DECATUR, Ala. – The University of West Alabama softball team had a rough Friday at the Gulf South Conference Crossover as UWA dropped a pair of games to GSC West members Arkansas at Monticello and Southern Arkansas.
The No. 24 Cotton Blossoms ousted the Tigers in six innings, 10-2, before the Lady Muleriders claimed a 6-3 decision over UWA in the final game of the day. UWA falls to 29-18 overall on the season and 6-9 in GSC play.
The Red and White will look to rebound on Saturday as it faces Christian Brothers at 2 p.m. and Henderson State at 4 p.m. Both games will be available via live stats at www.uwaathletics.com.
In the UAM contest, the Cotton Blossoms scored runs in five if the six innings, including a five-run six to close out the game. UAM raced out to a 4-0 lead before the Tigers scratched their two runs on the board in the fifth. Anna Shartzer drove in both runs on one of her two hits in the affair. The Gulf Shores, Ala.-freshman extended her hitting streak to a season-best eight games with hits in both games. UAM touched UWA pitching for 12 hits, including home runs from Faith Lund and Sarah Haslip. Lund's round tripper plated a pair in the third after UAM pushed across the first run in the opening plate appearance. UAM starter Kayla Jackson baffled UWA hitters for most of the game as she turned in a complete game performance, including eight strikeouts. Jackson also posted a pair of hits and drove in a run. She aided the Tigers scoring threat in the third with three-straight hit-by-pitches.
Hannah Billingsley was saddled with the loss after allowing seven earned runs and four walks in her five innings of work.
Against SAU, the Tigers played catch up as the Blue and Gold took an early 3-0 lead on a three-run blast from Denise Amador in the first frame. UWA got on the scoreboard in the second as Jessica Powell scored after leading off the inning with a walk. A Lauren Mills hit-by-pitch pushed Powell across for the run. The Tigers threatened for more, but SAU hurler Julie Essary pitched out of the bases loaded jam with back-to-back pop ups to the infield. UWA registered 16 fly ball outs in the contest against Essary.
After an SAU solo home run in the third, UWA trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the third after Stephanie Beahn recorded an RBI with a single and a sacrifice fly from Kelli Hartley. After a single by Powell to load the bases again, Essary got a fly ball out off the bat of Angela Hanna to kill the threat.
SAU added insurance runs in the fourth and fifth to secure its 10th win of the season. Katie Ford was staked with the loss after tossing six innings and being touched for 12 hits. Ford also carded four strikeouts.
