MOBILE, Ala. | Celebrating her "Senior Day" South Alabama shortstop Marley Sims came through late as she tied the contest up and then came home to score the game-winning run on Mackenzie Brasher's seventh-inning walk-off single to give the Jags the 3-2 victory Saturday afternoon at Jaguar Field in the series finale with 23rd-ranked Texas State.

Brasher had two hits and a RBI, while Sims was one of five other players for South Alabama (18-14-1, 4-5 SBC) to record a hit in the win. Texas State (29-8, 7-2 SBC) saw its seven-game win streak come to an end with the loss.

Olivia Lackie (13-6) out-dueled Bobcat starter Jessica Mullins (18-4) in a match up of two of the Sun Belt Conference's premier pitchers. Lackie allowed just two runs, one earned on four hits, while striking out five.

Quotable – head coach Becky Clark
- On the win: "That was a huge win for us, which I think is an understatement. We helped ourselves out a lot today with that win and really needed it in a big way. It was probably the most important win that we've had all year. Liv (Olivia Lackie) gutted it out on the mound today. She didn't feel great, but gave us some solid innings anyway. We had some aggressive mistakes that didn't work out for us, but holy cow for the kids to come back in the end and make it work. I'm proud of them.  

- On bottom of the seventh inning: "Marley (Sims) was able to slow herself down and put the ball in play. We then had the double by Bailey (Welch), and (Mackenzie) Brasher was able to slow herself down as well and drive that ball. That was huge and it gives us something to build off of going into the rest of the season."

Graduate senior OF Mackenzie Brasher
- On what this win means to the team: "This was a big win for us. We were able to bounce back after dropping the first two losses. We just have to lock into the process and that's what we did today. We worked together and were able to get a big team win."

- On the game-winning hit: "It was Marley's Senior Day and we wanted to pull this game out for her. We were in a good position to score, so I knew the pitch I was about to get, and I just stayed through the ball and drove it up the middle."

Senior SS Marley Sims
- On what this win means to the team: "This win was huge for us, especially after losing the first two games of the series on our home field."

- On the bottom of the seventh: "One thing we had to do going into the inning was just realize that we are here for each other and playing for each other; not one thing is about us individually. We just needed to come together and slow down, put our bats together and that's exactly what we did."
How It Happened 

•    Hannah Earls reached on an infield single to start the game and then moved to second on a wild pitch. After a pair of strikeouts, Texas State loaded the bases after an Anna Jones' infield single and a walk to JJ Smith, but Lackie was able to get Karmyn Bass looking for her third strikeout of the opening frame.
•    South Alabama was able to take the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Sasha Willems doubled to left with two outs and Stephanie Gonzalez lined a single back up the middle that deflected off Kamden Hutton's glove. 
•    Ciara Trahan dropped in a double in shallow right field – the first hit allowed by Lackie since the first inning – and with two outs in the inning, Anna Jones walked to put a pair aboard for the Bobcats. JJ Smith then reached on a fielder's choice when Jones beat Odalys Cordova to the bag at second. On the play, Trahan kept running around third and scored to tie the game up (1-1).
•    Pinch hitter Emilee Baker walked to start the seventh off for the Bobcats, who was then moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. With one out, Sims made an nice running catch in foul territory, but her throw to second in an attempt to double off Hutton, who had reentered the game, was off the mark and went into right field, allowing the Bobcat base runner to come all the way around to score (TXST, 2-1)
•    Bailey Welch doubled with one out in the bottom half of the seventh to place the tying run aboard for the Jags. Sims then atoned for the miscue in the top half of the inning as she pulled the ball through the right side of the infield, scoring Welch from second and tying the contest up at 2-2. With the lineup flipped to the top of the order, Brasher then delivered a single of her own to right center, bringing home Sims for the walk-off win (USA, 3-2).

Postgame Notes
•    The meeting marked the 31st in the all-time series between the two clubs 
•    The walk-off win marked the second of the season for the Jags (vs. St. John's, 2/10)
•    In a streak dating back to May 7, 2021, Brasher made her 143rd consecutive start and her 171st in centerfield
•    After scoring a run in the opening inning, South Alabama is now 9-0 when scoring in first inning and 15-2 when scoring first in the game
•    The Jags are also 17-2-1 when being tied or holding the lead after four innings of play
•    With her first-inning double, Willems has had a hit in five of her last seven games, seven over that span
•    Sims has reached base safely in nine of her last 15 contests after being hit by a pitch
•    Gabby Stagner has reached base safely in 27 games this season, including nine of her last 13 games
•    Welch has reached base safely in eight of her last 12 outings
•    Brasher has reached base in 14 of her last 17 outings and had at least one hit in 13 of her last 16
•    Prior to allowing three earned runs to the Jags on Saturday, Mullins had given up just four in her previous seven conference game appearances and 21 in her 25 overall appearances, holding a 0.78 earned run average
•    Brasher (203) moved into a tie for fourth place all-time with Blair Johnson (2012-15) in career hits
•    The win also marked the 550th at South Alabama for head coach Becky Clark

Up Next
•    South Alabama will head back out on the road for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at App State. First pitch for game one versus the Mountaineers is set for Friday, at 4 p.m. (CT) at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium in Boone, N.C.

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