South Alabama’s softball team opened the Jaguar Classic with a split on Friday at Jaguar Field. The Jaguars lost their first game 3-1 to No. 12 Mississippi State but responded with a 5-0 victory over Samford in the nightcap.
Head coach Becky Clark commented on the day’s games, saying, “I thought Ryley (Harrison) gave us a chance to win in the first game, and we didn’t take advantage. Game two, I moved some things around and it worked out. We need to continue that effort into tomorrow’s games.”
In the opener against Mississippi State, the Bulldogs took an early lead with two runs in the first inning and added another in the third. South Alabama’s Virginia Mambelli hit her first home run of the season in the second inning for the Jaguars’ only run. Mambelli finished with two of South Alabama’s three hits. Pitcher Ryley Harrison struck out eight batters for South Alabama, while Mississippi State’s Alyssa Faircloth struck out 14 and allowed just five base runners.
Additional notes from game one included Kara Wine extending her streak of reaching base or driving in a run to ten consecutive games, while Presley Lively has reached base in all but one of her 22 games this spring.
In game two against Samford, Gracie Dees led South Alabama by going 3-for-3 with two doubles and a home run, driving in four runs—a career high for her. Both Wine and Edy Gavin also had multi-hit performances, each going 2-for-3 and scoring once. Regained Franka contributed with a hit, an RBI, and a run scored.
Pitchers Sydney Scapin and Tori Miller combined for a shutout; Scapin allowed three hits over 5.2 innings while Miller earned her first save of the season by not allowing any hits in relief.
Friday’s contest marked the first meeting between South Alabama and Samford since 2016. The Jaguars’ offense produced ten hits—a season high—while Dees recorded her fifth multi-hit game of the year.
South Alabama will continue play at the Jaguar Classic on Saturday with matchups against New Mexico at 3 p.m. and Samford again at 5:30 p.m.
For more information about South Alabama softball, fans can follow @SouthAlabamaSB on Twitter or visit usajaguars.com.
