HARRISONBURG, Va. | Ryley Harrison tossed a complete game shutout in the opener and then tossed three innings of scoreless relief as South Alabama secured the Sun Belt Conference series with 6-0 and 5-2 victories over James Madison Saturday afternoon at Bank of the James Field at Veterans Memorial Park.

Olivia Branstetter, Kara Wine and Presley Lively each had four hits apiece in the doubleheader sweep, while Jaguar pitching held the Dukes to two earned runs on eight hits, while striking out 15

Quotable – head coach Becky Clark
- On the two wins on Saturday: "These were two big road wins for us today. I was proud of our effort and fight. We played together both games, and came away with two team wins. Tomorrow will be big for us as we work to keep it rolling."

Junior RHP Ryley Harrison
- On her performance in the circle with the shutout in game one and the save in game two: "My rise ball and my drop ball complimented each other very well today. JMU has a strong offense, but I was able to keep them off balance with the drop, rise and change. Coach Hanna (Campbell) and I have been working on that, which put me in a position to be successful in both games. (Sydney) Scapin threw a great four innings, and kept their hitters off balance as well with her change up. JMU's offense saw me three or four times in the first game, so in the second game, I just had to continue to pound the zone."

- On what will be important for the team to do in the finale on Sunday: "Securing the doubleheader sweep on the road is huge. Today's two wins don't count for tomorrow's game, so we will have to keep working as a team. Our offense and defense complimented each other well in both games today. We dug in, in places that were not ideal situations, and made something happen. We saw today that when we work as one unit, we're a really good team. That needs to carry into tomorrow to give us a chance to secure the sweep."

Sophomore OF Presley Lively
- On the importance of getting the two wins and what they need to do in the finale: "It was really big for us to come in today and take care of business with the two wins. We just need to keep being aggressive at the plate and on the mound tomorrow because a sweep on the road would be huge for us, especially having our next two series at home."

- On becoming the career triples leader at South Alabama: "Honestly, I didn't really now that I had reached the record until after the game. It's fun when we hit and my teammates make it easy for me because of what they do in front of and behind me to create some energy. I'm excited for the future of this team and what we are capable of doing."

Game 1 – South Alabama 6, James Madison 0
Key Moments
•    South Alabama (21-15, 5-2 SBC) got on the board first in the top of the second as Branstetter led off the frame with a single back up, and pinch runner Gracie McDonald later came home on a delayed double steal, her second stolen base of the inning, after being moved to third on a fly out to right (USA, 1-0)
•    James Madison (15-16, 3-4 SBC) had a pair of scoring opportunities in its half of the second and third with the first coming in its half of the second after Kendra Lewis walked to start inning, but with Lewis standing at second, Ryley Harrison (12-6) ended the frame with a strikeout for the second time in as many innings
•    In the JMU third, Kylee Gleason drew a two-out walk and Madison Edwards singled through the left side of the infield to put a pair on, but Harrison was able to get a foul out to right to end the frame
•    The Jags extended their lead with three runs in the top of the fourth
•    Virginia Mambelli singled through the right side to start the frame and Branstetter then reached on an error, and after a wild pitch put runners at second and third, Wine plated the first run of the inning with a RBI single to right (USA, 2-0), scoring pinch runner Gracie Jo Ward
•    Pinch runner Caitlyn Gavin then stole second to move into scoring position, and two batters later, Branstetter came home on a sac fly by Stewart (USA, 3-0)
•    Ansleigh Smith followed with a RBI single back up the middle on the first pitch she saw from Taylor Johnson (4-5), extending South's lead to 4-0
•    The Jaguars added two more runs in their half of the fifth with a pair of singles and two more Duke errors
•    Lively reached for the second time with a leadoff single to center to begin the inning and then moved up to second on a fielder's choice and the first error of the inning, and the center fielder then came around to score on another error one batter later by the JMU shortstop (USA, 5-0)
•    Wine then drove in her second run of the day with a RBI single to left, scoring Mambelli (USA, 6-0)
•    James Madison threatened to break up the shutout in the seventh as Kira Ortega lined a one-out double to left – the first base runner for the Dukes since the third inning – but with a runner at third after a wild pitch, Harrison recorded back-to-back strikeouts, her eighth and ninth of the contest to pick up her fourth shutout of the season and the eighth of her career

Key Stats
•    Wine was 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBI, while Lively also had a pair of hits, scored a run, stole a base and walked
•    In her seven innings of work, Harrison allowed just two hits and four base runners, while striking out nine
•    The double by Ortega in the seventh ended a streak of 11-straight retired by Harrison
•    South Alabama had leadoff batter reach five times in the contest: first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings

