HATTIESBURG, Miss. | South Alabama used a five-run fifth, highlighted by
Gabby Stagner's grand slam, to rally back from a four-run deficit and take game one of the series, 10-5 Friday at the USM Softball Complex.
Along with Stagner, who was 2-for-3 at the plate with four RBI, South Alabama (33-13, 15-4 SBC) had two other players record multi-hit games.
Victoria Ortiz was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, three RBI and a home run, while
Marley Sims was 3-foor-3 with a run scored.
Meredith Keel also had a hit and an RBI and scored twice in the win.
The three-hit game was the first of the season for Sims.
Olivia Lackie (18-6) struck out nine in her 6.2 innings of work.
Southern Miss' (20-20, 4-14 SBC) Hannah Borden had three home runs and drove in all five runs for the Golden Eagles.
Redshirt-senior OF Victoria Ortiz
- On the team rallying back after the four-run deficit: "I thought we made good adjustments after our slow start in the first three innings. We didn't want to be in that place, but I was glad to see us punch back hard."
- On her home run that provided a spark for the offense: "I was just looking for a good pitch to drive. (Morgan Keinstock) gave me what I wanted and I was able to do some damage with it. I'm glad I was able to help my team in that moment."
Sophomore 1B Gabby Stagner
- On the grand slam and the momentum it gave: "When I came up to the plate, I knew what the situation was. I was trying to get a good pitch to drive and I did. It gave us a two-run lead, which shifted momentum to us and gave us the energy we needed to continue to keep our foot on the gas. It opened the door for us and I knew after my hit, that my team would just feed off the energy and keep it rolling."
South Alabama 10, Southern Miss 5
Shelby Allen reached on a Jaguar error to start off the bottom half of the first and then moved into scoring position with her fifth stolen base of the spring. Borden then drove a 1-2 pitch off the scoreboard in left center – her seventh of the year – to put the Golden Eagles up, 2-0.
Bailey Welch was hit by the first pitch of the third inning – the first base runner for the Jags and two batters later, Sims singled in between the 5-6 hole to put a pair on. Southern Miss' Morgan Keinstock (11-13) retired the next two batters though to leave the runners stranded.
Nealy McManus led off the USM third with a single to left, who advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches. Borden then recorded her second two-run home run in as many at-bats to extend the Golden Eagle lead to 4-0.
Sasha Willems led off the Jag fourth with a single to center and Ortiz trimmed the deficit in half (2-4) with a two-run shot of her own, this one on a 2-0 pitch that went deep over the wall in right center. Stagner and
Odalys Cordova followed with back-to-back singles and then were moved up on Welch's sacrifice bunt, but Linestock was able to get a pair of ground outs to prevent any further damage.
With the lineup flipped over to the top of the order, Keel walked to lead off the top of the fifth.
Mackenzie Brasher sneaked a single just under the third baseman's glove, and two batters later, Ortiz dropped in a single in shallow right to load the bases – her 14th multi-hit game of the spring. Stagner then cleared the bases when she unloaded on a 1-2 pitch from USM reliever Paige Kilgore to give South the 6-4 advantage. Cordova later walked – her second of the game – and manufactured a run herself as she moved up on a foul out to third, and then stole second and came home when Borden's throw down was off the mark (7-4).
Sims led off the sixth with a triple to right center and Keel followed with a triple of her own – the seventh of her career – to score Sims. Willems then drew a walk to put runners at the corners and Ortiz plated the second run of the inning with an RBI ground out to second. Willems then moved up to third on a wild pitch and came home on another Golden Eagle error (10-4).
Borden homered for the third time in the contest to lead off the bottom of the sixth and cut into the Jaguar lead (10-5).Â
Scoring Summary
•   1st Inn | Borden homered to left center, 2 RBI; Allen scored, unearned (0-2, USM)
•   3rd Inn | Borden homered to left, 2 RBI; McManus scored (0-4, USM)
•   4th Inn | Ortiz homered to right center, 2 RBI; Willems scored (2-4, USA)
•   5th Inn | Stagner homered to left, 4 RBI; Keel scored, Brasher scored, Ortiz scored (6-4, USA)
•   5th Inn | Cordova stole third, error of c to score Cordova, unearned (7-4, USA)
•   6th Inn | Keel tripled to left center, RBI; Sims scored (8-4, USA)
•   6th Inn | Oritz ground out to second, RBI; Keel scored (9-4, USA)
•   6th Inn | Willems scored on an error by c, unearned (10-4, USA)
•   6th Inn | Borden homered to center, RBI (10-5, USM)
Postgame Notes
•   The meeting between the two regional rivals marked the first in the series as conference foes
•   South Alabama has put up double-digit hit tallies in each of the last four – marking the first time the Jags have done so since the 2019 season when they had 10 or more hits in six straight games (4/13/19 – 4/26/19)
•   The three home runs by Borden mark just the 14th time in program history that an opponent has hit two home runs in a game – first since Troy's Taylor McKinley (5/6/22) – and became the first opponent to hit three in a game against Jaguar pitching
•   Ortiz's home run was the 29th of her career, moving her into sole possession of second place at South
•   Ortiz's 14 multi-RBI games this spring are tied with Haley Fagan (2013) and Brittany Fowler (2011) for second in the category
•   Ortiz has had a hit in 22 of her last 26 - including each of the last eight - and reached base safely in a career-best 23 games
•   Ortiz's 23-game reached base streak tied Fowler (2011) and
Kaleigh Todd (2018) for third-longest streak in program history
•   Cordova has had a hit in 13 of her last 18 and reached base safely in 15 of her last 17
•   Willems has had at least one hit in seven of her last nine, reaching base safely in eight of those contests
•   Stagner has reached base safely in eight straight and had a hit 10 of her last 13
•   The grand slam by Stagner was the 20th in program history and the third of the sophomore's career, making her the first player in program history to record three in her career
•   With her fifth-inning walk, Keel has now reached base safely in 22 of her last 24 contests, including 15 of her last 16
•   Keel's RBI triple marked the 32nd time this season that she has had at least one hit in South's 46 games
•   The triple for Keel moved her into a tie for fifth in the career category and put her just one shy of fourth place
•   Keel has also had a hit in 17 of her last 23, and scored a run in six of her last seven
•   Brasher has scored at least one run in 14 of her last 23, registering 23 runs scored during that span
Up Next
•   South Alabama will continue the series with the Golden Eagles on Saturday with first pitch set for noon at the USM Softball Complex.
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