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MOBILE, Ala. – The No. 22 University of South Alabama softball bounced back from a Friday loss to Chattanooga with back-to-back run-rule defeats of Ball State and Sam Houston State on Saturday at the 2015 South Alabama Invitational at Jaguar Field.
 
The Jaguars (10-3) put up a season-high 14 runs in its 14-6 victory over the Cardinals, which was cut short after six innings thanks to a six-run sixth inning, before shutting out the Bearkats in the nightcap, winning by an 8-0 margin in five frames.
 
USA outscored its opponents, 22-6, and outhit them, 22-10, on Saturday, moving to 10-3 on the year. The Jaguars batted .478 on the day, slugging .761 and recording an overall on-base percentage of .565. South Alabama's pitching staff held opponents to a .217 batting average.
 
USA junior center fielder Stephanie Pilkington was 4-for-6 in both games with three RBI and three runs scored. She reached base for the 13^th time in as many games this season in the nightcap.
 
Senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith tied Jaguar game records in home runs and RBI against Ball State after going 3-for-3 with six RBI, three runs scored and a pair of homers. The Centre, Ala., native finished with seven RBI on the day. Sophomore Amanda Minahan was 3-for-6 with three runs scored on Saturday, while senior Amanda Herron drove in four runs, and classmate Blair Johnson scored three runs.
 
Freshmen pitchers Devin Brown (5-2) and Kalen McGill (4-0) each picked up wins on Saturday, with the former striking a career-high 15 batters to no walks against Sam Houston State and recording her second save against Ball State.
 
"The sign of a good team is one that responds after things don't go the way you want the day before, and our kids came out today and had strong bats," said USA Head coach Becky Clark. "Our offense was really good today. Any time you get beat, you want to take it out on the teams you play after, and I think our team did that today.
 
"Also, our pitchers gave us a chance to win today," she added. "Even more than Devin's strikeouts, I'm happy about her not allowing any walks. We talked about what would be a step forward for her, and it was attacking the strike zone."
 
The Jaguars close out the 2015 South Alabama Invitational on Sunday with a 1:30 p.m. contest versus Jacksonville. Links to live stats and live video can be found on the Jaguar schedule page. In-game Twitter updates are provided via the program's official handle @USAJagsSoftball.
 
Game One – South Alabama 14, Ball State 6 (6 inn.)
The Jaguars stacked four runs on the Cardinals in the bottom of the first inning, beginning with Johnson's bases-loaded walk, which allowed Minahan to score. Griffith followed with a two-run double to left field that brought around sophomore catcher Chloe Rathburn and Pilkington. Johnson scored the fourth run on Herron's groundout.
 
Ball State answered with a run in the top of the second when Amanda Arnett, who drew a leadoff walk, scored on a fielder's choice after advancing to third a play before on a Jaguar throwing error.
 
The Cardinals added three more to tie the contest in the top of the third on an RBI single from Hanne Stuedemann and RBI doubles from Hayley Cruthers and Shelbie Scamihorn. Loren Chilar scored the first run after reaching on an infield single and moving to second on Emily Dabkowski's sacrifice bunt. Arnett scored the second of her three runs for the second run.
 
Griffith's first homer, one of the solo variety, put the Jaguars ahead, 5-4, in the bottom of the third.
 
Herron supplied a three-run double to right center in the bottom of the fourth to put USA ahead, 8-4, scoring Griffith and Johnson, who each walked, and Linn, who pinch ran for Rathburn after the latter singled to right field.
 
Ball State drew within two runs in the top of the fifth when Arnett scored on a Jaguar throwing error, and Scamihorn lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Cruthers.
 
The Jaguar offense exploded for six runs in the bottom of the sixth, forcing the mercy rule into effect, beginning with Griffith's three-run homer, which scored Rathburn (single) and Johnson (walk). Messer brought in pinch-runner Kaleigh Todd with a sacrifice fly, before a Cardinal throwing error allowed Haleigh Lowe and Kristian Foster to score the final pair of runs.
 
McGill earned the win after striking out one to one walk and allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits in five innings. Brown earned her second save of the year after striking out one to a walk and allowing no hits in one inning.
 
Carolyn Wilmes (0-2) took the loss for Ball State after giving up six runs (all earned) on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. Starter Sammi Cowger went 2/3 of an inning, giving up four runs (all earned) on a pair of Jaguar hits. Reliever Jocelyn Rivera gave up four runs (two earned) on three hits in one-third of an inning.
 
The run total was USA's highest since a 15-9 win over Lehigh at the Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 22, 2014.
 
Game Two – South Alabama 8, Sam Houston State 0 (5 inn.)
USA, again, wasted no time in getting on the board in the nightcap, going up 6-0 in the first two innings.
 
After Messer and Minahan each singled to lead things off in the bottom of the first, Pilkington delivered a two-run double to right center, putting USA ahead, 2-0. After Pilkington advanced to third on a wild pitch, Johnson drove her in with a double to left field wall.
 
Sam Houston State left three runners on in the top of the second after Tiffany Castillo reached on a Jaguar fielding error, and Hannah Marino and Ashley Kopps reached after swinging striekouts via a wild pitch and passed ball, respectively. Brown forced a pop up to first base to wiggle out of the jam.
 
Foster scored USA's fourth unanswered run in the bottom of the second when she came around on Messer's RBI single to left field. Foster drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on Linn's sacrifice bunt. Minahan singled to left field to score Messer, and Pilkington drove Minahan in on a base hit to center field.
 
The Jaguars tacked two more on in the bottom of the fourth when pinch-hitter Taylor Bahos grounded out to score Todd, who singled to lead off, and Griffith lifted a sacrifice fly to plate Pilkington, who was hit by a pitch.
 
Brown struck out the side in the top of the fifth to enact the mercy rule. She moved to 5-2 on the year with the win after striking out 15 to no walks and allowing no runs on a pair of hits. Meme Quinn took the loss, falling to 1-2 after giving up eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits. Tayler Atkinson recorded one strikeout in one-third of an inning of relief.
 
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).