MOBILE, Ala. – No. 22 University of South Alabama softball freshman Haleigh Lowe delivered a ninth-inning walk-off single to lead the Jaguars past Jacksonville, 5-4, in the final contest of the 2015 South Alabama Invitational in Mobile, Ala., on Sunday.
 
Senior right fielder Alyssa Linn scored the game-winning run after leading off the bottom of the ninth with a single and reaching second on a Dolphin (7-9) fielding error. Lowe singled through the left side to drive Linn in from second base.
 
USA (11-3) finished the weekend 3-1 after recovering from a 3-1 loss to Chattanooga with consecutive wins over Ball State, Sam Houston State and Jacksonville. The Jaguars batted .368 over the three-day event with a .519 slugging percentage and .466 overall on-base percentage.
 
Junior center fielder Stephanie Pilkington led the Jags at the plate, batting .538 (7-for-13) with five runs scored and four RBI. The Lake City, Fla., native has now reached base in all 14 of USA games this season.
 
Senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith was 6-for-12 on the weekend with eight RBI and three runs scored, including two home runs, both of which came in a game-record-tying performance against Ball State on Saturday.
 
Freshmen pitchers Kalen McGill and Devin Brown went 2-0 and 1-1, respectively, with the latter also recording her second save. Along with senior Kaleigh Floore, who threw a pair of innings, the Jaguar pitching staff held opposing batters to a .198 average.
 
"Overall, we were really good in some places, but we still need to get better in some," said USA head coach Becky Clark of the weekend performance. "We've just got to do a better job of finishing a tournament. I thought, today, we could've given more effort. I thought we'd done a good job of finishing teams up until today. Jacksonville competed well, but I think we should have scored a few more runs."
 
Both teams put up a run apiece in the opening frame, with the Dolphins taking the initial lead on Ashley Simon's sacrifice fly, which scored Danielle Baker, who was hit by a Floore pitch.
 
The Jaguars evened the scoreline a half-inning later when sophomore Chloe Rathburn drove in Pilkington with a two-out single through the right side. Pilkington initially got on with a two-out single and advanced to second on Victoria Brown's wild pitch.
 
Jacksonville went ahead 3-1 in the top of the third when Simon delivered an RBI double to left field, which plated Brown, who led the inning off with a single. Charli Bradshaw's sacrifice fly then allowed Simon to score from third.
 
South Alabama answered with a three-run inning in the bottom of the third to go ahead, 4-3, beginning with Pilkington's RBI single up the middle, which scored junior third baseman Emily Messer, who led off with her first triple of the year.
 
Sophomore Amanda Minahan, who drew a walk after Messer's triple, scored on a fielder's choice which led to a throwing error to the plate initiated by senior left fielder Blair Johnson. Pilkington was then driven home on Griffith's single to left field, which gave the Jaguars a one-run lead until the top of the seventh.
 
The Dolphins knotted scoring at four-all on Kristen Griffith's two-out RBI double to left center, which plated Lexie Ballard, who drew a leadoff walk.
 
USA loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh when pinch-hitting freshman Kaleigh Todd led off with a single and moved to third on a Messer groundout. Lowe drew a walk, and Pilkington was intentionally walked, but Rathburn fouled out and Johnson grounded out to second to end the chance.
 
USA senior first baseman Amanda Herron supplied a one-out double that hit midway up the right field wall, but an inning-ending Dolphin double play sent the game to a ninth frame.
 
"We fought hard and came back at the end," Clark added. "I would liked to have seen us put Jacksonville away early, but they competed the whole game. They definitely made us earn the win. It's nice to see people at the bottom of the order produce for us. Alyssa was huge, and Haleigh was big coming in. That's one of the plusses of this team: on any given day, it can be anybody in the lineup making the difference."
 
Pilkington and Rathburn each finished with two hits and an RBI apiece. Pilkington also scored two runs. McGill was credited with the win, moving to 4-0 on the year after allowing only one hit in 2 1/3 innings. Floore earned the start, but was replaced by Brown after giving up three runs (earned) on a pair of hits with five walks in two innings. Brown struck out 10 batters in 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run (earned) on three Jacksonville hits.
 
Jacksonville's Brown fell to 5-6 on the year with the loss after giving up five runs (three earned) on 10 hits, while striking out three to four walks in eight innings.
 
The Jaguars are next scheduled to host Samford at Jaguar Field on Wed., Feb 25 at 5 p.m., before traveling to Columbia, S.C., to take part in the Carolina Classic, hosted by South Carolina.
 
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).