CLEARWATER, Fla. | Behind dominant pitching and timely hitting, the South Alabama softball swept a pair of games on Friday, defeating North Carolina Central 8-0 in six innings in the opener, and then picking up a 5-1 victory over Notre Dame on day one of the NFCA Leadoff Classic held at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.
South Alabama (2-0) received a pair of dominant pitching performances as
Ryley Harrison (1-0) and
Olivia Lackie (1-0) combined to strike out 15 batters and allowed just one run on six hits.
At the plate,
Gabby Stagner was nearly perfect as the junior infielder was 5-for-6 with three RBI and three runs scored.
Mackenzie Brasher added four hits, scored three runs and stole four bases, while freshman
Olivia Branstetter drove in four runs of her own.
Quotable – head coach Becky Clark
- On her thoughts about the two wins: "Two great wins today. I felt like we applied pressure in both games at the plate and on the bases. Ryley (Harrison) and Liv (Lackie) gave us solid innings and the defense played well behind them. Overall two wins to start the season is a great way to set the tone."
First baseman Gabby Stagner
- On her timely hitting: "In the situations where we need a timely hit, I tell myself to not get too big in the situation and just stay focused on what my approach is."
- On her approach at the plate: "Going into today, I told myself to just be aggressive to the pitch I know I want to hit and to be relaxed. I was seeing the ball really well today and was just confident at the plate. I kept telling myself this pitcher is not going to beat me."
- On the two wins: "The two wins today were an awesome start to our season. They were two big team wins against two good teams. We played as a team today and had fun. We have a really gritty, scrappy team this year and those two games really got me excited for the rest of the season."
Game 1 – South Alabama 8, North Carolina Central 0 (6 inn.)
In her Jaguar debut, freshman pitcher Harrison tossed a three-hit, complete-game, shut out in the opener as she allowed just three hits – all singles – and struck out three, while not issuing a walk.
Offensively, Stagner recorded a pair of hits – a single and a double – and reached base in three of her four plate appearances, while driving in a run. Brasher also had a pair of hits and stole a career-best four bases, while Branstetter drove in a pair of runs.
The big inning for South Alabama came in the top of the second when the Jags broke a scoreless tie with a five-run explosion.
How It Happened
• South Alabama erupted for five runs on three hits and a pair of Eagle errors in its half of the second. After leadoff walks to Branstetter and
Shelby Garrett, the Jags got on the board as
Brooklyn Bockhaus reached on an error, allowing Branstetter to cross the plate (USA, 1-0)
•
Marley Sims then gave South a three-run advantage as she plated a pair one batter later with a two-run single back up the middle, and Brasher and Stagner capped off the scoring with RBI doubles (USA, 5-0)
• Harrison retired first eighth batters of the game until surrendering a single to left by NCCU's Kendall Smith
• In the Jaguar fourth, Brasher singled back up the middle with one out and then stole second and third.
Odalys Cordova then worked the count full and walked to put runners at the corners. Brasher then recorded her fourth stolen base of the game as she swiped home on a delayed double steal (USA, 6-0)
• With Cordova standing 60 feet away after moving up on a fly out,
Sasha Willems went the opposite way with a RBI single to right (USA, 7-0)
• N.C. Central (0-1) placed a runner in scoring position with two away in its half of the fourth, but Harrison was able to record her second strikeout of the contest to strand the Eagle runner
• The Eagles again moved a runner into scoring position one inning later after a two-out single and a wild pitch, but Harrison was able to get a fly out to center to preserve the shutout
• Stagner reached for the third time as she walked with two away in the Jaguar sixth. Willems then walked on four straight out of the zone, which allowed Branstetter to come to the plate. The freshmen then plated a run as she doubled over the centerfielder's head on the first pitch she saw (USA, 9-0).
Postgame Notes
• The meeting marked the first ever between the two programs and the first by the Jags versus a current Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponent
• Brasher moved in to third all-time in career stolen bases as she now has 63 for her career and into eighth in runs scored (110) passing Amanda Minahan (109, 2014-17)
• With her two hits, Brasher also moved into a tie with Christin Crocker (168, 2009-12) for sixth place on the career hits list
• Brasher tied a single-game record with four steals, the most since Evelyne Pare did so vs. Northwestern State (3/25/08)
• The shutout marked the fourth time in program history that a Jaguar pitcher has done so in the season opener and the first since
Devin Brown's versus UAB to begin the 2016 season
• Harrison became the first freshman pitcher at South Alabama to record a shutout in her first career start since former Jag
Devin Brown did so versus Liberty in an 8-0, six-inning victory (2/6/15)
Game 2 – South Alabama 5, (RV) Notre Dame 1
South Alabama jumped out in front with three runs in the opening frame and that was all Jag starter Lackie would need as she retired 21 of the 25 batters she faced. In her seven innings of work, Lackie struck out 12 and allowed just three hits.
Stagner was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run and a double, and drove in a pair while also scoring twice. Branstetter posted her second multi-RBI game in as many outings with two runs driven in.
How It Happened
• Brasher kept her hot hitting going as she led things off with an infield single to start the bottom half of the first. Stagner then singled through the left side of the infield and moved up to second on the throw in to place runners at second and third. Willems reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases and Brasher came home on a RBI ground out by Cordova (USA, 1-0).
• Branstetter then dropped in a single in shallow left along the line, scoring a pair and extending the Jaguar lead to 3-0.
• With one out in the top of the second, Sims dropped in a liner in shallow left center and Brasher beat out an infield single for her second hit in as many at-bats. Stagner then delivered with a RBI double down the left field line make it 4-0 in favor of South Alabama.
• After getting down 0-2 in the count to begin the bottom of the fifth, Stagner battled back to even the count and on the sixth pitch of the at-bat, the junior first baseman blasted a home run deep over the fence in left (USA, 5-0).
• Carli Kloss tripled just out of the reach of Brasher in center with one out in the Notre Dame (1-1) sixth. The catcher then came home one batter later when Addison Amaral reached on an error (USA, 5-1), but Lackie struck out the next two batters to end the inning
Postgame Notes
• The meeting versus the Irish was just the second in the all-time series with both meetings coming in Clearwater at the NFCA tournament
• With the win, South Alabama evens the all-time series at a game apiece
• With her two runs driven in, Stagner now has 15 multi-RBI games for her career, moving her into 20th-place on the all-time list in the category
• The multi-hit effort was the 20th of Stagner's career, and was the 44th of Brasher's career
• The double-digit strikeout performance was the 20th of Lackie's career
• The senior was dominant in the circle as she was able to get ahead 0-2 eight times, retiring six of those batters
• Lackie also had multiple strike outs in four of her seven innings in the circle, retiring the side in order in the fifth
• The senior never had more than one base runner aboard and only one batter advanced passed first base
Up Next
• South Alabama will continue play at the NFCA Leadoff Classic with a pair of games on Saturday, beginning with St. John's at 3 p.m. (CT) followed by Missouri 6 p.m. (CT).
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