Press Release: Marquee Wins Help South Alabama Softball Earn NCAA Bid

Marquee Wins Help South Alabama Softball Earn NCAA Bid 

MOBILE, Ala. | It was another big year for South Alabama Athletics in 2023-24. The Jaguars earned multiple big wins, championships, postseason appearances and awards.

Throughout the month of July, USAJaguars.com will recap some of the biggest storylines from the past year as we get ready for another big season of competition in 2024-25.

Up next, we look at how South Alabama took down four Southeastern Conference opponents and returned to the national postseason scene with a at-large selection to the Gainesville Regional.

South Alabama Jaguars Take Down Four SEC Opponents and Return to NCAA Gainesville Regional

Since the program’s inception, South Alabama has always been willing to take on all comers. The 2024 season was no different and against the difficult schedule, the Jaguars excelled, picking up road wins over four Southeastern Conference opponents, three of which were ranked in the Top 25 at the time.

South picked up its first Top 25 win of the campaign in late February with a 5-2 victory over South Carolina at the Gamecock Invitational. With the game tied 2-2, the Jags pushed across three runs in the top of the sixth inning and Olivia Lackie tossed 3.1 innings of perfect relief to earn the win.

One week later, the Jaguars took down 10th-ranked Alabama (2-0) in Tuscaloosa, Ala., while tying 15th-ranked Arizona in extra innings. Staked with an early lead, Lackie held the Crimson Tide to just three-hits as the All-American struck out six and allowed just four base runners in the shut-out victory.

Week five saw South Alabama defeat its third SEC opponent as it rallied back to defeat 18th-ranked Arkansas, 2-1 on March 8. The fourth SEC win of the spring came on April 10 as Tori Miller and Lackie combined to shut out Mississippi State in a midweek contest.

Lackie recorded three of the four victories in the circle, while also picking up a save against the Bulldogs.  In those four contests against SEC foes, Lackie allowed just one earned runs in 16.1 innings of work, while also tossing four scoreless innings of relief versus Arizona.

After advancing to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Championship and recording a RPI of 33, South Alabama earned an at-large selection to the 2024 NCAA Championship – the program’s sixth tournament appearance – at the Gainesville Regional in Gainesville, Fla. The Jags picked up a pair of wins, defeating Florida Atlantic and Florida Gulf Coast, and advanced to championship Sunday of the regional for the fifth time in program history.

-Kevin Beasley