South Alabama defeated the University of Louisiana Monroe 5-1 in the softball series finale on March 22, with Presley Lively and Ryley Harrison playing key roles in the victory at ULM Softball Stadium.
The win was important for South Alabama as it allowed the team to bounce back after losses earlier in the series. Head coach Becky Clark said, “I’m proud of the players for digging in today and bouncing back from the last two days. The offense had timely hits, and Ryley (Harrison) dug in and pitched out of some big situations. The defense was solid behind her. We need to build off of this going into the week.”
Lively contributed with a double and a triple, scoring two runs for South Alabama. She said about staying aggressive on offense, “It was big for us to not let up and sit on the first run in the first inning. Yesterday, we did that and it came back to bite us, so it was big for us to stay focused and aggressive at the plate, and take out their starter.” On her performance at bat, Lively added, “I just tried to be aggressive early because I knew their pitcher was going to give me a pitch to hit. I think the first inning gave us some life and energy that we’ve been lacking the last few games.”
Key moments included Lively leading off with a double and later scoring; Ansleigh Smith hitting a two-run double; Gracie Dees adding an RBI sacrifice fly; and Virginia Mambelli driving in another run with a double late in the game. Harrison pitched a complete game, allowing only one run on five hits while stranding seven ULM runners.
The Jaguars improved their record to 20-14 overall and 4-2 in conference play. Several players reached personal milestones: Lively tied for most career triples at South Alabama with her tenth; Mambelli continued her streak of reaching base safely; Smith recorded her third multi-RBI game; Harrison moved into eighth place all-time at South Alabama for career strikeouts.
Looking ahead, South Alabama will travel to Auburn for a midweek matchup against the Tigers.
