BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No. 19 South Alabama softball needed 11 innings to beat UAB 2-1 on Wednesday, scoring the winning run on a throwing error.
The game was the second meeting of the season between the teams. South Alabama opened its season with an 8-0 run-rule win over then-No. 21 UAB in the first game of the Mardi Gras Invitational in Mobile, the first of five wins that weekend as the Jaguars got off to the best start in program history.
Minahan Forces Extra Innings
UAB took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. Freshman right fielder Amanda Minahan tied the game with a two-out RBI in the seventh inning to send it to extra innings.
Error Decides It in the 11th
In the top of the 11th, junior catcher Alex Breeden hit a ground ball to shortstop, and the throw sailed wide of first base, allowing Kaitlyn Griffith to score the go-ahead run.
Farish Beard earned the win with 3 2/3 innings of relief, striking out seven and retiring the final three batters in order. Senior Hannah Campbell did not figure in the decision after pitching 7 1/3 innings with five strikeouts, no walks and one earned run.
UAB’s Lannah Campbell, Hannah Campbell’s sister, took the loss and fell to 0-3. She struck out two and allowed the unearned winning run. Blazers starter Leigh Streetman pitched 6 2/3 innings with six strikeouts and no walks.
UAB outhit South Alabama 9-8 but committed two errors to the Jaguars’ one.
Series and Road Milestones
The game was South Alabama’s longest since an 11-inning game against Troy at Jaguar Field in 2010. The Jaguars are 16-1 in their last 17 road games dating to the 2013 season.
South Alabama has won six straight meetings with UAB and leads the all-time series 9-2. UAB went 18-3 at home last season, and South Alabama handed the Blazers one of those three losses.
UAB (3-6) entered the game after going 2-3 at the Baylor Getterman Classic, where it beat Drake and Iowa and lost to No. 18 Missouri and No. 14 Baylor.
Clark: “A Pitcher’s Night”
“This was the matchup people were looking for in opening night – a pitcher’s night,” South Alabama head coach Becky Clark said. “All four pitchers were sharp. There wasn’t a lot of offense, because there was good pitching and good defense. It was a great game.”
“I was proud of our freshmen tonight,” Clark said. “They stepped up. Taylor Rodgers had some great at-bats. Minahan, Chloe [Rathburn] and those guys stepped up. They’ve been working really hard, and I’m proud of them.”
Up Next
South Alabama (7-1) plays five games this weekend at the Diamond 9 Classic at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla. The UAB game was the first of six games this week for the Jaguars.
