BATON ROUGE, La. | Minnesota scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh and then held South Alabama scoreless in the bottom of the inning to rally back and take a 6-5 win on Sunday on day three of the LSU Round Robin at Tiger Park.

South Alabama (11-14) was led at the plate by Presley Lively and Olivia Branstetter, who were each 2-for-3 with a walk. Lively also scored twice and drove in a pair, while recording a pair of stolen bases to bring her total to 12. Branstetter also drove in a run for the Jags.

Minnesota (11-11) was paced offensively by Margaret Tobias, who was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Taylor Krapf had a pair of hits, including a solo home run, and Tinley Easton scored twice and had two hits.

Quotable – head coach Becky Clark
- On the game and the tough stretch: "We competed and fought today, but never could burst the game open. This has been a challenging stretch for us, so we're looking forward to getting back and competing on our home field."

How It Happened 
•    South Alabama jumped out to a quick one run lead without the benefit of a hit in the bottom half of the opening frame. Lively and Gabby Stagner drew back-to-back walks to begin the frame. With two aboard, South Alabama pulled off the double steal and Lively came into score on the play when the Gophers' attempt to throw her out at third was off the mark, allowing the freshman to come home (USA, 1-0). South threatened to do more damage loading the bases after a walk to Branstetter a hit by pitch to Sidney Lee, but Presley Hosick (6-3) retired the next three batters to end the threat.
•    Easton led off the top of the second with a single back up the middle, and two batters later Jae Cosgriff doubled to left to again put runners at second and third. Minnesota tied the game up at 1-1 when Tobias bounced a single through the left side, scoring Easton.
•    Stagner led off the bottom of the third with a solid single to center and then moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. She was moved to third after a ground out to the right side of the infield. Katie Schuler walked after four-straight were out of the zone to put runners at the corner with two outs, and Stagner then came home when Megan Davidson reached on an error when the ball deflected off the first baseman's glove (USA, 2-1).
•    Easton recorded her second-straight hit with a single to left to begin the fourth. Kayla Chavez followed with a single of her own, and the two runners were then moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. One pitch later, Easton came into score and tie up the contest (2-2) on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Tobias plated the go-ahead run with a single back up the middle (MINN, 3-2).
•    Caitlyn Gavin was hit by a pitch and Brooklynn Bockhaus then reached on an error while attempting to sacrifice the runner. Lively then put South Alabama back out in front with a two-run single to center (USA, 4-3). 
•    Krapt quickly tied the game back up at 4-4 as she homered to left center on the first pitch she saw from Tori Miller the next half inning.
•    Schuler walked to begin the bottom of the fifth and the freshman was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Amity White, but she would be left stranded as Hosick retired the next two batters.
•    Lively recorded her second-straight hit and reached base for the third time with a one-out, infield single in the bottom of the sixth. With Lively standing at second and two outs in the inning, Branstetter lined a RBI-single to center, scoring Lively and giving the Jags the lead (USA, 5-4).
•    Tobias began the top of the seventh with a single and was then moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. South then issued an intentional walk to Krapt, and with two outs in the inning Jessa Snippes doubled to left center to score two runs (MINN, 6-5).
•    The Jaguars placed the tying run aboard as Schuler fouled off five, two-strike pitches to stay alive and then singled through the right side to begin the bottom of the seventh. After a failed sacrifice attempt, Snippes induced a ground-ball, double play to end the game and pick up her second save.

Postgame Notes
•    The meeting marked the fourth in the all-time series with all four coming at a neutral site
•    Lively has had a hit or a walk in 11 of her last 14 outings, and reached base safely in 19 of her 25 games
•    Lively has reached base in her first plate appearance in 12 times this spring
•    Lively has also scored a run in 16 games, including eight multiple-run games, and in nine of her last 15
•    The multi-hit game was the fifth of the season for Lively and her first since Murray State (2/29)
•    Stagner extended her reached base safely streak to 15 and 22 of her 25 games
•    With her third-inning single, Stagner has had a hit in 11 of her last 12 
•    Branstetter also extended her career-best, reached base safely streak to 12-straight games – a career best – and she has done so in 15 of her last 17

Up Next
•    South Alabama will return home to host Alabama on Wednesday night. First pitch versus the Crimson Tide is set for 6 p.m. at Jaguar Field.

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