MOBILE, Ala. — The South Alabama softball team swept UT Arlington at Jaguar Field in its first Sun Belt Conference series of the season, and the South Alabama baseball team took two of three games at Arkansas-Little Rock.
Back-to-Back Shutouts
South Alabama won the first two games Saturday by run rule, 9-0 and 8-0, and outhit the Mavericks 19-3 on the day. Farish Beard and Hannah Campbell threw shutouts and combined to allow three hits.
Kaitlyn Griffith and Amanda Minahan each had four hits Saturday, and Amanda Herron, Blair Johnson and Stephanie Pilkington each drove in three runs.
In the opener, Beard allowed one hit with 11 strikeouts for her seventh shutout of the season, lowering her nation-leading ERA to 0.35. Campbell, who entered the weekend seventh nationally in ERA, lowered hers to 0.72 by allowing two hits with four strikeouts and no walks in the second game.
Herron Wins It in the Eighth
South Alabama needed an extra inning Sunday to finish the sweep with a 2-1 win. The Jaguars outhit UT Arlington 7-3 but committed four errors.
Gwen Jones scored the tying run in the bottom of the seventh when the UT Arlington shortstop’s throw to first sailed into the visitors’ dugout. In the bottom of the eighth, Herron hit a two-out double to score Johnson, who went 3-for-4. Herron finished the weekend with a team-high four RBI.
Beard struck out seven and allowed one run in six innings before Campbell (9-2) entered and threw scoreless relief, striking out one without a walk, to earn the win.
South Alabama plays at Troy on Tuesday before hosting Louisiana-Monroe in a three-game series Saturday and Sunday.
Big Sixth Inning Wins Baseball Opener
South Alabama set season highs for hits and runs in a 9-6 win in Friday’s opener at Arkansas-Little Rock after trailing 5-0 through five innings.
In the top of the sixth, Cole Gleason hit a bases-loaded, two-run single up the middle to score Andrew Tindell and Adam Ballew. Hayden Jones followed with an RBI single to left-center to make it 5-3, and Matt Wojciechowski singled through the right side to reload the bases. Matt Bolger’s single to left scored Gleason, Cameron Cummings tied the game with a bases-loaded RBI single and Tindell’s RBI fielder’s choice gave South Alabama a 6-5 lead.
Ballew and Davis Knapp opened the seventh with singles, a Gleason groundout moved both into scoring position and Jones’ sacrifice fly to center made it 7-5. UALR answered with a two-out solo homer in the bottom of the seventh. In the ninth, Gleason added a two-out RBI single and scored on a double to right-center by Jones.
Kevin Hill earned the win, allowing five earned runs on nine hits with eight strikeouts and three walks in seven innings. Brandon Hallford pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings with three walks and a strikeout for his fifth save.
Jaguars Clinch Series Saturday
South Alabama clinched the series Saturday with a four-run fourth inning and 13 hits in a 6-5 win. Ballew went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI, and Wojciechowski was 3-for-4 with a run scored.
Locke St. John improved to 3-0, allowing four runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts and four walks in five innings. James Traylor struck out four and walked one in two scoreless innings for his second save.
UALR won Sunday’s finale 10-0. The Trojans took a 2-0 lead on a one-out, two-run homer in the second, and Bolger threw out Hayden Martin at the plate to stop another threat. UALR added a solo homer in the fourth, five runs in the fifth and single runs in the sixth and eighth.
South Alabama is 12-10 overall and 3-2 in the Sun Belt. The Jaguars host Nicholls State at Eddie Stanky Field on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Dawson Sets Discus Record
Phoebe Dawson set South Alabama’s all-time women’s discus record with a throw of 47.91 meters on her fourth attempt at the Alabama Relays, placing fourth.
Patrick Rohr won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:20.16, finishing 39 seconds ahead of the runner-up. Renaldo Frechou set a school record in the hammer throw at 62.08 meters, and Noelle Jones won the women’s heptathlon Friday with 5,328 points.
Tyler Agee and Ravaughn Pope finished in the top 10 in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Jan-Louw Kotze, ranked second in the NCAA in the men’s discus, placed sixth with a throw of 55.16 meters.
The Jaguars travel to Austin, Texas, on Wednesday for the Texas Relays.
