SAN MARCOS, Texas – The University of South Alabama dropped a 1-0, 13-inning affair in the opener and then fell 4-1 to Texas State in game two of the day to drop a Sun Belt Conference series at No. 25 Texas State Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Softball Stadium.

UP NEXT
- South Alabama (19-19, 5-8 SBC) will close out the series against Texas State Sunday.  First pitch versus the Bobcats is set for 12 p.m.

Date: 4/7
Place: Bobcat Softball Stadium (San Marcos, Texas)

Game 1
Final Score: No. 25/RV Texas State 1, South Alabama 0 (13 inn.)
Records: Texas State 27-8, 9-0 SBC), South Alabama (19-18, 5-7 SBC)

Box Score (PDF)

SCORING PLAYS
-13th Inn. — TXST, 1-0 —Tara Oltmann double to right center (RBI), scoring Meagan King (pinch runner) from second

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME
-With two outs in to bottom of the 13th in a scoreless game, Oltmann lined a double to the gap in right center scoring King from second for the walk-off game-winning run.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
-Devin Brown (12-10) pitched a career-high 12.2 innings in the circle allowing just the one run on five hits.  She struck out six and walked six and tossed a career-high 210 pitches with 121 of those for strikes.
-Kaleigh Todd had two hits in her six at-bats, while Haleigh Lowe had a hit.  Megan Harris and Amanda Flynn also recorded pinch-hit knocks for the Jags.
-Mari Cranek was 2-for-5 for the Bobcats.  Oltmann, Ariel Ortiz and Bailee Carter also had hits.  Ortiz and Hailey MacKay also walked twice.
-Randi Rupp (17-6) pitched all 13 innings for Texas State and struck out 21 while walking two.  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Rupp struck out seven straight batters from the first inning until Todd's infield single in the third.
-Three players for South Alabama served in the designated player role for the Jags.
-Brown retired the side in order five 1-2-3 innings, while Rupp retired the Jags in order seven times, including striking out the side three times.
-Rupp also got up 0-2 on 15 different batters.
-Jag shortstop Kristian Foster had eight putouts and six strikeouts.
-The two pitchers combined to throw 391 pitches with 257 of those for strikes.

GAME FACTS
-Todd led off the game with a bunt single and then moved into scoring position on a ground out.  Rupp though would come back with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning and leave Todd stranded at second.
-The Bobcats placed two on in their half of the third.  Cranek reached on an infield single to start the frame but was retired on Sierra Steimel on a fielder's choice.  Two batters later, Brown looked as if she had gotten an inning-ending fly out, but the ball was dropped to keep the inning going.  The senior though prevented any damage as she got Mackay.
-Texas State tried to end the game in regulation with a two-out scoring opportunity in the seventh.  Carter grounded a ball to the right side of the infield that got past Jag first baseman Katelyn Gruich.  Carter then barely beat Todd to the bag at first and later stole second.  Haleigh Davis walked to put a pair on, but Brown was able to get Cranek to fly out to right.  B. Reid made a nice running catch at the warning track to end the inning.
-Flynn led off the eighth with a pinch-hit single and then moved into scoring position on MC Nichols sacrifice bunt.  Two batters later, Lowe walked to put two runners on for the Jags in the eighth, but Rupp was able to get a pop out on the infield to end the inning and keep the game scoreless.
-Texas State placed the possible winning run in scoring position in both the ninth and 10th innings, but Brown was able to get out of each situation with a strikeout and then a ground out.
-In the bottom half of the 13th, Brown retired the first two Bobcat batters on two pitches before MacKay worked a walk.  MacKay then moved into scoring position when she stole second during Ortiz's at-bat.  Ortiz was eventually intentionally walked to put two on setting the table for Oltmann.  Oltmann was able to get ahead in the count 3-1 and then lined a ball to the gap in right center to bring home King for the game-winner.  

NOTES
-Todd's leadoff bunt single extended her career-best hit streak to 11 games and her reached-base-safely streak to 13 games.
-The hit for Todd was the 203rd of her career, moving her into a tie with former Jag Blair Johnson (2012-15) for third on the program's career list.
-With her two-out hit in the third inning, Todd recorded her 11th multi-hit game of the season.  She now has eight multi-hit games in her last 10 outings.  The multi-hit game was the 55th of Todd's career, moving her into a tie with Emily Messer (2013-16) for second on the program's all-time chart.
-The one-out walk issued in the top of the fourth to Brittani Reid was just the third given up in Sun Belt play by Rupp.  The second walk issued by Rupp later in the contest doubled her total in league play entering the game Saturday.  
-The shutout was Texas State's seventh-straight in the series and Rupp extended her scoreless streak to 53.1 innings against South Alabama.
-The contest marked the fourth extra-inning game for the Jags this season.  They are now 1-3 in those contests.
-The 13-inning game also marked the longest game in program history, surpassing the previous mark of 11 innings [vs. UAB – 2/19/14) and vs. Troy – 5/8/10].
-The 21 strikeouts by Rupp 15 marked not only the most by a Jag opponent, but the most in a game in South Alabama history by either a Jaguar pitcher or an opponent.
-The 210 pitches by Brown eclipsed the senior's previous single-game high of 165 tossed against LSU on 2/24/16.

