MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama softball stifled a Louisiana-Monroe rally midway through Thursday night's elimination game to pick up a 5-3 win and stay alive in the 2016 Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Jaguar Field, following a shutout loss to Texas State earlier in the day.
 
No. 2 USA (33-17) will face No. 4 Georgia State at 2 p.m. on Friday on ESPN3 in another elimination game. Should USA advance, it would face the loser of No. 1 Louisiana-Lafayette versus No. 3 Texas State at 5 p.m. for a ticket to the final.
 
South Alabama dropped its tournament opener, 5-0, to the Bobcats, before handing the Warhawks their second loss in the event to move on. The Jags have advanced to the tournament finale in each of the last four years, winning in 2012, '13 and '15.
 
Jaguar junior right-hander Destin Vicknair (13-5) picked up the win over ULM after striking out five Warhawk batters against two walks and allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits in five innings. Sophomore righty Devin Brown collected her third save after tossing two shutout innings to close the contest, striking out three to a walk and allowing only one hit.
 
Sophomore second baseman Kaleigh Todd led USA at the plate on 3-for-3 hitting. Junior outfielder Amanda Minahan and sophomore shortstop Kristian Foster each went 1-for-2 with two RBI. MInahan, senior third baseman Emily Messer, senior catcher Stephanie Pilkington, freshman left fielder Haleigh Lane and freshman right fielder Megan Harris chipped in with a run apiece.
 
A four-run first inning gave the Jaguars momentum to begin their second game of the day. Messer reached on a Warhawk fielding error to start the contest and moved to second on Todd's sacrifice bunt. Pilkington and Lane drew walks to load the bags for Minahan, who sent a double to left field to plate Pilkington and Messer for a 2-0 Jaguar lead.
 
In the next at-bat, Foster singled to left to score Minahan and Lane, as USA doubled its lead to 4-0.
 
South Alabama tacked on a fifth run in the top of the fourth on Pilkington's sacrifice fly to center field, which allowed Harris, who reached on a second ULM error, to score to make it 5-0.
 
ULM answered with a run in the fourth on a double steal. Amye Barre led off with a double to left center, and Cheyanne Lyon reached on a Jaguar fielding error to put runners on the corners. As Lyon stole second, Barre swiped home to put the Warhawks on the board.
 
The Warhawks scratched two more across an inning later to cut the Jag lead to two runs. Samantha Agamaite drew a leadoff walk, and Sidney Coy singled before Sydney McKay's sacrifice bunt put a pair in scoring position. Vanessa Garcia then sent ULM's fourth hit through the left side to plate both runners.
 
Brown entered the circle in the bottom of the sixth and retired five of the eight batters she faced, three by strikeout.
 
Melanie Coyne took the loss for ULM, falling to 18-23 after allowing five runs (none earned) on as many hits with three strikeouts and six walks.
 
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