Box Score - South Alabama 5, Texas-Arlington 0.pdf
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ARLINGTON, Texas – Senior pitcher Destin Vicknair tossed a one-hit, shutout, complete game and junior shortstop Kristian Foster was 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBI as the University of South Alabama softball team picked up a 5-0 win over Texas-Arlington at Allan Saxe Field in Saturday's series finale.
"The job Vicknair did in the circle today for us was huge; to throw a one-hitter against that ball club was big," South Alabama head coach Becky Clark. "She's been throwing a ton of innings for us with Devin [Brown] out. She didn't just give us a chance today, I thought she was dominant. UTA never really squared anything up and she moved the ball around the zone the entire game and changed up speeds on them.
"As far as our team, I'm really proud of them, because I felt like we played hard all weekend and never felt like there was a time that we weren't playing hard. We made those errors in the first game and we didn't help ourselves out, but other than that, I thought we played hard the whole time. When you're going through some of the things we are going through right now, this kind of helps build the team and create who you are; I just see us becoming tougher and tougher. We have to let this make us a better team, bring us closer together and prepare us for down the road. I'm proud of our players; I thought they showed a lot of character today."
South Alabama (25-17, 7-12 SBC) will next play its second-straight three-game Sun Belt Conference road series at Louisiana-Monroe. USA and ULM will open up with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 22 (1 / 3 p.m.) and then close out the series on Sunday, April 23 with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
Kaleigh Todd, Amanda Minahan, Katelyn Gruich, Savanna Mayo and Dayla Gulledge also recorded a hit for the Jags with Gulledge driving in three on a sixth-inning pinch-hit home run.
The three-hit game marked the 12th multi-hit game of the season and 22nd of her career for Foster, while the two RBI performance was her 10th multi-RBI game of the spring and 20th as a Jaguar. Foster now has 30 runs driven this season and over her last 13 games, the Pelham, Ala., native has recorded at least one RBI in 10 of those contest and 16 total.
After South had allowed 12 runs on 19 hits in the first two games of the series, Destin Vicknair (11-9) was outstanding in the circle as she tossed the one-hitter and recorded her 13th complete game of the season. Vicknair walked just two and struck out one.
Texas-Arlington dropped to 22-20 overall and 8-10 in Sun Belt play with the loss. Sam Clakley (17-11) – who earned wins in both games yesterday for the Mavericks – suffered the loss on Saturday, allowing five runs on eight hits in six innings of work.
Aileen Garcia registered the lone hit for UTA.
UTA threatened to score in the bottom of the second as the Mavs loaded the bases with a lead-off single by Garcia and a pair of two-out walks, but Vicknair was able to battle back and get Kacey Everett to fly out to right to get out of the jam. Vicknair would go on to record the next 10 batters before running into trouble in the sixth.
South capitalized on the missed scoring opportunity the next half inning and took a 2-0 lead on Foster's one-out, two-run single to center, scoring MC Nichols and Todd. Nichols walked on five pitches to lead the inning off and Todd then reached on an infield single, before moving into scoring position on Lowe's sacrifice bunt, setting the table for Foster.
The Jaguars added three more runs and extended their lead to 5-0 with three runs in the top half of the sixth. The inning started off uneventful as Clakley retired USA's first two batters, but with two away, Mayo lined a single to center to ignite the offense. Abby Krzywiecki followed with a pinch-hit walk, bringing Gulledge to the plate. The sophomore then drove Clakley's 2-2 pitch deep over the left field wall. The three-run shot was her first hit of the spring and the fourth home run of her Jaguar career.
In the home half of the sixth, the Mavericks threatened again as Sandra Mendoza was hit by a pitch to begin the inning and Krista Rude reached on a throwing error while attempting to sacrifice Mendoza over to second. After a fielder's choice placed runners at the corners, Vicknair got Garcia to line out into an inning-ending double play and get out of the jam.
Vicknair would retire the Mavs in order in the seventh to seal the win.
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: jaguarathleticfund.com/bullpenclub
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