HUNTINGTON, W.Va. | With South Alabama holding a one-run lead in the bottom of the fourth, Marshall's Abby Darnley's one-out grand slam proved to be the difference as the Thundering Herd took game one of the Sun Belt Conference series, 5-2 Friday night at Dot Hicks Field.

Quotable – head coach Becky Clark
- On the loss: "Tough loss tonight. We jumped out early, but never extended the lead. Marshall's big inning in the fourth ended up being the difference. We've got to be more aggressive in all phases going into tomorrow's game."

Key Moments
•    South Alabama (26-20, 10-6 SBC) jumped out to an early lead with a pair of runs in the top of the first
•    Presley Lively led off the game with a double and with one away in the inning, Virginia Mambelli doubled to left, scoring Lively (USA, 1-0)
•    With runners at the corners after a single by Kayden Dunn, Gracie Dees plated the second run with sacrifice fly to right, scoring pinch runner Gracie Jo Ward from third (USA, 2-0)
•    Over the next three innings, the Jaguars had chances to extend their lead getting a runner on including twice having the leadoff batter reach, but Jules King (12-5) was able to hold South off the scoreboard  
•    Darnley singled to the right-center gap to begin the bottom of the third for the Thundering Herd (33-12, 14-2 SBC), and Ava Blake doubled off the wall in left, allowing pinch runner Makayla Taylor to score from first (USA, 2-1)
•    In the fourth, Marshall loaded the bases with one out after three walks and Darnley drove a 3-2 pitch off Jag starter Ryley Harrison (12-10) over the right-center wall for a grand slam to give the Thundering Herd the lead (MARSH, 5-2)

Key Stats
•    Ansleigh Smith was the lone Jag to record multiple hits in the loss as she was 2-for-3, and Lively and Mambelli both doubled
•    Harrison struck out eight in the loss
•    Bella Gerlach reached all three of her plate appearances for Marshall as she 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored
•    Darnley also had a pair of hits and drove in four in her three at-bats
•    King allowed just four hits over the final six innings and retired 11 of the final 12 batters 

Postgame Notes
•    The meeting marked the first in the series on Marshall's home field
•    Lively has had a hit in 13 of her last 17 games and reached base safely in 16 of her last 18
•    With her RBI-double, Mambelli extended her reached base safely streak to 15 straight, as she has also reached in 21 of her last 22, including 16 games with a hit
•    Mambelli has had a hit in 18 of her last 25, and driven in a run in five of her last nine
•    Mambelli has 19 games with both a hit and a RBI this spring
•    With her third-inning double, Branstetter has had a hit in eight of her last 11
•    The multi-hit game was the second of the season and fifth of Smith's career
•    The grand slam was the second allowed by Jaguar pitching this spring (vs. Auburn, 3/17)

Up Next
•    South Alabama will take on the Thundering Herd in game two of the series on Saturday. Due to forecasted weather in the Huntington area, first pitch has been moved up to 12 p.m. (CT).

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