HUNTINGTON, W.Va. | Ryley Harrison held 25th-ranked Marshall's high-powered offense to just four hits and off the scoreboard over the final four innings as South Alabama picked up a 4-2 win Sunday afternoon in the series finale at Dot Hicks Field.

Olivia Branstetter led the way offensively for the Jags (27-21, 11-7 SBC) has she had three hits and reached all four of her plate appearances. Presley Lively also became the Sun Belt Conference single-season leader in triples as she recorded the eighth of the spring. 

Quotable – head coach Becky Clark
- On the win: "This was a huge win for us today. I'm proud of our effort and grit to come back after two hard losses and get it done. Ryley (Harrison) pitched a great game and had some huge defensive plays behind her. The play Presley (Lively) made in right center field was a game change. The offense answered after (Marshall) hit the solo home run in the bottom of the first and then tacked on another run in the sixth. To record 11 hits against a good pitching staff gives us something to build on heading into next weekend."

Junior RHP Ryley Harrison
- On the importance of getting the win today: "Today built resilience. The offense saw the ball well today at the plate ad had good barrels. For me, I had a 'refuse to lose' mindset. We lost the first two games of the series and we were determined not to let that happen today. All around, we played good ball today and made plays on defense that shutdown their momentum. Our offense gave us momentum each inning."

- On her performance in the circle, especially over the final four innings with the game on the line: "On Friday, the hit balls that were my mistake, which a good offense does, and I had to learn from that. The last four innings, I just had to stay true to what I had been doing over the first three innings of the game. The defense made some great plays that kept runners from being on. In the seventh, I told myself that the game wasn't over yet, and I just had to let my defense work and make pitches."

Key Moments
•    In the bottom half of the first, Ava Blake gave Marshall (34-12, 15-3 SBC) the lead as the sophomore drove a 2-1 pitch over the center field wall with two outs (MARSH, 1-0)
•    After missing out on a two-out scoring opportunity the previous inning, South Alabama was able to capitalize in its half of the second
•    Caitlyn Gavin singled with one out in the Jaguar second and with two outs moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, before coming home on Brooklynn Bockhaus' RBI-single to center tying the game up
•    Bockhaus moved all the way up to third on the play when the throw home was errant, and the senior left fielder came home one batter later on Presley Lively's triple to right (USA, 2-1)
•    Kara Wine then plated the third run of the inning with a RBI single through the right side (USA, 3-1)
•    Marshall took advantage of a two-out error by the Jags with an unearned run in the bottom of the third as Sydni Burko lined a single to left to score Hoskins from second (USA, 3-2), who had reached on an error
•    The Thundering Herd had the lead off batter reach in the fourth and fifth to bring the potential go-ahead run to the plate, but each time, Harrison (13-10) was able retire the next three batters to maintain the one-run advantage
•    In the fourth, Harrison recorded back-to-back strikeouts and then was helped out by her defense as Lively made a diving catch along the base of the fence in right center
•    With the tying run in scoring position and two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Harrison induced a ground out to short to end the inning
•    The Jaguars doubled their lead with a run in the sixth as Sydney Stewart led off the inning with a double to center, and following a pitching change, C. Gavin moved the infielder to third with a sac bunt
•    Ansleigh Smith then delivered the big hit with a RBI double to center – her second multi-hit game of the series (USA, 4-2)
•    Staked to the two-run lead, Harrison fought off two more chances by Marshall as with a runner on after a Jaguar error in the sixth, the junior recorded back-to-back strikeouts to strand the runner
•    In the seventh, Tia Titi lined a single just out of reach of C. Gavin at second to begin the inning, but Harrison struck out the next batter and nearly recorded a double play
•    With two on and the potential winning run at the plate, Harrison was able to get Blake swinging for her eighth strikeout to end the game

Key Stats
•    Olivia Branstetter reached all four of her plate appearances as she was 3-for-3 with a double and a walk
•    Lively had a triple, scored a run and drove in a run, while Wine also had a RBI
•    Smith was 2-for-3 and Bockhaus also had a hit, scored a run and drove in a run in the win
•    Harrison held Marshall's offense to just four hits in the complete-game victory, striking out eight 
•    South Alabama was 7-for-14 with two outs and three of the Jags' four runs came in those situations

Postgame Notes
•    The home run by Blake set a new team, single-season mark for Marshall as it was the Herds' 80th of the season
•    The loss for Marshall was the first conference loss since March 27 when it fell at Texas State
•    Bockhaus has scored a run and reached base safely in four of her last six and reached base safely in five of her last six starts 
•    The multi-hit game was the eighth of the season for Branstetter and the 25th of her career, moving her into a tie for 24th with former Jags Kaitlyn Griffith (2012-15) and MC Nichols (2017-20)
•    The three-hits by Branstetter tied a career hit and was the 10th time she has had three hits in a game
•    Branstetter has had a hit in nine of her last 13 games
•    With her RBI triple, Lively has had a hit in 15 of her last 19 games and reached base safely in 18 of her last 20
•    The triple by Lively was her team-leading eight of the season – a single-season mark at South Alabama – and was the 14th of the spring by the Jags, also a single-season mark
•    The eight triples by Lively are the most by a Sun Belt Conference player in league history, eclipsing the previous mark set by Marshall's Sydney Bickel (7) set during the 2023 season
•    With her first-inning single, Mambelli has reached base safely in 16 of her last 17, and had a hit in 19 of her last 27
•    The multi-hit game marked the third of the season for Smith
•    With her sixth-inning double, Sydney Stewart has reached base safely in five of her last six starts
•    Wine has had a hit in seven of her last 10 and driven in a run in six of her last 10 starts, and has reached base safely in 15 of her last 17
•    Wine has had either a hit, a walk or driven in a run in 25 of her last 31 games

Up Next
•    South Alabama will continue its road swing with a three-game series at Southern Miss next weekend. The two clubs will open the series on Friday with first pitch set for 6 p.m. at the USM Softball Complex.

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