KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of South Alabama softball team split a pair of games on Friday during the opening day of the Tennessee Invitational held at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.  The Jags picked up a 4-3 win over Charleston in the first game of the day, but suffered a 4-3 loss after Toledo put up two runs in the top of the sixth in the second game.

UP NEXT
-South Alabama will take on Tennessee at 11:30 a.m. (CT) and then either play at 2 p.m. or 4 p.m. (CT) against an opponent yet to be determined.

Date: 3/2
Place: Sherri Parker Lee Stadium (Knoxville, Tenn.)

South Alabama vs. Charleston Southern
Final Score: South Alabama 4, Charleston Southern 3
Records: South Alabama (9-8), Charleston Southern (13-4)

Box Score (PDF)

SCORING PLAYS
-1 Inn. — CSU, 2-0 — Mallory Kasinger two-run home run to left (2 RBI), scoring Kendall Anderson (pinch runner)
-3 Inn. — USA, 2-2 — Haleigh Lowe single to right (2 RBI), scoring Taylor Stevens (pinch runner) and MC Nichols
-3 Inn. — USA, 3-2 — Kristian Foster sacrifice fly to center (RBI), scoring Kaleigh Todd (unearned)
-6 Inn. — USA, 4-2 — Hannah Smith double to left (RBI), scoring Amanda Flynn (pinch runner)
-6 Inn. — CSU, 4-3 — Kasinger infield single (RBI), scoring Caitlyn Emberson

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME
-With South Alabama holding a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth, Gandara looked as if she might have tied the contest up with a two-run home run, but the ball was ruled to have hit off the top of the pad on the wall and bounced back into fair play.  Gandara and Emberson were held at second and third.  While Emberson would later score, Gandara would eventually be retired at home on a fielder's choice.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
-Lowe was 2-for-3 at the plate for the Jaguars with two runs driven in.  Kristian Foster and Smith had the two other RBI for South Alabama in the game.
-Devin Brown (7-4) recorded 11 strikeouts in her seven innings of work, allowing three runs on four hits.  She also walked two and hit two batters.
-CSU's Kasinger also had two hits with a home run in the contest and drove in all three runs for the Buccaneers.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Lowe's at-bat in the third was prolonged when CSU shortstop Madison Koger was unable to hold on to a foul ball while attempting to make a diving play.
-Of Brown's 11 strikeouts, four were looking including her two in the seventh.
-Following Kasinger's first-inning home run, Brown retired nine straight batters.
-Charleston Southern starter Arizona Pilgrim (4-2) ended the first, second and third innings with a strikeout looking.
-The leadoff batter for both clubs got on base in all four innings in which there was scoring.

GAME FACTS
-Kasinger put the Buccaneers on the board early (2-0) with a two-run shot to left, which scored Anderson.  Anderson was pinch running at first for Caitlyn Emberson who was hit by a 0-2 pitch from Devin Brown to lead off the inning.
-The Jaguars retook the lead in the top half of the third with three runs.  Lyric Cabral singled back up the middle to start the inning off and Nichols then walked.  Todd reached to load the bases on a Buccaneer error while attempting sacrifice the runners over.  With one out and the bases loaded, Lowe drove a ball to right and Taylor Gleason had the ball pop out of her glove when she collided with the wall, allowing Stevens and Nichols to score.  South went on top the next at-bat as Foster lifted a ball to center deep enough to allow Todd to score from third and give the Jaguars a 3-2 lead.
-South Alabama added
Kvistad lined a single to left center to start the top of the sixth and then moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Abby Krzywiecki.  Smith then doubled over the CSU leftfielder's head, scoring Flynn, who was pinch-running for Kvistad, to make it 4-2.
-CSU got a run back in the bottom half of the sixth on Gandara's RBI double to left center.  Emberson walked to start the inning and came around to score on the extra-base hit.  The Buccaneers loaded the bases with no outs in the inning, but Brown was able to retire the next three CSU batters with a fielder's choice, a strikeout and another fielder's choice.  The first fielder's choice came on a play at the plate when Smith fielded a chopper to third and threw home to get Gandara.
-The Buccaneers put runners on at the corners in the seventh and with the winning run aboard, Brown was able to get Kasinger out swinging to end the game for her seventh win of the season.

NOTES
-B. Reid batted leadoff for the Jaguars for the first time this season.
-Kasinger's first-inning home run was her sixth of the season and the 26th of the year for Charleston Southern.
-The multi-hit game was Lowe's second straight and the 22nd of her career moving her into a tie for 18th with Chloe Rathburn on the program's all-time list.
-Smith's RBI double in the sixth inning was the freshman third baseman's first collegiate hit and run driven in.
-The complete game was Brown's sixth of the season and the 58th of her career.  It was also the 34th career double-digit strikeout game of the season for the senior right hander.
-The loss snapped an eight-game win streak for Charleston Southern.
-The Bucs also entered the game ranked in the top 15 nationally with a .342 batting average, but were held to just the four hits by Brown.
-The Jaguars improved to 3-0 in the all-time series versus Charleston Southern.  It was the first meeting between the two clus since 2015 season.

