Five seniors are listed among the 2023 South Alabama softball roster, and each Monday throughout the season, one will give fans a view through their eyes as they recap the previous week. On tap this week is outfielder Victoria Ortiz.

Hey Jag Nation! This is Victoria Ortiz back to recap the week again! It was a good one!

This week was a little slower than the previous times I have done the recap because we did not have any midweeks left. Tuesday and Thursday, we had hitting groups and weights, while we had team practice on Wednesday. I had a final class presentation afterwards. Practice has been lighter due to the fact most of us have finals and a big load of school work right now. We are lucky enough that Coach (Becky) Clark takes this into consideration when planning the week out for us!

Friday – Game Day
Woohoo it is finally game day! I was super excited for today because this is the first year Southern Miss has been a part of the Sun Belt Conference. That is very convenient for us because of how close they are to Mobile. I got to the field early and hit off the tee for about 40 minutes before we left. We packed the bus and had Chick-fil-a for lunch. This game was interesting to say the least. We started out super slow and sluggish, but we were able to make a big comeback to get the win. The first runs of the game came from a two-run home run by yours truly, and then GABBY STAGNER hit her third career GRAND SLAM to bust the game wide open!! Marley Sims and Meredith Keel also hit back to back triples! I was super proud of how we finished that game because we had to work together to get the win.

Saturday – Rain day / My Birthday!
I was so excited for this day because it is my 23rd birthday! I have been telling the team all year that all I wanted was to win 23-0 on my birthday (simple request, right?). However, our game was canceled due to weather. So, I was a little disappointed to say the least, but luckily, I have the best teammates on earth who always make me feel special anyway. We went to practice, ate lunch at Subway, then went to Baskin-Robbins for some birthday ice cream! When we got back to the hotel we laid low until dinner. My parents got me cupcakes and cookies, and everyone sang me happy birthday. My 23rd didn't turn out so bad after all!

Sunday – Game Day
Luckily the rain had passed through the night so we were able to play two on Sunday. We really wanted to come out and make a statement on this day. The first game was a nail biter, and we ended up going into extra innings. Jenna Hardy was lights out on the mound, so she kept us in the game long enough for the offense to get going. Finally, in the top of the eighth Gabby Stagner hit a double to bring in Meredith Keel and Mackenzie Brasher. I could not let Gabby have all the fun so I had to hit a double as well to bring up the score some more. Jenna slammed the door in the bottom of the eighth to help us win! 

For the second game we took care of business early. Gabby hit TWO more doubles and Bailey Welch hit her first career HOME RUN!! Olivia Lackie also pitched lights out, and we ended up taking this game in five innings to get the sweep. Sweeping is a big deal, and it helps give us momentum for the week going forward. I was so proud of this team and how we worked together this weekend. 

Thanks for following along Jag Nation!

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