Postgame Notes
•    The meeting marked the first series meeting on the Dukes' home field
•    Harrison moved into eighth place in both career innings pitched (273.0??) and starts (45), passing former Jag Destin Vicknair (2016-17) in innings pitched (275.2) and tying her in starts
•    Lively has reached base safely in 11 of her last 13 games, and has recorded a hit in six of her last seven and nine of her last 12
•    The multi-hit game was the seventh of the season for Lively and the 18th of her career
•    The two stolen bases by McDonald marked a new career high for the freshman, who has now scored a run 13 times off the bench this spring
•    Mambelli has reached base safely in 13 of her last 15, including 12 games with a hit, and has had a hit in 20 of her last 28
•    Wine now has five multi-hit and three multi-RBI games this spring
•    Wine has had either a hit, a walk or driven in a run in 18 of her last 22 games, had a hit and driven in a run in six of her last nine games, and reached base safely in nine of her last 10 games
•    In addition to tying former Jag Jenna Hardy for sixth all-time in shutouts, Harrison also matched her in complete games with 25, placing her in eighth in the category at South Alabama

Game 2 – South Alabama 5, James Madison 2
Key Moments
•    South Alabama (22-15, 6-2 SBC) loaded the bases with two outs after walks to Mambelli and Wine, and a single by Branstetter, but Peyton List (4-9) was credited with her third strikeout of the inning on a check swing appeal down to third to end the inning
•    After the missed scoring opportunity by the Jags in the top half of the opening frame, James Madison )15-17, 3-5 SBC) grabbed the early lead in the bottom half on Kendra Lewis' one-out, two-run home run to left center (JMU, 2-0)
•    The Jaguars cut the deficit in half in the top of the second as Lively lined a two-out triple to the gap in left center – giving her both the program's single-season and career triples marks – scoring Brooklyn Bockhaus who had singled, moved to second on the play on a JMU error, and then advanced to third on a wild pitch on a third strike (JMU, 2-1)
•    With one away in the top of the third, Branstetter tied the game up (2-2) with a first-pitch blast deep over the wall in left center
•    Lively singled off the JMU third baseman's glove – her second hit of the game – and she eventually moved to third after an errant throw on a pick off attempt and a wild pitch, but List was able to get out of the inning as she fielded a hard-hit liner back up the middle and threw onto first for the third out
•    South Alabama took its first lead of the game as the Dukes walked the first three batters of the inning, before an RBI single by Smith through the left side of the infield scoring McDonald, pinch running for Mambelli (USA, 3-2)
•    Bockhaus then drew a bases-loaded walk – the fourth free pass of the inning – to bring in C. Gavin (USA, 4-2)
•    The Dukes threatened to tie the game up or retake the lead in the bottom of the fifth as Gleason and Edwards began the frame with back-to-back singles through the left side of the infield, and Lewis was intentionally walked with one out, but Harrison was able to get an out at home on a fielder's choice and then a ground out to short to end the inning
•    With runners at the corners after a walk and a single by Branstetter, South Alabama added an insurance run in its half of the sixth as Wine lined a RBI-single to left, scoring Mambelli from third, who had drawn her third walk of the game to begin the two-out rally (USA, 5-2)
•    Harrison tossed a 1-2-3 seventh and finished off the game with a strike out looking of Lewis to end the game – her second of the inning – and give her her second save of the season

Key Stats
•    Branstetter and Wine each reached all four of their plate appearances in the game
•    Branstetter was 3-for-3 with a home run and a walk, while Wine had a pair of hits, walked twice and drove in a run
•    Bockhaus also reached base safely in three of her four plate appearances with a hit, two walks, a run scored and a RBI
•    Mambelli walked three times and scored a run, while Lively had a pair of hits and drove in a run
•    Sydney Scapin (5-6) struck out four in her four innings of work
•    The eight walks drawn by the Jags were a season high

Postgame Notes
•    Mambelli has reached base safely in 14 of her last 16 with her first inning walk
•    Mambelli becomes the first Jag to draw three walks in a game since Branstetter did so on Feb. 21, 2025 vs. Lipscomb 
•    Branstetter hit in six of last nine, and reached base safely in seven of those contests
•    Wine has had either a hit, a walk or driven in a run in 19 of her last 23 games, and has had a hit and driven in a run in seven of her last 10 games
•    Wine has reached base safely in 10 of her last 11 games
•    Lively has had hit in seven of her last eight – 10 of her last 13 – and she has reached base safely in 12 of her last 14
•    Lively became the program's career leader in in triples as she now has 11, passing Amanda Minahan (2014-17), Emily Messer (2013-16), and Brittany Fowler (2010-13)
•    It was also the sixth triple of the season for Lively, giving her the single-season lead
•    The multi-hit game was the eighth of the season for Lively and the 19th of her career
•    Branstetter's third-inning home run marked the fifth first-pitch homer for the Jags this season
•    McDonald has scored 14 runs and stolen 10 bases off the bench this spring
•    With her seventh-inning single, Lillie Stagner has reached base safely in eight of her last 12
•    The save was the fourth of Harrison's career, tying her with Kalen McGill (2015) for fifth most in program history
•    It was also the fifth by the Jaguar pitching staff this spring, tying for third-most in a season and the most since the 2021 season when South also had five saves

Up Next
•    South Alabama will take on James Madison in the series finale on Sunday with first pitch set for 11 a.m. (CT).

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