Courtesy of South Alabama Athletics
AUBURN, Ala. – After going down, 1-0, in the top of the first inning to Sarah Beth Roberts’s two-out, solo home run, No. 22 University of South Alabama softball piled 11 unanswered runs on Chattanooga through four frames, opening the 2015 NCAA Auburn Regional with an 11-1, run-rule victory over the Mocs on Friday.
USA (39-11) is next scheduled to play on Saturday at noon, facing the winner of game two, which takes place on Friday and features Tennessee Tech and host Auburn, the fourth-ranked team in the country.
Links to live stats and live video, broadcast by ESPN3, for Saturday’s contest can be found by accessing the Jaguar softball schedule page. In-game Twitter updates are provided via the program’s official handle, @USAJagsSoftball.
The Jaguars outhit Chattanooga (35-14), 14-2, and took advantage of three Moc errors. All 11 of USA’s runs came with two outs on the board.
South Alabama junior third baseman Emily Messer recorded a career-high four hits on Friday, leading the Jaguars on 4-for-4 hitting with an RBI and three runs scored. Sophomore designated player Chloe Rathburn went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI and a run scored. Rathburn tied single-season program records in RBI (52) and doubles (15) on Friday.
Jaguar senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith and sophomore centerfielder Amanda Minahan supplied two RBI apiece, and senior right fielder Alyssa Linn went 2-for-3 with a run, recording her first multiple-hit games since March 1.
USA freshman right-hander Devin Brown (11-4), who entered in relief of senior Farish Beard after the latter was called for a series of illegal pitches, threw 4 1/3 innings of one-hit, shutout relief, striking out eight Moc batters to no walks. Beard struck out a pair in 2/3 of an inning to make for 10 combined strikeouts from the Jaguar pitching staff.
Including her complete-game shutout of No. 10 Louisiana-Lafayette in the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship, Brown has now pitched 11 1/3 consecutive innings of shutout ball.
“We focused and executed things we worked on in practice all week,” said USA head coach Becky Clark. “It was a big day for Devin to step into that role and do a good job for us there. I’m really proud of our kids and the way they started out.
“The big thing was quality at-bats,” Clark added. “Our focus is to have quality at-bats all the way through. It doesn’t matter if there is one out, two outs or whatever. You are still having quality at bats. I thought we did a really great job using the middle of the field. We had a lot of success there. Our speed really came through for us as well.”
The 2015 Southern Conference regular-season and tournament champions, Chattanooga scratched a run across in the top of the first when Roberts lifted her solo shot to left field after Beard retired a pair of Moc batters by strikeout.
Beard walked a pair of Chattanooga batters after the home run, and Clark inserted Brown, who struck out Anyssa Robles swinging.
Messer and Jaguar freshman second baseman Kaleigh Todd led off the bottom of the first with singles, and the former scored a tying run on a Chattanooga throwing error when Roberts, the home run hitter, floated a throw-out attempt at first short, allowing Griffith to reach with two away.
Minahan then drew a walk to load the bases for senior left fielder Blair Johnson, who reached on a second Moc error, Todd scoring to put the Jags up, 2-1, on the play.
Brown hit Moc leadoff Jesslyn Stockard in the top of the second but worked out by retiring three straight, two by strikeout.
Messer and Todd both reached again in the bottom of the second with a single and walk, respectively, and Rathburn filled the bags with a base hit up the middle. Griffith then plated two on a single to left field to put USA ahead, 4-1. Minahan followed Griffith with a two-run triple to right center to extend the Jaguar lead to five runs. Minahan now has three triples on the year, more than any Jaguar.
Chattanooga starter Taylor Deason (15-6) was replaced by Cori Jennings after Minahan’s hit.
Brown retired the Mocs in order in the top of the third.
Jaguar junior catcher Stephanie Pilkington plated Messer with an RBI base hit to put South Alabama ahead, 7-1, in the bottom of the third. Rathburn followed with her historic hit, a double to left center that scored Pilkington and Todd.
Moc second baseman Criket Blanco got on with a leadoff single, but Brown retired three consecutive Chattanooga batters in the top of the fourth.
Messer and Jaguar freshman Kristian Foster each supplied RBI singles that scored Johnson and Linn, respectively, in the bottom of the fourth, as USA’s established its 10-run lead. Brown struck out three Chattanooga batters with swinging strikeouts to end the contest in the fifth inning.
“At the beginning of the season we set this understanding of, ‘if the opposing team is going to score first, we are going to fight back,'” said Rathburn. “We are going to fight back the entire game. I think we took that approach in this game, as we have many others, and it worked out in our favor.”
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).
