Saturday, April 25, 2015
No. 21 Jag Softball Walks Past North Dakota State in Extras
MOBILE, Ala. – No. 21 University of South Alabama softball freshman Kristian Foster drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth inning to allow senior left fielder Blair Johnson to score and give the Jaguars a 7-6 victory in a weather-delayed game two on Saturday night at Jaguar Field.
North Dakota State's (37-9) Alex Sobrero tied the game, 6-6, with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh. USA (33-9) went down in order in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings. NDSU went down 1-2-3 in the top of the eighth before Johnson led off the bottom half with a double.
USA freshman Haleigh Lowe singled and junior third baseman Emily Messer, who led the Jags on the night with three hits, was dealt an intentional walk to load the bags for Foster, who came in as a pinch hitter to walk in the game-winning run.
Farish Beard (9-3) picked up the win in 5 2/3 relief innings, allowing a pair of runs (both earned) on three hits with four strikeouts and a walk. NDSU's Krista Menke (27-4) suffered the loss after giving up seven runs (six earned) on seven Jaguar hits with five strikeouts and seven walks.
"It was another closely-played game," said USA head coach Becky Clark. "North Dakota State did a great job, and Menke played well. She battled the entire game. Our kids did a great job of continuing to fight after they got the [game-tying] home run, and I'm really proud of them."
Messer finished 3-for-4 on the night with two runs scored and a walk. Johnson was 2-for-4 with a run and RBI. Sophomore designated player Chloe Rathburn was 1-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored, Senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith batted 1-for-2 with a run and RBI and two walks. Senior first baseman Amanda Herron recorded one RBI and walked twice. Sophomore Amanda Minahan scored a run on one hit.
USA freshman right-hander Kalen McGill got the start and was chased after an inning after allowing three runs (all earned) on four hits, as NDSU went up 3-0 in the opening frame. Classmate Devin Brown went 1 1/3 and allowed a run (earned) on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks.
South Alabama answered with two runs in the bottom of the first when Rathburn and Herron each drew bases-loaded walks.
The Jags scratched one more across in the bottom of the second to tie, 3-3, on Griffith's RBI single through the left side that scored Messer, who got on with a one-out infield single.
Bison shortstop Logan Moreland homered to right field to put NDSU up, 4-3, in the top of the third.
After Griffith's one-out walk in the bottom of the fifth, Rathburn homered to left field to put the Jags ahead, 5-4, before Johnson drove in Minahan with a single to right field to make it 6-4.
The Jaguars travel to Troy for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series on May 2-3.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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Texas State Softball Sweeps Appalachian State Saturday Afternoon
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State softball team extended its winning streak to six games Saturday afternoon after a doubleheader sweep over Appalachian State at the Bobcat Softball Stadium. Texas State defeated the Mountaineers in game one by a score of 4-1 before winning game two by a 6-4 margin.
The Bobcats improve to 28-19 on the year and 10-6 in Sun Belt Conference play. With the sweep, Texas State moves into third place in the SBC by way of percentage points.
Freshman pitcher Randi Rupp was one pitch away from another gem in game one of the doubleheader as she threw seven complete innings and gave up just one hit to the Mountaineers. Rupp allowed a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning, breaking up her perfect game. She proceeded to sit the next six batters down in order for her 19th victory of the season.
In game one, she struck out 12 batters for her sixth double-digit strikeout game of the season.
After starting in game two and putting in four innings of scoreless ball for Texas State, Rupp earned her 20th victory of the season. With a runner on second and one out in the top of the seventh, Rupp reentered the contest and retired the final two batters to solidify the win. She has now allowed just one run in the last 22.1 innings of work for Texas State. She finished the day with 15 strikeouts, improving her total to 259 which currently ranks her fourth all-time for strikeouts in a season at Texas State.
