one game this season
•    With her two RBI against MVSU, Keel now has five through six games this season after recording eight in 42 games a year ago
•    The six-run first inning by the Jaguars marked the first time the club has done so this season and the first since a six-run first on the road at UT Arlington (3/12/22)
•    The game against the Mavericks was also the last time that the program had a player record two doubles in a game (Belle Wolfenden)
•    With her two hits, Cordova has recorded multi-hit performances in two of her last three games 
•    Stagner has now reached base safely in all six of her games this season
•    The Jags were one strike and one out from recording the program's fourth perfect game after issuing a two-out walk in the top of the fifth
•    The no-hitter by Lackie was the third of her career and it also marked the first combined no-hitter in program history

Up Next
•    South Alabama will host a pair of games on Saturday at the Mardi Gras Classic taking on Missouri State at 3 p.m. and Rutgers at 5 p.m.

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