LAFAYETTE, La. | Second-seeded Marshall pushed across a two-out run in the bottom of the sixth to earn a 3-2 victory over third-seeded South Alabama Friday afternoon at the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Championship held at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park.
South Alabama (39-14) sees its 14-game win streak come to an end with the loss, while Marshall (45-9) advances to Saturday's championship game.
Quotable – head coach Becky Clark
- Opening statement: "Congratulations to Marshall, their staff and their kids, they've had a great season and I thought they played a great game (today). They got it done in those moments and we were unable to. I thought it was a great game and a well-played game. I thought it was great Sun Belt (Conference) softball."
- On battling back to tie the game up: "That's our mentality, you have to play to win. Sometimes it works out for you, sometimes it doesn't, that's sports. But the mentality part of it is what we're looking for. I felt like we did that today, maybe had a hiccup here or there, but for the most part we played a pretty clean game. I'm proud of our kids for their effort, I thought the effort was phenomenal today."
- On her message to the team: "I told them to keep their heads up. I hope that we're still in the conversation nationally. Out of 15 games, you lose one so I hope we're still in that conversation. I think these kids deserve it. I think they've earned it. (The NCAA) tournament is for the best teams and I think we are one of the best teams. We have the players to compete at a high level.
"I'm really proud of how they represent our university, they do it in a first-class manner every single time whether that's on the field or off the field. That's a big deal and sometimes people don't think that's a part of it, but these are phenomenal young ladies who do things the right way. I'm super proud of them for who they are as people and as players."Â
(2) Marshall 3, (3) South Alabama 2
Both pitchers pitched around leadoff errors in the opening frame, but the highlight came in the bottom half when
Bailey Welch made a diving grab on a low liner off the bat of Sydney Bickel and doubled off Alex Coleman at first.
Abby Allen reached on a two-base, one-out error in the top of the third – the first runner in scoring position by either club – but Sydney Nester retired the next two Jag batters to leave the runner stranded.
In the bottom half of the inning, Bri Godfrey reached on an infield single, after initially being called out on the play, but upon video replay, was ruled safe. After a strikeout, Godfrey moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt, and then came home one batter later on an RBI single to center by Coleman (0-1). Bickel then reached on a fielding error and Autumn Owens singled to center to plate the second run of the inning (0-2).Â
South Alabama answered right back its next time at the plate.
Mackenzie Brasher led off the fourth inning with an infield single, South's first hit of the contest. After a fielder's choice by
Victoria Ortiz,
Gabby Stagner worked the count full and unloaded on a ball that went deep over the wall in left center to tie the game at 2-2.
Allen worked the count full and earned a free pass to lead off the Jaguar fifth, and Marley Sims went the other way to line a single to left to put a pair on, but Nester didn't allow the runners to advance any further, retiring the next three.
Marshal retook the lead in its half of the sixth. Camryn Michallas drew a two-out walk and Rielly Lucas singled through the right side of the infield. Michallas then scored from second when Lucas' infield hit – her third of the contest – deflected off Sims' glove and trickled into shallow center.
Scoring Summary
•   3rd Inn | Coleman singled to center, RBI; Godfrey scored (0-1, MAR)
•   3rd Inn | Owens singled to center, RBI; Bickel scored, unearned (0-2, MAR)
•   4th Inn | Stagner homered to left center, 2 RBI; Ortiz scored (2-2, USA)
•   6th Inn | Godfrey singled to short, RBI; Michallas scored (2-3, MAR)
Postgame Notes
•   With the loss, South Alabama's 14-game win streak is snapped, the third longest streak in program history
•   South Alabama's defense turned in a pair of double plays coming in the first and fifth innings
•   All five runs scored in the contest came with two outs
•   Five of Marshall's six hits came with two outs, while the Jags had just one in the situation
•   In a streak dating back to May 7, 2021, Brasher has made 110 consecutive starts, which is 14th-longest at South Alabama
•   With her fourth-innings single, Brasher (166) moved ahead of Amanda Minahan (165, 2014-17) for ninth in the career category
•   The centerf ielder has now had a hit in 10 of her last 11 contests
•   Four of Stagner's six home runs this spring have either tied or give South Alabama the lead, and it was also her second of the season at Lamson Park
•   Stagner has had a hit in 16 of her last 21, and the home run was her 22nd extra-base hit of the season, which leads the team
•   With her walk in the fourth inning, Cordova has reached base safely in 10 of her last 12 outings, and with her sixth-inning double, she has had a hit in nine of her last 12
•   Ortiz's 29-game reached base safely streak also came to an end on Friday
Up Next
•   South Alabama will now have to wait to see if its name is called on "Selection Sunday" for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship. The show will be aired live on ESPN2 at 6 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, May 14.
FOLLOW THE JAGS
For complete coverage of South Alabama Softball, follow the Jags on social media @SouthAlabamaSB (Twitter), /SouthAlabamaSB (Facebook), @SouthAlabamaSB (Instagram) or visit the official home of South Alabama athletics at usajaguars.com.
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