In game one, Texas State got on the board in the bottom of third thanks to a throwing error by the Mountaineer catcher. Sara Rupp led the inning off with a walk and Danielle Warne stepped in to pinch run for the Bobcat catcher. Warne proceeded to steal second and advance to third on the error before Kelli Baker hit a ball to right field to score Warne.
In the next inning, Kendall Wiley stepped up to the plate and hit her team-leading 10th home run of the season to give Texas State a 2-0 lead. Four batters later with the bases loaded, Rupp hit a line drive off the Mountaineer shortstops glove to score two more for Texas State.
In game two, Appalachian State threatened to get on the board in the top of the second inning. The Mountaineers loaded the bases on a pair of hits and a walk, but the Bobcat defense remained tough and got out of the inning without allowing a Mountaineer to score.
With bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning, Texas State scored the first two runs of the game on back-to-back walks. A double to right center by Courtney Harris then doubled the Bobcat lead to four and the fifth run of the inning came from a sacrifice fly by Wiley.
One more Bobcat would score in the bottom of the fourth before Appalachian State made its run in the fifth and the sixth. Four runs crossed the plate in those two innings, cutting the Texas State lead to just two.
Kimberlin Naivar finished the day with a team-high three hits and Wiley extended her hitting streak to nine games.
The Bobcats are back in action tomorrow afternoon to celebrate senior day. First pitch against the Mountaineers is scheduled for 12 p.m. at the Bobcat Softball Stadium. Senior festivities will happen at the conclusion of the game. Live stats, live audio, live video will be available at www.txstatebobcats.com.
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Late Rally Falls Short as Eagles Drop Opener to Mississippi State
Eagles qualify for Sun Belt Tournament thanks to a loss by Appalachian State
STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern Softball dropped a 6-2 decision to Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles and Bulldogs return to Eagle Field on Sunday at Noon to close the non-conference series.
Georgia Southern Softball observed a moment’s silence before the start of Saturday’s game to honor the victims of this week’s tragic automobile accident which killed five Georgia Southern nursing students and left two others in the hospital. The Eagles also placed special stickers on their batting helmets to honor their classmates. The words “GSU Strong” were painted in the outfield in honor of the students.
“I thought we settled down after those first two innings,” said Head Coach Annie Smith. “I was happy with the way we played defense; we turned a really good double play and got out of some big jams. We battled well all day and really set a good tone as we go to the final part of the season.”
Mississippi State took an early 1-0 lead with a solo home run on the game’s first pitch. The Bulldogs got two more aboard in the inning, but was only able to plate the one run. The Bulldogs got four in the second inning including a three-run home run off the bat of Caroline Seitz.
Kaitlyn Johnson got the Eagles’ first hit in the second with two outs. Georgia Southern stranded a runner in three of their first four trips to the plate.
Mississippi State loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, but a diving catch by Lexi Allen at short robbed the Bulldogs from scoring at least two runs in the inning. Instead the Eagles blanked the Bulldogs for their third-straight trip to the plate and kept the score at 5-0.
The Eagles got on the board in the sixth by cashing in a leadoff single from Alesha Mann. The second baseman stole second and came in to score off a duck snort single by Morgan Robinson. The ball found grass in front of the right fielder as Mann rounded third with two outs. The run cut the lead to 5-1 entering the seventh inning.
The Bulldogs tacked on an insurance run to make the score 6-1 midway through the seventh. The Eagles took advantage of a pair of Mississippi State errors in the seventh to plate another run and mount a late charge. A strikeout, however, with the tying run on deck ended the game as the Eagles fell 6-2.
Georgia Southern became the eighth and final team to qualify for the Sun Belt Tournament as Texas State took the opening game of their series to eliminate the Mountaineers from postseason consideration. The 2014 Sun Belt Tournament starts on Wednesday, May 6th, at Bobcat Softball Stadium in San Marcos, Texas. The Eagles are locked into the No. 8 seed and open the postseason against the No. 5 seed at 12:30 p.m. (CT).
“I’m happy for our team to qualify for the tournament in our first season in the new league,” said Smith. “When you get to the postseason, everyone is 0-0 on the year and you’ve got a chance to move on.”