Game 2
Final Score: No. 25/RV Texas State 4, South Alabama 1
Records: Texas State (28-8, 10-0 SBC), South Alabama 19-19, 5-8 SBC)

Box Score (PDF)

SCORING PLAYS
-3 Inn. — TXST, 2-0 —MacKay single up the middle (2 RBI), scoring Cranek from third and Molenaar from second.
-5 Inn. — TXST, 3-0 —Cranek tripled to left center (RBI0, scoring Kennedy Cline from second
-5 Inn. — TXST, 4-0—Jaclyn Molenaar ground out to first (RBI), scoring Cranek from third
-6 Inn. — USA, 4-1 —Lowe sacrifice fly to center (RBI), scoring Flynn from third

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME
-Trailing 4-0 in the top of the sixth, South Alabama had bases loaded with no one out, but the Jags were only able to get one run.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
-Todd and B. Reid had the lone hits for the Jaguars, while Lowe drove in a run and Flynn scored South's run.
-MacKay had two hits in her three at-bats for Texas State and drove in two runs.  Cline also had a pair of hits in her two at-bats and scored a run.
-Cranek was 1-for-1 with a walk and scored a run and drove in a run for the Bobcats.
-King (4-0) went seven innings and allowed just one run on two hits.  She also struck out four and walked two.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-King had a perfect game going for the first four-plus innings as she retired the first 12 Jaguar batters that she faced.
-Both of South's hits in the contest were infield singles.
-Jag first baseman Abby Krzywiecki recorded 11 putouts in the game.

GAME FACTS
-The Bobcats took the early lead with two runs on three hits in the third.  Texas State loaded the bases with one out in the frame and MacKay singled back up the middle to score Cranek and Jaclyn Molenaar.  Cranek had walked on four straight and Molenaar reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the inning.
-Texas State added to its lead with two more runs in the fifth.  Cline doubled to left to lead off the inning and then came into score on Cranek's triple to left center to give the Bobcats a 3-0 lead.  Cranek then used heads up base running to score (4-0) on a ground out back to the circle by Molenaar.
-South Alabama finally broke through in the sixth as the Jaguars loaded the bases with no outs to start the inning.  Flynn and Harris both walked to start the inning and Todd then reached on a bunt single to put a runner at every bag.  Lowe cut the deficit to 4-1 when the senior leftfielder drove a ball to deep center field, allowing Flynn to come home.  King then only needed four pitches the rest of the inning to limit the damage as she got Foster to ground out to third on the next pitch and B. Reid to strikeout on three straight pitches.
-King retired the side in order in the seventh to pick up her fourth win of the season.

NOTES
-With her start at second base in game two of the doubleheader, Todd moved into a tie with former Jag Alex Breeden (2012-16) as she made the 195th start of her career.  She also made her 148th consecutive start for South Alabama.
-Lowe's sac fly scoring Flynn was South's first run in the series against Texas State since the fourth inning of game one of the series opener against the Bobcats on March 23, 2016.  The run snapped a streak of 68.2 scoreless innings in the series.
-With her third hit of the doubleheader, Todd extended her hit streak to a career-best 12 games.  She has now also reached base safely in each of her last 14 outings.
-Texas State won its 11th-straight in the series with the game two win.
-South Alabama has now dropped its last five Sun Belt Conference games and three of its five league series.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On game one: "In game one, you had two of the top pitchers in the conference going at it.  We battled offensively, defensively and in the circle.  It was a tough game to lose.  You go that long and fight that hard, and you want to come out of that game with a 'W'.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to get the win."
- On game two: "Things didn't go our way in game one, so I wanted us to respond in game two.  We had a chance to come back out and even [the series] back up with a win, but we didn't.  Tomorrow is a big day for us.  We have to come back out and try to salvage something tomorrow."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_Jags. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Bullpen Club, the softball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  Members have access to purchase parking passes and receive Jaguar Softball gear.  All donations to the Bullpen Club go directly to support the South Alabama softball program.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/bullpenclub

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