MOBILE, Ala. — No. 22 South Alabama softball scored in all but one inning and collected 10 hits in an 11-7 victory over Nicholls State on Wednesday evening at Jaguar Field. The South Alabama softball win was the Jaguars’ seventh in a row and raised their record to 28-7 for the season.
Senior Farish Beard (6-2) earned the win in the circle, and freshman Kalen McGill closed out the game for her third save of the year. Junior Emily Messer reached base three times on hits, drove in two runs and scored three, and South Alabama drew a long string of walks in the middle innings to build an 11-4 lead before the Colonels scored three times in the seventh.
Early Back-and-Forth
Nicholls State struck first in the top of the opening inning. A leadoff double was followed by a base hit that brought the runner home from second for a 1-0 Colonels lead.
The Jaguars responded with four runs in the bottom half. Messer started the inning with a single, and freshman Kristian Foster walked to put two runners aboard. Chloe Rathburn beat out an infield single to score Messer, and senior Kaitlyn Griffith followed with a two-run double to left-center that brought home Foster and Rathburn. Blair Johnson added a sacrifice fly to right-center to score Griffith, and South Alabama led 4-1 after one inning.
Nicholls State drew even in the top of the second. A single and a walk set up a two-out, two-run double to right-center, and an RBI single to shallow center tied the game at 4-4 before Beard ended the inning.
South Alabama went back in front in the bottom of the second. Messer drew a one-out walk and stole second base, the 30th stolen base of her career, which moved her into fifth place on the South Alabama career list. Stephanie Pilkington singled to third, and Messer scored as Pilkington took second on the throw, giving the Jaguars a 5-4 lead.
Jaguars Pull Away
From there, the South Alabama defense held Nicholls State scoreless from the third inning through the sixth, while the offense added two runs in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
In the fourth, Messer opened with a bunt single to third. Foster and Pilkington walked back-to-back to load the bases, and Rathburn drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Messer. Griffith then lifted a sacrifice fly to left that scored Kaleigh Todd, who had entered as a pinch runner for Foster, for a 7-4 lead.
Johnson led off the fifth with a home run to right field that made it 8-4. Amanda Herron was hit by a pitch and Alyssa Linn walked. Messer reached on a fielder’s choice that retired pinch runner Gwen Jones at third base, and Todd’s groundout to shortstop moved Messer and Linn to second and third. Pilkington walked to load the bases, prompting a Nicholls State pitching change. Rathburn walked against the new pitcher to force in Linn for a 9-4 advantage before a Griffith flyout to left ended the inning.
Sophomore Amanda Minahan started the sixth with a single to shortstop and moved to second on a wild pitch. Herron drew a one-out walk, and both runners advanced on a second wild pitch. After pinch hitter Taylor Bahos struck out, Messer delivered a two-out, two-run double to center field that scored Minahan and Herron and pushed the lead to 11-4.
Nicholls State scored three runs in the top of the seventh, but McGill struck out the final two batters to end the game.
In the Circle
Beard pitched the first four innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks. McGill worked the final three innings, striking out seven without a walk. She allowed three runs, one of them earned, on three hits.
At the Plate
- Emily Messer, a junior third baseman, went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored, extending her hitting streak to seven games.
- Amanda Minahan, a sophomore, also finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and has reached base safely in 11 consecutive games.
- Kaitlyn Griffith, a senior shortstop, and sophomore Chloe Rathburn each drove in three runs and scored once.
- Blair Johnson, a senior, hit a solo home run and finished with two RBI.
As a team, South Alabama totaled 11 runs on 10 hits.
Up Next
South Alabama returns to Sun Belt Conference play this weekend when it hosts Georgia Southern in a three-game series at Jaguar Field. The teams will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, and the series finale is set for 1 p.m. Sunday.
