DENTON, TEXAS ? The South Alabama softball team lost 6-5 (10 innings) and 9-6 to open its 2008 Sun Belt Conference play Saturday night against North Texas.
Game 1: North Texas 6, South Alabama 5 (9 innings)
The visiting South Alabama softball team jumped out to an early 5-1 lead but failed to hang on in extra innings as North Texas beat USA 6-5 in the first of two games Saturday afternoon at Lovelace Stadium.
North Texas pitcher Kristina Fowler led the bottom of the ninth off with a single and Courtney Bradshaw reached on a sacrifice bunt. Taylor Johnston laid down a sacrifice bunt of her own to advance the winning run to third base. Rebecca Waters hit a ground ball to Jaguar second baseman Krista Rodden but Fowler scored on the throw to the plate.
Fowler improved to her record to 2-6 on the season, pitching seven innings of relief, giving up five hits and no runs. Katya Muller led the way offensively for North Texas, going 2-for-4 at the plate while also scoring two runs.
With one out in the seventh, Mallory Cantler and Sarah Jones hit back-to-back home runs off Jaguar pitcher Amanda Leggett to tie the game at five. Still with one out and two North Texas runners on, Leggett struck out Lauren Platt and got Rebecca Waters to ground out to third to end the inning. Leggett’s record eventually fell to 1-6 on the season in her two and one-thirds innings of relief.
The Lady Jags entered its first weekend of conference play with a cumulative batting average of .233 but it would have been hard to guess that in game one of the three game series. USA pounded out 14 hits but only two of the team’s five runs were earned. North Texas committed four errors in the contest.
A pair of Jaguar freshmen were impressive in the loss. Kelsy Donaldson, in only the third start of her young career, was 2-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI. Krista Rodden had an RBI single in the second and finished the game 2-for-5 with one run scored.
Senior Evelyne Pare produced three singles and scored two runs for USA.
Jaguar starter Beth Pilgrim (6-4) pitched five innings, giving up seven hits, three earned runs and struck out four in the no decision.
Game 2: North Texas 9, South Alabama 6
Once again, South Alabama jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first before Jaguar starting pitcher Amanda Leggett gave up two North Texas runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Jaguar left fielder Evelyne Pare added to an impressive day (4-for-8, 3 runs, 3 RBI’s) with a three-run home run in the fifth that gave USA a 5-3 advantage. The home run was the first of the year for Pare and the second of her career.
USA’s second lead of the game lasted as long as the first inning lead as North Texas answered with six runs in the bottom half of the fourth, taking a 9-5 advantage. The Jaguars committed two errors in the inning, handing NTU four unearned runs.
USA centerfielder Ashley Elmore tagged her first home run of the season to cut the lead to three runs but the Jags could not mount a comeback.
Jaguar freshman Shannon Smith (2-3) received the loss and NTU’s Kristina Fowler (3-6) won her second game of the day. Fowler pitched three innings in relief, giving up three hits and one earned run.
South Alabama (10-13, 0-2 SBC) and North Texas (11-15, 4-1 SBC) will wrap up the three game series tomorrow at 1 p.m. CST at Lovelace Stadium.
