MOBILE, Ala. ? The University of South Alabama softball team swept both games of its doubleheader versus Nicholls State Wednesday afternoon at Jaguar Field. South Alabama took game one 6-4 and then dismantled the Colonels 17-1 in five innings in the night cap.
USA improves to 33-18 on the season with the pair of victories, while Nicholls State falls to 23-24. The Jags will host their final home series of the season this weekend when South Alabama entertains Western Kentucky. WKU and USA will play a doubleheader on Saturday and then a single game on Sunday. Action is slated to begin at 1 p.m. on both days.
GAME ONE: South Alabama 6, Nicholls State 4
In the first inning, the Jags jumped out first. Junior outfielder Evelyne Pare started things off with an infield single and then moved into scoring position when she was sacrificed around by Kait Chernomaz. With two outs in the inning, Jag designated player Tara Donaldson hit her team-leading 12th double of the season to left center to bring Pare and put South Alabama up 1-0.
Donaldson put USA up 2-0 in the fifth when the Mobile, native bounced a one-out single back up the middle to plate Chernomaz from second, who had singled to center to start the inning.
Nicholls State answered back in the next half inning and took its first lead of the day with a four-run sixth. The Lady Colonels got their first run of the inning when NSU third baseman Leah Peterson doubled just inside the third base bag, scoring Leah Bland all the way from first. With two outs, Nicholls State did the rest of its damage. Jacqueline Pacheco tied the contest up at two when she singled to left to bring in Peterson from third and Danielle Clayton gave NSU the lead with a two-run blast to center, her 10th of the season.
USA trimmed the deficit to one in the bottom half of the inning when Pare lifted a sacrifice fly to right that scored Jag pinch runner Amanda Leggett from third.
In the seventh, South Alabama shortstop Jenny Stevens started things off with a solid single to left and then moved to second when Katie McGuire reached on a fielder’s choice. After both runners advanced up a base one batter later, Jag catcher Kristen Hayes came to the plate and with one out, connected on a 0-1 pitch that flew over the wall in left center for a three-run walk-off home run to give USA the 6-4 victory. For Hayes, it was her second home run of the season and her first hit of the day after being walked her previous three plate appearances.
The South Alabama offense was led in the opener by Corey Race, Chernomaz and Donaldson, who each recorded two hits apiece. All nine starters also recorded at least on hit each in the win.
Beth Pilgrim (10-5) pitched her 12th complete game of the season in the Jag victory, recording six strike outs, while not surrendering a walk. NSU’s Jessica Barksdale took the loss and fell to 4-5 on the season.
GAME TWO: South Alabama 17, Nicholls State 1 (Five innings)
The Colonels wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the second game of the double header. With one out in the first, Leah Bland singled to left and then moved into scoring position when she stole second. NSU designated player Amy Thibodeaux then doubled off the top of the wall in left center to bring Bland in and give Nicholls State the 1-0 advantage.
South Alabama didn’t let Nicholls State keep the momentum long as the Jags answered with an 11-run first inning. USA sent 16 batters to the plate in the inning and scored a season-high 11 runs on eight hits. Seven of the Jag batters recorded at least one hit in the inning, while Race also walked twice. Donaldson recorded three RBI’s in the first to lead the way for USA. Also driving in runs in the inning were Race, Pare, Chernomaz, Stevens, Carolina Mendoza and Taylor Rich.
USA added two more runs in the second, a run in the third and three runs in the fourth en route to the 17-1 five-inning win. Highlighting the Jaguar offense in the night cap was Pare, Stevens, Rich and Ashley Elmore, who each recorded multiple-hit games. Stevens (9) and Elmore (4) also recorded home runs in the game for South Alabama.
Amanda Leggett went the distance for the Jags and improved to 6-4 on the season. Nicholls State starting pitcher Krystalin Ensminger (12-12) only lasted two-thirds of an inning and took the loss.
