Box Score - Georgia State 4, South Alabama 3.pdf

ATLANTA – The University of South Alabama softball team dropped a 4-3 decision Sunday afternoon giving Georgia State a Sun Belt Conference series sweep over the Jaguars at Bob Heck Field.  

"It's a disappointing start to conference play for us; no excuses.  I didn't think we did what we needed too in order to get the job done," South Alabama head coach Becky Clark said.  "For me as a coach and us as a team, we're a lot better than how we played this weekend, but we need to look at ourselves and see what we need to do to move forward.  I think that this is a test for us; we need to figure out what we want it to look like for us for the rest of conference play.  You don't want to start conference this way, but if you can learn from it and become a better team, then you can take the steps you need to in order for this not to happen again."

South Alabama (17-6, 0-3 SBC) will now close out its 10-game road swing with a midweek contest at UAB on Tuesday night.  First pitch versus the Blazers is set for 6 p.m. at Mary Bowers Field.  Live stats and the audio broadcast will be available at www.USAJaguars.com and in-game updates can be accessed by following the official twitter page for South Alabama softball @USAJagsSoftball.

Kristian Foster was the lone Jag to record multiple hits in the loss as she was 2-for-4 at the plate with a RBI.  Amanda Minahan and Kaleigh Todd also registered a hit and scored a run, while Megan Harris, Savanna Mayo, Aly Smith and MC Nichols also had a hit for South Alabama.

Minahan recorded her fifth home run of the season and her second of the series.

Devin Brown took the loss, falling to 7-4 on the year.  In her shortest outing of the season, Brown allowed four runs on four hits and recorded just one strikeout in 2.1 innings of work.  Chandler Sparkman continued her solid freshman season as she allowed just one hit and a pair of walks while striking out one in 3.2 innings of relief.

Georgia State (16-9, 3-0 SBC) had five players record a hit.  Kirsten McMonigle scored twice, while Ivie Drake and Kensey Caldwell scored once for the Panthers.

Peyton Worsham (3-0) picked up her second win of the series as she gave up three runs on eight hits, three walks and four strikeouts.  Kinsely Jennings pitched an inning-and-two-thirds of scoreless relief to pick up her third save of the spring.

Georgia State took the early 1-0 lead in the home half of the first when Megan Litumbe's liner got down just under Jag leftfielder Haleigh Lowe's glove for a base hit to score McMonigle from third.  McMonigle reached on a fielder's choice and moved into scoring position after a walk to Ivie Drake and a fly out to center.

Nichols and Todd reached on a pair of infield singles to start the third and moved into scoring position on Harris' sacrifice bunt.  With Minahan at the plate, the Jags tied the game up when Nichols came in from third on Worsham's wild pitch.  After a walk to Minahan, Foster singled through the left side of the infield to plate Todd and give South its first lead of the series.

USA didn't hold the lead long as the Panthers answered right back with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.  McMonigle homered to right with one out off Brown.  Drake then reached on an infield single and ?? Caldwell recorded her fourth double of the series.  After issuing a full-count walk to Litumbe, Jag freshman reliever Chandler Sparkman looked as if she might get out of the bases-loaded jam as she got Kylee Love to foul out to the catcher, but Hasty Remington was hit by a pitch and Mandy Blackwell walked to bring in two more runs and give GSU the 4-2 advantage.

The Jags cut the deficit in half in the top of the fifth as Minahan blasted a one-out solo shot to center to trim GSU's lead to 4-3.  The home run was Minahan's 22nd of her career and the fifth of her career against the Panthers.

South looked as if it had tied the game up in the top of the sixth.  With two down and runners at the corners, Harris lined a single back up the middle to score Haleigh Lane from third, but Harris was ruled to have made contact with the ball out of the batter's box and was called out to end the inning.

USA would go down in order in the seventh giving Georgia State the series sweep.

The 0-3 start to Sun Belt play is just the second time in the 11 year history for South Alabama.  USA began the 2009 league schedule with a pair of losses to North Texas and a loss to Troy to open SBC play.

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).
    
Join the Bullpen Club, the softball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  Members have access to purchase parking passes and receive Jaguar Softball gear.  All donations to the Bullpen Club go directly to support the South Alabama softball program.  For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/sports/2013/3/13/Bull%20Pen%20Club.aspx?id=27

—USA—