South Alabama completed a series sweep of Troy with a 5-4 victory at Jaguar Field, as Kara Wine’s home run in the bottom of the sixth inning proved decisive, according to a March 15 announcement.
The win is significant for South Alabama, improving their all-time record against Troy to 37-21 and marking the eighth time they have swept the series. The Jaguars now hold a 19-11 overall record and are 3-0 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Head coach Becky Clark said, “I thought today was huge. We got the early runs, which it’s always good to score first, but we were also able to tack on the last two with the long ball, and that was a big deal for us. I thought (Troy pitcher Abby) Lovell came in and did a good job for them. For the most part, she shut us down except for the two home runs. It’s nice with us because when you have speed and power, you can get it done offensively in a couple different ways. Those two runs at the end ended up being huge for us. Troy’s a talented team, and I give our players a lot of credit, because I felt they played really hard and competed the entire time.” Clark also praised her team’s defensive efforts: “Some of the plays we made on defense were outstanding. The throw from (Gracie) Dees from right field was an elite play. (Presley Lively) Peanut’s throw from center field to get the runner at the plate was big. They never flinched. Those were just compete and you’re not going to beat me types of mentalities on those plays.” She added about her team’s mentality: “I’m very proud of our effort all weekend. It’s easy to kind of sit back and be happy with yourself when you win the first two (games of a series), I told them before the game that we can’t be complacent, and we had to keep them (Troy) down.” Looking ahead, Clark said, “This is going to be a really tough week with Auburn coming here and then us heading to ULM next weekend, who is playing really well. We know we are going to have our hands full, so we need to continue to grind and get after it.”
Freshman catcher Kara Wine commented on completing the sweep: “It meant a lot to us to get the series sweep. I’m a freshman, but I know how big the rivalry is between South Alabama and Troy. For us to sweep it was big.” She also noted teamwork across offense and defense: “It’s great for our offense and defense to be able to back up our pitchers. Ryley (Harrison) and Sydney Scapin did a great job out there. To have the defense and offense back them up is a great thing.”
Key moments included early scoring by South Alabama in the first inning due in part to an error by Troy that allowed two unearned runs; strong defensive plays by Gracie Dees and Presley Lively throwing out runners; solo home runs by Olivia Branstetter in third inning and Wine in sixth; as well as late-game pressure from Troy with Ella Cunningham hitting two home runs.
Statistically, Dees, Branstetter, Wine, and Stagner each recorded RBIs while Branstetter scored twice for South Alabama despite Troy outhitting them 12-5 but leaving nine runners stranded.
South Alabama will next host Auburn at Jaguar Field on Tuesday.
