MOBILE, Ala.  – Texas State coach Ricci Woodard called a time out to talk to Anna Jones just before her ninth-inning at-bat Thursday, after the Bobcats had missed out on several earlier scoring opportunities.

“Sometimes we go, go, go and can’t seem to come up with the big hit,” Woodard said. “Did I get frustrated, sure. But that’s one of the reasons I called time out on Anna, to tell her this is what you’re made for, this is why we brought you to Texas State, to be in this moment at this time and be a hitter.”

Moments later, Jones delivered a bloop double to center field, scoring teammates Ciara Trahan and Sara Vanderford with the winning runs as third-seeded Texas State survived in a 4-2 extra-inning win over second seed and tournament host South Alabama.

The Bobcats’ 17^th straight win, dating back to an April 9 run-rule loss at ULM, put Texas State (37-17) into the winners’ bracket finals against top-seeded Louisiana at 10 a.m. Friday. The winner of that game advances to Saturday’s championship game.

Before Jones’ game-winning hit, Texas State’s Jessica Mullins and South Alabama’s Olivia Lackie had locked up in a pitcher’s duel. Mullins (27-11) did not allow a hit and gave up only one baserunner over the final five innings in a 130-pitch effort after the Jaguars (25-20) had plated single runs in the first and fourth innings.

Lackie (15-8) threw 179 pitches in the losing effort, giving up 14 hits but stranding 11 baserunners and striking out 11 Bobcats. The two pitchers combined for 20 strikeouts and have now combined for 454 strikeouts this season.

“I don’t know if I can talk enough about that kid and her desire to have the ball in her hand and attack hitters,” Woodard said of Mullins. “She did a great job today to not even have one of her best pitches. Her changeup struggled most of the day, but she battled and hung in there. If you can make a pitcher throw 179 pitches, you have a chance of doing some great things at the end of the ball game.”

“Liv gutted it out,” South Alabama coach Becky Clark said of Lackey, who retired 15 of the 17 batters she faced in USA’s Wednesday win over Georgia State. “She was working her tail off. I thought both pitchers were gutting it out, it was just one of those games where who’s going to outlast who.”

Texas State got four hits in the first inning off Lackie, with Hannah Earls leading off with a single and scoring on Caitlyn Rogers’ one-out single. But the Jaguars, who face the winner of the Coastal Carolina-Appalachian State game in a Friday 1 p.m. elimination game, answered quickly when Mackenzie Brasher singled with one out and scored on Victoria Ortiz’ following double to right-center.

Ortis then led off the fourth inning with a solo home run – her second of the tournament and her third in the last three games – to give the Jaguars a 2-1 lead. It marked the second time this season that Ortiz had homered in three consecutive games.

Kamdyn Kvistad followed that homer with a single, but that was the last hit Mullins would allow and the Bobcats tied it in the top of the sixth when Rogers drew a one-out walk and Claire Ginder laced a two-out double.

Texas State left runners stranded in four straight innings before collecting five hits in the ninth – four of them after a double play. Trahan singled and Vanderford doubled to put runners at second and third with two outs, and Jones followed with the eventual game-winner. Mullins sat down the Jaguars in order in the bottom of the ninth, finishing a streak of 11 straight batters and 18 out of 19 she retired over the final six innings.