TUESDAY'S SCORES
Jacksonville State 7, @Samofrd 6
JACKSONVILLE STATE 7, SAMFORD 6
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Jacksonville State softball team scored seven runs in the seventh inning to erase a 4-0 deficit and held on in the bottom half for a 7-6 win over Samford on Tuesday.
After struggling to get anything going for six innings against the Bulldogs (10-8), the Gamecocks (18-14) plated the first seven batters of the final inning to pull off the win. Senior Krystal Ruth capped the big inning with a grand slam after a two-run single from senior Cara Longworth cut the JSU deficit to one run and set up the game-winning blast.
JSU got the ball off of the ground just twice over the first six innings against Samford starter Misha Aldridge but finally started driving the ball in the final frame. A bases-loaded walk to freshman Cadi Oliver drove in the first run of the game, setting up Longworth's big pinch hit. The senior Massillon, Ohio, drove Aldridge's first pitch into the gap in right center to drive in two, and then freshman Ella Denes walked to bring up Ruth.
The senior from Wylie, Texas, drove reliever Shelby Scott's first pitch well over the wall in center field to give JSU the 7-4 lead.
Samford got two back in the bottom of the seventh, and then an error on first baseman Amanda Martinez seemed to extend the game. When Caroline Seay's grounder to second base was dropped at first after Kelci Johnston's relay, Scott tried to score from third only to be thrown out by Martinez to end the game.
Junior Savanna Hennings was stellar in relief to earn the win for the Gamecocks. The native of Springville, Ala., allowed just two runs on four hits in 5.0 innings of work to earn the win and improve to 2-0 on the season.
Aldridge suffered a tough-luck loss after holding JSU to just three hits through the first six innings. She dia allow five runs in the seventh on three more hits before being chased. Scott surrendered the final two runs on a walk and one hit, Ruth's homer.
The Bulldogs got on the board in the bottom of the second, when Rachel Bickert got a ball in the wind, which carried it over the wall in right center. Kayla Shaffer then followed with a two-out RBI single to right center and Alex Adams a two-run double to left center that put the Gamecocks in a 4-0 hole.
Junior Kalee Tabor was the lone Gamecocks with multiple hits in the game, going 2-for-3.
Tiffany Harbin started the game for the Gamecocks and worked the first two innings. She gave up four runs on five Samford hits before making way for Savanna Hennings, who was stellar in the circle for the second-straight game. Including five innings against Murray State on Sunday, Hennings has allowed just two earned runs on five hits over her last 10.0 innings in the circle.