No. 2 South Alabama eliminates No. 8 UL Monroe with 5-3 victory

Mobile, Ala. – The No. 2 seed South Alabama knocked off No. 8 UL Monroe 5-3 in an elimination game at the 2016 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship on Thursday night at Jaguar Field.

The Jaguars (33-17) staved off elimination with the victory on their home diamond. South Alabama will face No. 4 seed Georgia State in an elimination game at 2 p.m. CT on Friday. The winner will play the loser of the No. 1 UL Lafayette vs. No. 3 Texas State matchup at 11 a.m. CT. The Warhawks finish their season with a 24-34 overall record.

Junior Amanda Minahan put the Jags on the board with a double to left field which scored senior Stephanie Pilkington and senior Emily Messer. Sophomore Kristian Foster singled to drive in Minahan and freshman Haleigh Lane. The four runs were the first for the Jags of the tournament.

The Jags and Warhawks each tacked on runs in the fourth inning as USA took a 5-1 lead. The Warhakws then pulled within two when junior Vanessa Garcia singled to drive in junior Sidney Coy and freshman Victoria Pederson in the bottom of the fifth.

The Warhawks mounted a rally in the bottom of the sixth when Lyon walked and senior Faith Bohack hit a ball off the top of the wall in center for a double. South Alabama freshman Devin Brown recorded the final two outs to keep the Warhawks off the scoreboard in the sixth.

Brown came on in relief to earn her third save of the year. Junior Destin Vicknair started and earned the win after she threw five innings and allowed two earned with five strikeouts. Junior Melanie Coyne threw seven innings, did not allow an earned run and struck out three.

The 2016 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship resumes on Friday a semifinal game followed by two elimination games from Jaguar Field in Mobile, Ala. All games will be available on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

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