STATESBORO, Ga. |
Olivia Lackie tossed a one-hit shutout Sunday afternoon as South Alabama softball defeated Georgia Southern 11-0 in five innings to complete the Sun Belt Conference series sweep of the Eagles at Eagle Field at the GS Softball Complex.
Lackie (17-6) struck out four and didn't allow a hit until a one-out single in the bottom of the fifth. The junior now leads the NCAA with 11 shutouts this spring. After allowing the two first-inning walks, Lackie retired 11 straight before allowing the one-out hit in the fifth.
For the second-straight day, South Alabama (32-13, 14-4 SBC) had offensive production throughout the lineup as eight of the nine starters had a hit and all nine in the lineup reached base safely at least once.
Mackenzie Brasher and
Victoria Ortiz were both 2-for-3 at the plate and scored a run for the Jags, while Ortiz drove in a pair and Brasher had an RBI.
Meredith Keel had a home run, drove in three – which tied a career best – and scored twice at the top of the lineup as she also added a pair of walks.
Georgia Southern drops to 17-26 overall and 6-12 in the Sun Belt with the loss.
Quotable – head coach Becky Clark
- On Sunday's win: "Today was a great team win. Liv (
Olivia Lackie) pitched a great game and the defense did its part. Offensively, we applied pressure and scored consistently. This particular road series has always seemed to give us issues, so the sweep was really big for us."
Senior 3B Meredith Keel
- On her two-run home run: "The home run was big for our offense. During that at-bat, (Assistant coach Kristina) McCain was reminding me to keep good posture and just let my barrel work. The pitcher gave me a good pitch to hit and it felt good to execute for my team at that moment."
- On giving
Olivia Lackie early run support: "Scoring a lot of runs is always a good thing. It allows our pitchers to go on the mound with less pressure and to pitch freely. I'm happy that we could start out the game like that for Liv."
Junior P Olivia Lackie
- On her performance in the circle: "I just focused on getting out there and competing and laying everything on the line for my team."
- On getting the early run support: "Going into the game, the hitters set a goal to score two runs an inning. Having a tangible goal helped the team rally around a similar mindset and do what was needed to not only meet the goal, but win the game."
South Alabama 11, Georgia Southern 0 (5 inn.)
Keel walked on four-straight out of the zone to start the game. Brasher followed with a single to left and
Gabby Stagner drew the second four-pitch walk of the inning to load the bases. After a pitching change, Ortiz doubled off the wall in center to score a pair and give South the 2-0 lead.
Janai Conklin and Dejah Mills drew back-to-back two-out walks in the bottom half of the opening frame, but Lackie was able to get a pop out on the infield to strand the Eagle runners and end the inning.
Marley Sims lined a ball back up the middle off Alana Barnard's glove and beat the throw to first for a two-out infield hit in the second. Keel then blasted a 3-2 pitch off the scoreboard in right center to give the Jags a four-run advantage.
Stagner led off the Jaguar third with a single to right center, and with one out in the inning, the sophomore stole second to move into scoring position.
Sasha Willems then singled to center to plate a run and extend the lead to 5-0.
Bailey Welch then drove in the second run of the inning as she dropped in a single along the left field line to score Willems.
Emma Kropp walked to lead off the fourth and moved to third after a pair of wild pitches. With two outs, Brasher scored Kropp on an infield hit to short (7-0).
South Alabama posted its biggest inning in the top of the fifth with a four-run frame. Ortiz singled through the left side of the infield to begin the inning and the redshirt senior moved into scoring position when she stole second and then stole third. After a walk to Willems,
Odalys Cordova bounced a single back up the middle to give South an 8-0 lead and put runners at first and second. Welch then drew a walk to load the bases and two batters later Keel walked to bring in a run (9-0). Pinch hitter
Shelby Garrett then delivered a two-run single to left to stretch the lead to 11-0. The pinch hit was the fourth of the season for Garrett.
Scoring Summary
• 1st Inn | Ortiz doubled to center field, 2 RBI; Keel scored and Brasher scored (2-0, USA)
• 2nd Inn | Keel homered to right center, 2 RBI; Sims scored (4-0, USA)
• 3rd Inn | Willems singled to center, RBI; Stagner scored (5-0, USA)
• 3rd Inn | Welch singled to left, RBI; Willems scored (6-0, USA)
• 4th Inn | Brasher singled to ss; RBI; Kropp scored (7-0, USA)
• 5th Inn | Cordova singled back up the middle, RBI; Ortiz scored (8-0, USA)
• 5th Inn | Keel walked with the bases loaded, RBI; Willems scored (9-0, USA)
• 5th Inn | Garrett singled to left, 2 RBI; Cordova scored and Welch scored (11-0, USA)
Postgame Notes
• South Alabama recorded double-digit hit tallies for the third-straight game, marking the first time this spring the club has done so
• The series sweep marked the first in the all-time series on Georgia Southern's home field and the first road series win by the Jags since the 2016 campaign
• With her leadoff walk to start the game, Keel has now reached base safely in 21 of her last 23 contests, including 14 of her last 15
• Stagner also extended her current reached base streak to eight straight games with her first-inning walk
• With her two runs driven in Ortiz passed former Jag Brittany Fowler's (33, 2010-13) program mark for career multi-RBI games at South Alabama, as she now has 34 for her career
• The first-inning double by Ortiz also extended her reached base safely streak to 22 games, which is the sixth-longest stretch in program history, and the longest since
Kaleigh Todd's 23-game streak during the 2018 season
• Ortiz has had a hit in 21 of her last 27, including six straight
• The multi-hit game was the 13th of the season for Ortiz – and the 44th of her career – tying her with Keel for the team lead
• The two first-inning RBI also moved Ortiz into a tie with Blair Johnson (118, 2012-15) for third place on the career chart at South
• Brasher has scored at least one run in 14 of her last 22 – 22 runs – and five of her last six contests
• The fourth-inning stolen base was the 55th of Brasher's career
• With her two-run home run, Keel has now had at least one hit in 32 of South's 45 games this spring
• The two home runs this season mark the first time in her career that she has recorded multiple home runs in a season
• Of her three career home runs, two have come against Sun Belt competition
• Willems has had at least one hit in nine of her last 13, reaching base safely in 10 straight, which set a new season high for the junior
• Cordova has had a hit in 12 of her last 17 and reached base safely in 14 of her last 16
• Lackie carried her no-hitter into the bottom of the fifth until a one-out single by Olivia Creamer
• Since her Feb. 17 start vs. Mississippi Valley State, Lackie has allowed one or fewer runs in 15 of her starts, tossing 11 solo shutouts and combined on three more over that stretch
• Since week two of conference play, Lackie has allowed just two runs over her last five Sunday starts, striking out 33 and tossed 24-straight scoreless innings
• The shutout was the 30th of Lackie's career, moving her within one of tying with former Jag
Devin Brown (31, 2015-18), the program's all-time leader in the category
Up Next
• South Alabama heads out on the road for its final road SBC series of the season at Southern Miss. Game one on the series is set to get underway at 5 p.m. on Friday at the USM Softball Complex.
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