COLUMBIA, S.C. | After suffering a tough loss to Charlotte (2-1) to open the day, South Alabama bounced back to earn a split on Saturday as the Jaguars defeated 17th-ranked South Carolina, 5-2 at the Gamecock Invitational held at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.

Stephanie Gonzalez was a combined 4-for-7 at the plate to lead the offense. Olivia Lackie (7-2) tossed 9.1 innings in the circle allowing just six total base runners – five hits and a walk – while striking out 14 batters on the day and allowing just one earned run.

Quotable – head coach Becky Clark
- On the two games: "Both games today were hard fought. Unfortunately, the first game didn't go our way, but I was proud of us for bouncing back in a big way against South Carolina. We showed a lot of grit and toughness as a team. We need to carry that over into tomorrow's game against JMU."

Senior P Olivia Lackie
- On bouncing back and throwing well against South Carolina: "After the loss to Charlotte, I flushed it and reset to prepare for the next game. My goal when I came in behind Ryley (Harrison) was to finish what she started, and that's just what happened. I'm extremely proud of her and the rest of the team for coming out hot when we could have folded after the loss."

Senior SS Marley Sims
- On her big hit and approach that at-bat: "I knew with bases loaded that at-bat, I didn't want to do too much. My teammates did a good job sticking to the approach we had for this game, especially with the new pitcher (Sage Mardjecko). My first two at-bats, I was slapping, and the last at-bat, the outfielders were playing me very shallow, so I knew the way for me to go would be to straight hit. I just wanted to make sure I was giving my teammates a chance to score, especially with only one out. My main approach was to be on time with the good pitch she was giving me, and to just hit the ball as hard as I could."

Game 1 – Charlotte 2, South Alabama 1
Lackie (6-2) was solid in the circle, striking out nine and allowing just five hits, but Charlotte (7-5) scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth, only one of which was earned, and Sam Hess (4-2) tossed four innings of relief, allowing an unearned run and two hits to pick up the win in relief.

Gonzalez was 2-for-3 at the plate for the Jags and scored the lone run of the contest.

How It Happened 
•    Gonzalez laced a single to center to start the third for the Jags. Pinch runner Catilyn Gavin was then moved into scoring position on Brooklynn Bockhaus' sac bunt, but Charlotte's Georgeanna Barefoot was able to retire the next two batters.
•    The Jags threatened to get on the board in the fourth as Sasha Willems and Gabby Stagner led off the inning with back-to-back singles, but Gress entered the circle in relief of Barefoot and retired the next three batters to keep the game scoreless. 
•    The 49er's took advantage of the missed scoring opportunity as Arianna Rodi led off the bottom half of the inning with her fifth home run of the season (UC, 1-0). Cori Hoffler lined a single down the left field line and after moving up on a wild pitch, Hoffler came around to score on an unearned run when Ashleigh Washington reached when her fly out to right was dropped (UC, 2-0).
•    Gonzalez led off the top of the fifth when she dropped in her second hit of the day. The Jag second baseman moved up a base on a foul out to left, and with two outs in the inning, Mackenzie Brasher kept the inning alive and put runners at the corners as she beat the throw to first for an infield hit. The Jags then attempted to pull off a delayed double steal, and Gonzalez was able to score whenever the throw home was dropped (UC, 2-1).
•    Gress retired the final seven batters of the game that she faced.

Postgame Notes
•    The meeting marked the first in the all-time series between the two clubs 
•    Brasher made her 122nd consecutive start, which tied Haley Hopkins (2009-12) for 11th-longest streak all-time at South Alabama
•    Both Willems and Stagner extended their hits streaks to 12 games – which is tied for seventh longest in program history with Brittany Fowler (2011), Chloe Ratherburn (2015) and Brittany Reid (2019)
•    Brasher extended her hit streak to eight games and has had at least one hit and scored a run in 11 of her 12 outings this spring Brasher stolen bases second
•    Brasher has stolen a base in five of her last six and leads the team with 10
•    With her two stolen bases in the fifth inning, Brasher (69) moved into a tie with Evelyne Pare (2007-08) for second for career stolen bases
•    The home run given up to Rodi marked the first earned run that Lackie has allowed over a 23.2 innings of work stretch
•    Both teams struggled with runners on and in scoring position going a combined 2-for-18 and 1-for-13, respectively in those situations
•    Stagner's streak of seven-straight games with an extra-base hit was snapped, as the junior was held to a single in her three plate appearances

Game 2 – South Alabama 5, at No. 17 South Carolina 2
With the game tied 2-2, South Alabama pushed across three runs in the top of the sixth and Lackie (7-2) tossed 3.1 innings of perfect ball out of the pen as she struck out five batters and retired all 10 Gamecocks (11-2) she faced as the Jags picked up a huge road win.

