MOBILE, Ala. – Mady Volpe hadn’t had many games like she did Friday, but Coastal Carolina coach Kelley Green said she wasn’t surprised by the effort.
“I expected that from her,” Green said. “Coming in after not seeing any time here, a freshman in a big moment against really one of the top teams in the country, I was just really pleased with her grit and her performance … and the whole team, for that matter.”
Volpe tossed only her second complete game of the year and her first career shutout, scattering four hits in blanking second-seeded South Alabama 3-0 in the second elimination game of the Sun Belt Conference Softball Championships Friday.
Volpe (3-5) only allowed one baserunner to reach third base while striking out six in a 138-pitch effort. She made her first appearance of the tournament after staff ace Kaitlin Beasley-Polko had tossed every inning of the Chanticleers’ first three games.
“She was doing a good job changing speeds for sure,” Green said. “That’s her game. Her command wasn’t as pristine as we would normally like it, she hit a couple of batters there, but she hit the pitch when she needed to in crucial situations. She gave a little bit and then shut them down.”
The ninth-seeded Chanticleers (24-28) who needed a Tuesday single-elimination game win just to make the eight-team double-elimination segment of the tournament, advance to a Friday 7 p.m. game against the winner of the Troy-Georgia State game being played late Friday afternoon.
South Alabama (25-21) left runners stranded in every inning, 11 total, but went 0-for-12 with runners on base in the game.
“That’s the formula to get beat,” said Jaguar coach Becky Clark. “I think you have to dig in and find ways to win games. That was my message to them yesterday after the Texas State loss (4-2 in nine innings Thursday). You have to dig in and figure out ways to win those close games.”
Coastal Carolina scored in the first inning off Jaguar starter Jenna Hardy (8-10) on singles by Makiya Thomas and Riley Zana and Keirstin Roose’s infield ground ball. The Chanticleers added a run in the third when Abbey Montoya had a two-out single and Riley Zana followed with a double to right-center for a 2-0 lead. That was one of Zana’s three hits in the game out of Coastal’s nine-hit total.
For the second straight game, Abby Jankay launched a late-inning home run for the Chanticleers, this one in the sixth inning for the final margin.
“It was huge to score the early run,” Green said, “to be able to put the pressure on another team. Maybe the pressure’s on them now, hopefully they’ll tense up a little bit, and it always relaxes us a little more.
“That third run is so huge. They (South Alabama) have kids in the top of the order coming up in that last inning that have some power. They call it insurance for a reason. But it was a really well hit ball. She’s coming up clutch in some situations for us.”