MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. | After being held to just three hits in its opener on Saturday, the South Alabama (15-9) offense came alive in game two of the day pounding out 11 hits as the Jags bounced back with an 11-0, run-rule victory over Iona on Saturday at THE Spring Games held at R.O.C. Park. The Jags fell 3-1 to Lehigh in game one of the day.

Game 1 – Lehigh 3, South Alabama 1
Lehigh put up two runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good and Katelyn Young held the Jags to three hits as the Mountain Hawks picked up a 3-1 victory.

Brooke Cannon was 3-for-3 at the plate, while Josie Charles and Carley Barjaktkrovich had two hits apiece for Lehigh. 

The Mountain Hawks were the first to threaten to get on the board as Cannon and Charles with back-to-back one-out singles in the bottom of the second, but Jenna Hardy (7-5) was able to get a pop out to short and a strikeout swinging to leave the runners stranded. 

South answered the missed opportunity the next half inning as Odalys Cordova drove an 0-1 pitch over the fence in left for her first career home run to give the Jaguars the 1-0 advantage. 

Rory Dudley led off the bottom of the fourth with a double to left center and Cannon then laid down a bunt to put runners at the corners. After a stolen base by Cannon, Charles plated a run with an infield single to tie the game at 1-1. A passed ball put two more in scoring position and Cannon came home one batter later on Amanda Greany's sac fly to left (1-2). Olivia Lackie entered the circle in relief and was able to get a fly out to left and a foul out to catcher to prevent any further damage.

South Alabama had a chance to answer back in its half of the fifth, placing runners at the corners with two outs, but Young induced a ground out to short to work out of the jam.

Lily Owens led off the LU fifth inning with her third home run of the spring to extend the Mountain Hawk lead to 3-1.

Scoring Summary
•    2nd Inn | Cordova homered to left, RBI (1-0, USA)
•    4th Inn | Charles singled to shortstop, RBI; Dudley scored (1-1, LU)
•    4th Inn | Greany flew out to left, sacrifice; RBI; Cannon scored, unearned (1-2, LU)
•    5th Inn | Owens homered to left (1-3, LU)

Postgame Notes
•    The meeting with Lehigh marked the first in the series since 2014 
•    The Mountain Hawks are the only team from the Patriot League that South has ever faced
•    Cordova has had a hit in four of her last five and reached base safely in six straight
•    Mackenzie Brasher extended her reached base safely streak to five games with her sixth-inning single
•    Sophia Mendoza has reached base safely in five of her six pinch-hit, plate appearances this season, drawing four walks

Game 2 – South Alabama 11, Iona 0 (5 inn.)
The Jaguars bounced back from the loss with an 11-hit, 11-run performance in game two as four players ended the day with a pair of hits.

Meredith Keel was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Victoria Ortiz had a pair of doubles and drove in four. Brasher and Brooklynn Bockhaus reached all three of their plate appearances as they each were 2-for-2 with a walk, while driving in a pair of runs and scored three times, and Bockhaus scored twice. Sasha Willems had a double and two RBI as well.

South Alabama wasted little time jumping out in front with a run in its half of the first. Brasher beat out an infield single with one away in the opening frame and after stealing second, came around to score on Ortiz's two-out, RBI double to left

The Jaguars had a big inning their next time up, scoring four runs on four hits in the second. South loaded the bases with two outs and Brasher delivered the big hit to ignite the offense as she drove in a pair with her single back up the middle (3-0). The throw home was off target, allowing Keel and Brasher to move up a base. Willems then dropped in a double in left to bring home two more and add to the Jaguar lead (5-0).

Cordova led off the top half of the third with a single and later came around to score on a stolen base and a pair of Gael errors to make it, 6-0. 

For the third consecutive inning, South Alabama had the lead off batter reach base as Keel singled to left. Brasher then reached for the third time in as many plate appearances as she drew a full-count walk. With one out and runners, Ortiz lined her second double of the afternoon to left, scoring a pair to make it 8-0. Cordova then followed with an RBI single of her own to extend the lead to 9-0.

The bench came through in the fifth inning for the Jags as South used four pinch hitters in the frame. After a single to Bockhaus and a walk to pinch hitter Marlayna Capaldi, Hannah Ogea drew a walk to load the bases. Bockhaus scored first on a sacrifice fly to right by pinch hitter Stephanie Gonzalez, and Ortiz then drove in her fourth run of the contest with a sac fly of her own to give the Jaguars an 11-0 advantage.

Kaitlyn Hughes pitched a scoreless bottom half of the inning and ended the game with a strikeout. Staked with the big lead, Hughes came in relief of Lackie (8-4), who tossed four innings of hitless ball, striking out eight and issuing just one walk.

Scoring Summary
•    1st Inn | Ortiz doubled to left, RBI; Brasher scored (1-0, USA)
•    2nd Inn | Brasher singled up the middle, 2 RBI; Emma Kropp scored, Bockhaus scored (3-0, USA)
•    2nd Inn | Willems doubled to left, 2 RBI; Keel scored, Brasher scored (5-0, USA)
•    3rd Inn | Cordova stole second, advanced to third on a error by c, advanced home on error by cf, unearned (6-0, USA)
•    4th Inn | Ortiz doubled to left, 2 RBI; Keel scored, Brasher scored (8-0, USA)
•    4th Inn | Cordova singled to left; Ortiz scored (9-0, USA, Team)
•    5th Inn | Gonzalez reached on an error by rf, sacrifice, RBI; Bockhaus scored (10-0, USA)
•    5th Inn | Ortiz flew out to left, sacrifice, RBI; Capaldi scored (11-0, USA)

Postgame Notes
•    The meeting versus the Gaels marked the first in the all-time series between the two programs
•    It was also the first time the Jags have faced a current Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference member
•    Keel has had at least one hit in 16 of South's 24 games, and scored a run in four of her last seven
•    The two-hit performance marked the 30th multi-hit game of Keel in her South Alabama career and the 42nd of her collegiate career
•    Cordova has had a hit in five of her last six with her third-inning single, and reached base safely in each of her last seven outings
•    Willems has now driven 14 runs over her last 11 outings
•    Brasher extended her reached base safely streak to five games with her first-inning single
•    With her two doubles, Ortiz now has 68 career extra-base hits (39-3-26) are tied for second-most and just one back of matching the program record held by Brittney Fowler (69, 34-10-25 – 2010-13)
•    The 39 career doubles for Ortiz are just one back of equaling the program mark of 40 held by Blair Johnson (2012-15) and Meghan Collins (2010-13)
•    Ortiz recorded her 37th career multi-hit game – moving her into a tie for eighth with Kamdyn Kvistad (2018-22) – and her 25th multi-RBI game, which also moved her into a tie for ninth in the category with Kristen Foster (2015-18)
•    The multi-hit game for Brasher marked the 34th of her career, moving her into a tie with Collins for 12th in the category
•    Mendoza drew another walk in her pinch-hit appearance and she has now reached base safely in six of her seven pinch-hit opportunities this season, drawing five walks
•    Bockhaus recorded the first multi-hit game of her career and reached base safely all three plate appearances
•    Capaldi made her collegiate debut with a fifth-inning, pinch-hit appearance
•    South Alabama had the leadoff batter reach in all but the first inning    
•    Lackie retired the Gaels in order in the first, third and fourth innings and struck out two or more batters three innings, including the side in the first

Up Next
•    South Alabama will conclude play at THE Spring Games on Sunday with a single game versus Princeton at a.m. (CT).

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