South Alabama vs. Toledo
Final Score: Toledo 4, South Alabama 3
Records: Toledo (8-3), South Alabama (9-9)

Box Score (PDF)

SCORING PLAYS
-4 Inn. — TOL, 1-0 — Taylor Weekly double to left (RBI), scoring Raelyn Nyren (pinch runner)
-4 Inn. — TOL, 2-0 — Sam Showalter single to center (RBI), scoring Weekly
-4 Inn. — USA, 2-2 — B. Reid single to left (2 RBI), scoring Stevens (pinch runner) and MC Nichols
-4 Inn. — USA, 3-2 — Foster single to left (RBI), scoring Kaleigh Todd
-6 Inn. — TOL, 3-3 — Samantha Golden double to center (RBI), scoring Brittany Davis
-6 Inn. — TOL, 4-3 — Showalter single through the left side (RBI), scoring Golden

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME
-Showalter gave Toledo the lead for good when her sixth-inning single through the left side of the infield scored Golden from second to give the Rockets a 4-3 advantage.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
-B. Reid and Foster both finished 2-for-4 at the plate for South Alabama.  B. Reid drove in a pair of runs, while Foster had the other RBI for the Jags.
-Smith, Krzywiecki and Dayla Gulledge also recorded singles for South, while Nichols, Todd and Stevens each scored a run.  Krzywiecki also had a walk in the contest.
-Heather Webb (4-1) entered in relief and pitched two innings of scoreless relief to earn win.  Webb allowed just two hits and walked one, while striking out three.
-Kaitlyn Bergen was a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate for Toledo, while Showalter had two hits in her three at-bats to go along with her 2 RBI.  Weekly and Golden each scored a run and drove in a run for the Rockets.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Seven South Alabama batters combined to record the club's nine hits.  Toledo's eight hits came from six different batters.
-All seven runs scored in the game by the two teams were earned.
-Gulledge recorded a pinch-hit single in the fourth inning.
-Kailey Minarchick started the game in the circle for the Rockets and re-entered to start the bottom of the sixth to earn her second save of the season.
-There were three lead changes in the game.

GAME FACTS
-South Alabama had a scoring opportunity in the bottom half of the third as B. Reid and Foster both singled with one away in the inning.  Minarchick though would strand both Jag runners as she recorded a pair of fly outs to end the frame.
-Toledo capitalized on the missed opportunity the next half inning with a pair of two-out run-scoring base hits.  Kaitlyn Bergman singled to left with one out.  USA looked as if it might get out of the inning one batter later as A. Reid recorded a strikeout swinging and Cabral's throw down to second appeared to be in time, but the ball came dislodged from Foster's glove on Nyren's slide allowing the inning to continue.  Weekly then drove a 3-1 pitch to the wall in left to score Nyren.   Showalter then made it 2-0 as she dropped in a bloop single in left center, plating Weekly.
-South Alabama loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fourth after a walk by Krzywiecki and singles from Nichols and Gulledge.  After a fly out and a pitching change, B. Reid dropped in a single in left that was just over Rocket shortstop Kylie Norwood's head, allowing Stevens (pinch runner) and Nichols to come around to score and tie the game up at 2-2.  The Jaguars then went back out in front on Foster's solid single to left, allowing Todd to score and make it 3-2.
-Toledo retook the lead with a pair of runs in the top half of the sixth.   Davis led off the inning with a base-hit down the leftfield line and then came into score on Golden's RBI-double to center to tie the game back up at 3-3.  Showalter then drove in her second run of the game with a single through the left side of the infield to bring in Golden from second and put the Rockets up 4-3.
-With Toledo holding the one-run lead, Minarchick re-entered the game in the circle in the bottom of the sixth.  Lowe singled and moved into scoring position with two outs, but the Jags were unable to tie game up as Minarchick got a ground ball out to end the inning.
-South Alabama put the tying run on (Smith single) and brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but Minarchick was able to get a pair of fly outs to end the game.

NOTES
-The game was the first meeting in the all-time series between South Alabama and Toledo.
-Gulledge's pinch-hit single was the first of the season for the junior.
-The multi-hit game was the fifth of the season for B. Reid and her third in her last four outings.
-Foster also recorded her fourth of the season and 27th of her career, moving the senior into a tie with Britany Campbell for 14th on the program's all-time list.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
-On the two games: "At this level, you have to earn wins and in the second game, I didn't feel like we earned it.  The first game, we did enough to squeak by.  I would've liked to have seen us turn things around and get a little bit better in the second game.  Obviously, we didn't do what we needed to do [to get the win].  We had opportunities and didn't take advantage of them.  If you want to win at this level, you have to play the game a certain way and we didn't do that."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_Jags. 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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