MOBILE, Ala. | Gabby Stagner homered in the bottom of the seventh and South Alabama brought the potential game-winning run to the plate, but Southern Miss held off the rally attempt and evened the series with a 5-4 victory Friday night at Jaguar Field

South Alabama (30-17-1, 15-8 SBC) was led offensively by Olivia Branstetter who had a pair of RBI doubles, while Stagner also drove in four runs. Olivia Lackie tossed three innings over one-hit ball in relief.

Natalie Taylor was 2-for-3 with a RBI, while Hannah Borden also had a hit, scored a run and drove in a run for Southern Miss (22-27, 10-13 SBC).

Jana Lee picked up the win to improve to 9-8, while Brooklynn White tossed 2.1 innings of relief to earn her second save of the spring.

Quotable – head coach Becky Clark
- On the loss: "Both of these games have been close, competitive games that could have gone either way. We fought hard, but I though we beat ourselves in a lot of places tonight. Tomorrow's game is a big one for us and we've got to come to the field ready to dig in."

How It Happened 
•    Lee drew a one-out walk in the top of the first and was moved into scoring position after a sacrifice bunt, but Tori Miller (3-1) left the Golden Eagle stranded after a pop out on the infield.
•    Sasha Willems singled down the third-base line with one out in the second inning, and Odalys Cordova dropped in a single in shallow right to put runners at first and second for the Jags, but Lee left the runners stranded as she struck out the next two batters.
•    Southern Miss capitalized on the missed scoring opportunity with three runs on a pair of hits and two Jaguar errors. Kayla Agner led off the third with a double to center and one batter later USM took the lead after a Jag throwing error allowed Agner to score from second (USM, 1-0). With runners at the corners and one out, pinch runner Carlee Durham stole second and South's pick off attempt at third was off the mark, allowing Shelby Allen to come home (USM, 2-0). Taylor then followed with a RBI single to left, scoring Durham (USM, 3-0)
•    Shelby Garrett and Mackenzie Brasher walked to begin the bottom half of the inning. Brasher and pinch runner Marlayna Capaldi were then moved into scoring position on Marley Sims' sacrifice bunt. Stagner then lifted a fly ball to right that was deep enough to score Capaldi from third. Brasher moved up a base on the play and then came home on Branstetter's RBI double that was just out of the reach of the left fielder, scoring Brasher (USM, 3-2)
•    In the top of the fifth, Southern Miss answered back with a pair of runs. Allen reached on South's third error of the contests and scored one batter later on Borden's single to left (USM, 4-2). Lee was then walked intentionally to put runners at first and second. Taylor then dropped in a single in shallow center to load the bases. The Golden Eagles added their second run of the inning on Kinsley Gordon's RBI fielder's choice (USM, 5-2).
•    Sims lined a single to right center with one out in the bottom of the fifth, and with two outs, Branstetter laced her second RBI double of the night – this one to right – scoring Sims (USM, 5-3). The freshman third baseman then moved up a base on a wild pitch before Willems walked to put runners at the corners, but USM reliever White worked out of the jam with a fly out to center.
•    Amity White bounced a single through the right side of the infield with one away in the Jaguar sixth and the freshman moved to second on a ground out, but White retired the next two to leave the runner stranded.
•    South tried to mount a rally in the bottom of the seventh as Stagner drove a 2-1 offering deep over the wall in center (USM, 5-4). The Jags then placed the tying run aboard after a two-out walk by Willems, but White was able to get a ground out to end the game.

Postgame Notes
•    The meeting marked the 28th in the all-time series between the two clubs 
•    In a streak dating back to May 7, 2021, Brasher has made 158 consecutive starts, tying Kristian Foster (158) for sixth all-time in the category
•    Willems has had a hit in 14 of her last 17, recording 15 hits and six walks over that stretch
•    After her third-inning walk, Garrett has now reached base safely in seven of her last nine games, recording seven hits and a pair of walks over that span
•    With her double, Branstetter has had a hit in seven of her last nine and reached base safely in 10 of her last 12
•    With her walk, Brasher has reached base in 18 of her last 20 games and scored a run in seven of her last nine 
•    Welch has drawn a walk in eight of her last 10 games, 11 total over that stretch and reached base in a career-best 10 straight and 21 of her last 26
•    Welch has had a hit in six of her last eight 
•    Sims has had a hit and scored a run in three of her last five outings
•    The multi-RBI game was the 25th of Stagner's career, tying her with Kristen Foster (2015-18) for 10th all-time in the category at South
•    Stagner (25) is tied for fifth in the career home runs at South with Amanda Minahan (25, 2014-17) and Brittany Fowler (25, 2010-13) 
•    The solo home run by Stagner also tied with Kaitlyn Griffith's single-season home run mark (13) set during the 2015 season
•    Stagner has reached base safely in 40 games this season – 11 straight games – and had a hit in 34 of her 46 games 
•    Stagner has also had at least one hit in 12 of her last 15, and at least one RBI in 10 of those outings, driving in 15 during that stretch
•    Stagner has also had an extra-base hit in 11 of her last 15 games: five doubles, six home runs

Up Next
•    South Alabama will close out the three-game series with Southern Miss on Sunday with first pitch versus the Golden Eagles set for 2 p.m.

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