Gonzalez, Stagner, Olivia Branstetter, Odalys Cordova and Marley Sims each finished with five hits apiece, and Branstetter also scored twice. Sims and Bailey Welch each drove in two runs for South Alabama.

How It Happened 
•    Riley Blampied reached on an error to start the bottom of the first and Aniyah Black then lined a one-out single to left to put two aboard for the Gamecocks, but Ryley Harrison induced a pop out on the infield and then got Bre Warren swinging to strand the runners.
•    South Alabama was able to work some two-out magic the next half inning. Branstetter reached on an infield single to start the Jaguar second and Gonzalez laced a single to right center to put runners at first and second. The runners moved into scoring position one batter later after a ground out. Two batters later, Welch lined a two-run single to center to give South the early lead (USA 2-0). 
•    Karley Shelton lined a one-out single to left and two batters later, Brooke Blankenship put runners at the corners with two away after a single to right. Blankenship then stole second, but Harrison knocked down a line drive right back to the freshman pitcher, who threw onto first for the out to get out of the jam. Welch also had a diving play in left earlier in the inning that proved to be key in keeping the Gamecocks off the board.
•    Black dropped in a hit that was just out of the reach of Cordova with one away in the bottom of the third. Reganna Bryant then lined a single off the base of the wall in left center to put runners at the corners. Warren then laid down a squeeze bunt, scoring a run (USA, 2-1). The Jags turned their second double play of the game one batter later to hold the scoring to the one run.
•    Shelton doubled to the gap in left center, who was then moved to third on a sac bunt. With two outs, Blampied lined a single that was just under the glove of Branstetter at third, scoring Shelton and tying the game at 2-2.
•    Branstetter reached on a fielding error to start the sixth, and Gonzalez beat the throw to first for an infield single – her second hit of the game. Cordova then posted her second hit of the contest – an infield single – to load the bases for South Alabama. Pinch hitter Shelby Garrett then worked the count full and drew a bases-loaded walk to put the Jags back out in front (USA, 3-2). Two batters later with the bases still full, Sims doubled over the right fielder's head to plate two, extending the lead to three (5-2). 
•    Staked with the three-run lead, Lackie retired the Gamecocks in order each of the final two innings.

Postgame Notes
•    The meeting marked the third in the all-time series, as South Alabama now leads 2-1 with both wins coming in Columbia
•    The game versus Gamecocks is the second of seven scheduled versus a SEC opponent this spring
•    Brasher made her 123rd consecutive start, which moved her passed Haley Hopkins (2009-12) for 11th-longest streak all-time at South Alabama
•    With her two RBI, Welch has driven in a run in five of her last seven games
•    Stagner extended her hit streak to 13 games – which ranks seventh longest – with her third-inning single
•    The 13-game hit streak is the longest by a Jaguar since Kaleigh Todd's 14-game streak during the 2018 season
•    Over the 13-game hit streak, Stagner has seven multi-hit games, including five in her last seven
•    The junior also has 24 career multi-hit efforts, which moved her into the Top 25 in the category at South
•    Along with Stagner, South Alabama had four other players record multi-hits in the game, the first time this season the Jaguars have had five players do so 
•    A pair of hit streaks did come to an end for the Jaguars as Willems (12) and Brasher (8) both were held without a hit
•    Lackie (734) sits just one punch out from moving into a tie for second place with Beth Pilgrim (735, 2007-10) in the category

Up Next
•    South Alabama will close out the Gamecock Invitational with a non-conference matchup versus Sun Belt member James Madison with first pitch set for 9 a.m. (CT) on Sunday.

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