No. 22 South Alabama Softball Sweeps Georgia Southern; Baseball Wins Fourth Straight Sun Belt Series

MOBILE, Ala. — No. 22 South Alabama softball swept Georgia Southern in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Jaguar Field over the weekend, outscoring the Eagles 25-2. The Jaguars won Saturday’s doubleheader 7-0 and 11-0, with senior Farish Beard throwing a no-hitter in the second game, and took Sunday’s rain-shortened finale 7-2 in five innings.

The sweep was the latest conference series sweep for the Jaguars. On the baseball diamond, South Alabama won its fourth consecutive Sun Belt series, taking two of three games over the weekend.

Game 1: South Alabama 7, Georgia Southern 0

South Alabama did all of its scoring in two innings of the opener, putting up four runs in the third and three more in the sixth.

Emily Messer led off the bottom of the third with a single to third base and took second when the throw to first went wide. Kristian Foster doubled to right field to put two runners in scoring position. Stephanie Pilkington brought home the first run with a sacrifice fly to left, and Kaitlyn Griffith added a sacrifice fly to center for a 2-0 lead. After a Chloe Rathburn base hit, sophomore center fielder Amanda Minahan hit a two-run home run, her fourth of the season, to make it 4-0.

Blair Johnson hit a one-out solo home run to right field in the sixth for a 5-0 lead. Alyssa Linn singled and Messer doubled, and Foster drove both runners home with a single down the right-field line to complete the scoring.

Kalen McGill (13-1) pitched her second complete game of the season, striking out two and allowing five hits without a walk. Messer went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, Foster was 2-for-3 with two RBI, and Minahan drove in two runs and scored one.

Game 2: Beard No-Hitter in 11-0 Win

Beard held Georgia Southern without a hit in the second game, the third no-hitter of her career and the 12th in South Alabama program history. She struck out 10 and walked two as the Jaguars won 11-0 in five innings for their seventh run-rule victory of the season.

South Alabama scored five runs in the first inning. Messer singled to lead off, Foster followed, and Griffith lifted her second sacrifice fly of the day to left-center to score a run. Rathburn singled to right-center for a 2-0 lead. Minahan walked and Johnson was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and senior first baseman Amanda Herron drew a walk to force in a run. Linn then hit a two-out, two-run single to right field for a 5-0 lead.

Pilkington singled up the middle with one out in the second and scored on a Rathburn double to make it 6-0.

The Jaguars added five more runs in the third. Johnson walked to lead off and scored on a Linn groundout, Linn’s third RBI of the game. Herron singled, and pinch runner Gwen Jones scored on a Messer single through the right side for an 8-0 lead. Pilkington singled home Messer, Griffith hit her third sacrifice fly of the day to score Foster, and Pilkington came home on a throwing error on a ball put in play by Rathburn for the 11-0 final.

Messer went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Pilkington was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, Rathburn was 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI, and Herron finished 2-for-2 with an RBI.

Game 3: South Alabama 7, Georgia Southern 2

Georgia Southern scored two runs in the first inning of Sunday’s finale, but South Alabama answered with seven unanswered runs before heavy rain ended the game after five innings.

Messer led off the bottom of the first with a drive down the left-field line and circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run. Foster walked and was replaced by pinch runner Kaleigh Todd, who scored on a Griffith double to left to tie the game. Griffith stole third base and scored on a Rathburn single to left for a 3-2 lead.

In the fourth, Messer scored from third on a wild pitch, and Griffith followed with a two-run home run that also brought home Pilkington. It was Griffith’s seventh home run in the last 10 games. In the fifth, Herron singled up the middle, Messer walked and Foster was hit by a pitch, and Pilkington drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the final run before the rain arrived.

Beard was credited with the win after allowing two earned runs on two hits in 3 1/3 innings, with two strikeouts and three walks. McGill earned her fourth save of the season.

Griffith went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI. Messer was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, and Pilkington went 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI.

Softball Up Next

South Alabama travels to Starkville, Miss., to face Mississippi State on Wednesday, with first pitch set for 8 p.m.

Baseball Wins Fourth Straight Sun Belt Series

The South Alabama baseball team won its fourth consecutive Sun Belt Conference series. The Jaguars won the opener 9-2, lost 6-5 on Saturday and clinched the series with a 10-3 victory on Sunday.

The Jaguars step out of conference play this week. They travel to Thibodaux, La., to face Nicholls State on Tuesday before heading to Evansville for a three-game weekend series.