Georgia Southern and Mississippi State close the weekend series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. game. The Eagles are at home next weekend to close the regular season against Georgia State starting on Friday evening at 6 p.m.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com.
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Late Errors Costly as Cajuns Fall to Ducks in Doubleheader
EUGENE, Ore. – Janelle Lindvall lifted a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning to score Jenna Lilley and help No. 2-ranked Oregon rally for a 2-1 victory over the No. 9-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns softball team, completing a three-game sweep on Saturday at Howe Field.
In the opener, Koral Costa went 2-for-2 and drove in four runs as Oregon built a 5-0 lead after two innings and earned a 10-2 victory in five innings.
Louisiana (34-8) will close out the regular-season May 2-3 when it travels to Monroe to face ULM. The teams will play a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday before at noon on Sunday.
GAME 2 – No. 2 Oregon 2, No. 9 Louisiana 1 (8 innings)
Lindvall’s game-winning RBI for Oregon (41-5) came after Lilley opened the top of the eighth inning with a single off Louisiana starter Jordan Wallace (14-4) before an attempted sacrifice bunt by Hailey Decker blooped past Wallace for a base hit. After Geri Ann Glasco reached on an error back to the circle, Lindvall hit the first pitch to the warning track in left field and allowing Lilley to score ahead of the throw from Shellie Landry.
Louisiana took a 1-0 lead on a two-out RBI single by Leandra Maly that scored Aleah Craighton and held the lead until Oregon capitalized on a wild pitch and a pair of errors in the seventh inning to send the game to extra innings.
Costa opened the seventh-inning rally when she hit a one-out double in front of a diving Kelli Martinez before being thrown out at home after Danica Mercado reached on an error by Kelsey Vincent. Pinch-hitter Gwen Svekis drew a walk to put runners on first and second before a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position.
Nikki Udria then hit a grounder that was misplayed by Haley Hayden, allowing Mercado to score and tie the game at 1-1.
Cheridan Hawkins (23-3), the fourth pitcher used by Oregon in the game, earned the win after pitching 1.1 scoreless innings with one hit and three strikeouts. Glasco scattered four hits and fanned two for the Ducks before being lifted in the fifth inning after a 56-minute rain delay.
Hayden went 2-for-4 to lead Louisiana at the plate. Samantha Walsh, Vincent and Maly each went 1-for-4 for the Ragin’ Cajuns with Craighton going 1-for-3 and Martinez 1-for-2. Wallace, who allowed two unearned runs, scattered six hits and fanned seven for the Ragin’ Cajuns.
GAME 1 – No. 2 Oregon 10, No. 9 Louisiana 2 (5 innings)
Oregon scored three runs off a pair of Louisiana errors in the first inning and added two more runs in the second to build a 5-0 lead. Glasco and Costa each drew bases-loaded walks off Louisiana starter Alex Stewart (10-1) in the first inning while Udria scored after Vincent’s throw to the plate was dropped by Lexie Elkins.
Decker drove in a run in the second when her fielder’s choice scored Udria and Janie Takeda followed when she stole home for a 5-0 lead.
Hawkins (22-3), who tossed a no-hitter in Friday’s 8-0 victory, earned the win for the Ducks as the southpaw scattered four hits and fanned seven.
Louisiana added a solo home run from Craighton in the fourth inning before Walsh hit a solo blast with two outs in the fifth. Landry went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles for the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Costa, Udria and Takeda each had two hits for Oregon with Lilley driving in two runs, including a walk-off double in the fifth.
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Saturday’s Troy Softball Games Canceled, Doubleheader Scheduled for Sunday
TROY, Alabama – Due to poor weather in the Troy area, Saturday’s softball doubleheader between Troy and UT Arlington has been canceled. The Trojans and Mavericks will now play a doubleheader on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Troy Softball Complex.
For more information, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat by searching for Troy Athletics.