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MOBILE, Ala. ­— Farish Beard struck out 10 of the 17 batters she faced on Wednesday night, permitting only a pair of walks to record her first career no-hitter, while eight USA batters recorded hits on the way to No.18/21 University of South Alabama softball's run-rule victory over Troy at Jaguar Field.
 
Just three days after moving to third place in all-time strikeouts at USA, Beard, a sophomore right-hander from Fairhope, Ala., finished Wednesday’s contest with her 169th strikeout of the year, fifth-most in Jaguar single-season history, to shut the gates on the Trojans in the top of the fifth inning, enacting the mercy rule after USA went up, 9-0, a half-inning before
 
"I felt really good,'' Beard said of her play.”I've been kind of fishing around it all season. I felt good to finally finish it and end it on a good note (with a strikeout). ... I think that coach came out there and told me to buckle down and get going and that always helps when you have someone on you telling you to get going. It felt really good to get out of (the trouble). It just lets you know how good our defense is.''
 
The win was also her 20^th of the 2013 campaign, tied for second-most in a season.
 
The Jaguars (40-7, 17-3 SBC) batted .500 (11-for-22) in their last regular-season contest in Mobile and outhit the Trojans 11-0. USA moved to 17-3 at home and now lead the series with the Trojans, 11-8. The hosts slugged .727 on the night and recorded an on-base percentage of .577.
 
Beard blew through the Trojan lineup to begin the affair, retiring the first nine Troy batters and allowing the Jaguar offense to build a 4-0 lead, before the sophomore showed any sign of distress. Troy’s Kacie McAllister and Caitlin Ortiz were dealt walks in the top of the fourth, but Beard struck out both Hannah Renn and Keelie Housley swinging to stuff the Trojan prospect.
 
The USA starter then struck out the final two Troy batters swinging after forcing a pop up to end the contest. On the year, Beard is holding batters to a .109 clip with two outs and runners in scoring position, striking them out more than one-third of the time.
 
Beard’s ERA dropped to 1.89, and her opposing batting average shrank to .148. The shutout was her fifth of the year. Beard currently owns the school’s all-time lowest career ERA (1.59) and opposing batting average (.152) in a minimum of 100 innings pitched.
 
“I thought [catcher] Alex [Breeden] and Farish did a great job,’’ USA head coach Becky Clark said. “That one inning, she got in a little bit of a jam and worked her way out of it, and I thought that was big. For the most part, other than that one inning, she was throwing strikes and going after people. She started to sit back and think a little too much, and that’s why I went to the mound. I said, ‘Listen, you’ve been taking care of business, let’s not start thinking too much.’ She plugged back in , and I think did a great job. She got the strikeout to end (the inning) and I think that was the key.’’
 
Blair Johnson went 2-for-2 on the night with an RBI and two runs scored, increasing both her hit and reached-base streak to 14 apiece. Haley Fagan drove in four runs on two hits, including her team-leading 10^th home run, the second-most in USA single-season history.
 
Emily Messer carded her eighth multiple-hit game of the year, going 2-for-3 with two RBI, including RBI singles that scored both USA’s first and last runs. The freshman from Mobile has hit safely in seven straight games.
 
Julie Moss scored two runs after walking and reaching on a fielder’s choice. Kaitlyn Griffith doubled off the left field wall in the bottom of the third to score two Jaguar runs. Brittany Fowler recorded a single hit to extend her reached-base streak to 25 games. Britany Campbell, Alex Breeden and Meghan Collins also added a hit apiece.
 
Troy starter Jaycee Affeldt was tagged with the loss after giving up all nine runs, eight earned, falling to 6-4 on the year.
 
USA scratched one run across in the second inning when Messer’s single scored Alyssa Linn, who pinch-ran for Collins, who drew her team-leading 26^th walk of the season. The hosts followed that up with a three-spot in the third, beginning with Fowler’s leadoff single.
 
Johnson was given a free base on a Troy throwing error to first after the sophomore attempted a sacrifice bunt to move Fowler to second. Instead, the pair moved to second and third, respectively. Moss laid down a bunt with the intention of bringing Fowler home for the squeeze, but Renn, the Trojan catcher, was up for the challenge and impeded Fowler’s path for the tag out.
 
Johnson did advance to third, however, and she rounded home on the ensuing play when Fagan delivered a single to right field. Both Fagan and Moss were then sent home by way of Griffith’s driven double that fell just feet short of ya-ya land.
 
An inning later, the hosts put the game out of reach with five runs off five hits, this time triggered by B. Campbell’s leadoff single to center. After stealing her 11^th bag of the year, B. Campbell went to third on a Fowler groundout and scored on Johnson up-the-middle single. A subsequent Moss walk set the table for Fagan, who crushed a 1-0 pitch to right center to make it 8-0. After a Collins walk and Breeden single, Messer dealt the final blow with a two-out RBI single through the left side.
 
“We played well overall and Farish pitched well, working her way out of the jam,’’ Clark added. “I thought our kids did a good job at the plate. Affeldt doesn’t give you a whole lot. She’s going to mix up speeds and try to keep you off balance, and I thought we did a really good job of staying balanced at the plate. I thought that was the key – not trying to overpower her and keeping things in the middle of the field. That was true with Haley; you saw her driving the ball. That was a well-played game on their part.’’
 
USA will travel to Troy Softball Complex, site of this year’s conference tournament, for a series-deciding doubleheader on May 4.
 
NOTES:
Wednesday’s matchup marked the final regular-season home matchup for USA this year…The Jags batted .333 at home this season, slugged .582 and had registered a .416 on-base percentage…USA outscored opponents, 137-39, at Jaguar Field and hit 27 home runs in 20 games…This year’s pitching staff combined for a 1.86 ERA in Mobile and held opposing batters to a .197 clip…USA matched it’s 2012 win total on Wednesday - one more victory will mark the most of any Jaguar team in program history.

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