Box Score (Southern Indiana)
DECATUR, Ala. – The University of West Alabama softball team picked up its third win at the UAH Chillout with a trouncing of Southern Indiana, 13-4 in the weekend finale. The Tigers earned their third-straight split with the win after falling 6-4 to Truman State in the morning session.
UWA (7-3) topped Georgia College & State on Friday and shutout fifth-ranked Indianapolis on Saturday.
Against USI, both squads put a pair of runs on the board in their first plate appearances. The Tigers broke the 2-2 standstill with 11 runs in their final three at bats. In the UWA third, it hit for the cycle as Stephanie Beahn led off the frame with a double, followed by a triple by Valisha Fincher to plate Beahn. Jessica Powell reached base with a single and scored on Lindsey Skinner's two-run blast to left field. The homerun was Skinner's first as a Tiger. The Shelton State Community College transfer finished with four RBI and a pair of hits. Skinner drove in UWA's second run in the first inning with a single.
UWA's five-run fourth was highlighted by Beahn's second extra base hit as the Faulkner State Community College transfer drilled a homerun to left center. Ashley Frost drove in a pair of runs in the frame with a deep fly ball to center. A pinch hit single by Meagan Sloke scored Skinner for the final run of the inning.
USI dented the lead with a Reva Bourgasser two-run homer in the home half of the fourth. All four Eagle runs came off the long ball. Brittany DeWeese turned in a round tripper in the first. Besides the two homeruns, UWA pitching scattered three other USI hits in the five-inning affair. Junior Katie Ford secured the win after throwing 3.1 innings before giving way to Jessica Cervantes. The UWA pitching tandem struck out three eagles.
After Anna Shartzer led off the fifth with UWA's fourth double of the contest, she scored on a one-out two-bagger off the bat of Fincher. The Tarrant, Ala.-junior would later score on an Eagle wild pitch. Fincher turned in a 3-for-3 outing, including four runs scored and driving in a pair.
In the 6-4 setback to Truman State, UWA jumped on the board with two runs in the first and added a run in the second after Angela Smith posted a solo homerun to extend UWA's advantage to 3-1. The Bulldogs took a 4-3 lead after two complete innings and pushed the lead out to 6-3 in the third. The Tigers scored a run in fifth but could do no more damage. Hannah Billingsley took the loss after tossing the first two innings.
UWA returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 23, travelling to Fairfield, Ala. to face Miles College. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
