MOBILE, Ala. | Gabby Stagner blasted her 36th career home run to tie South Alabama's program mark, but Southern Miss rallied back with three runs in the seventh to take the series opener Friday night at Jaguar Field.

Stagner drove in a pair of runs for her 11th multi-RBI game of the season to lead South Alabama (15-19, 4-3 SBC) in the loss.

Southern Miss evened its overall record to 17-17 and improved to 4-3 in the Sun Belt with the win. Maddie Weeks was 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Jana Lee and Clair Ginder also had a pair of hits. Lee (8-8) tossed a complete game for the Golden Eagles allowing just two earned runs on five hits, while striking out seven.

How It Happened 
•    South Alabama took the early lead in the bottom of the third with some advantageous base running. Brooklynn Bockhaus reached on a bunt single and moved up to third when Caitlyn Gavin was caught in a run down trying to advance to third. Two pitches later, Bockhaus came all the way around to score on a wild pitch when Southern Miss catcher Kayce Bennett had a difficult time finding the ball and Bockhaus beat the throw back to the plate (USA, 1-0).
•    Stagner doubled South Alabama's lead (2-0) as she homered on the first pitch she saw from Jana Lee, driving it over the wall in right center and tying her with Kamdyn Kvistad for the career home run lead at South as it was the 36th of her career.
•    Southern Miss answered back with a pair of unearned runs the next half inning. The first two reached to start off the top of the fifth as Carrie Green reached on a two-base throwing error and Nealy McManus drew a walk. Two batters later, the Golden Eagles loaded the bases as Maddie Weeks singled through the left side of the infield with one out. Ryanna Valdivia followed with a RBI single to right to cut the Jaguar lead to 2-1. Bennett worked the count full before drawing a two-out, bases-loaded walk to tie the game back up (2-2).
•    Presley Lively poked the ball over third base to lead off the bottom half of the inning for the Jaguars, and South then put a pair in scoring position when Amity White reached on a bunt single and Southern Miss' defenders collided while trying to field the ball, allowing Lively and White to move up a base. One batter later, Stagner lined a ball to right that was deep enough to score Lively from third and give the Jags the lead (3-2). White later came home to score on a Southern Miss throwing error while trying to pick the Jag outfielder off at third (USA, 4-2).
•    Weeks led off the seventh with a double to center – her third hit of the night – and she then advanced to third on a ground out. With two away, Bennett lined a single to left to again pull Southern Miss within a run (USA, 4-3). Lee then laced a double to center that rolled to the wall, allowing pinch runner Shelby Allen to score and tie the game up (4-4). Southern Miss took its first lead of the night one batter later as Ginder singled and pinch runner Carlee Durham scored on a Jaguar error when Ginder was caught in a rundown (USM, 5-4). 
•    Sidney Lee reached on an error – Southern Miss' third of the game – when her fly ball was dropped. Pinch runner Gracie Jo Ward advanced to second on a ground out to place the potential tying run in scoring position, but Lee was able to get a fly out to right for the final out of the game.

Postgame Notes
•    The meeting marked the 30th in the all-time series
•    Three of the last four series meetings have been decided by one run
•    With her third inning single, Gavin has reached base safely in five-straight games, and in 13 of her last 17
•    The home run was the first for Stagner since March 2 at Ole Miss, snapping a string of 13-straight games without a home run
•    Stagner has now had a hit in nine of her last 12 games – 17 of her last 21 – and reached base in 22 of her last 25, and all but four of her 34 games this season
•    It was the seventh lead-off home run of her career and her third of the season – each of her last three home runs have led off an inning
•    The multi-RBI game was Stagner's 11 of the season and the 37th of her career, moving her into a tie with Victoria Ortiz (2019-23) for the program's career lead
•    Lively has had a hit or a walk in 17 of her last 22 outings, and reached base safely in 26 of her 34 games this spring
•    Amity White has had at least one hit in each of her last four as she is 6-for-14 over that stretch with two multi-hit games

Up Next
•    South Alabama will continue the series on Saturday with first pitch versus the Golden Eagles set for 3 p.m.

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