JSU vs. ALBANY BOX SCORE
JSU vs. USF BOX SCORE

TAMPA, Fla. – The Jacksonville State softball team opened the final day of the South Florida The Game Tournament by rolling to an 11-5 win over Albany before the host Bulls handed the Gamecocks a 10-1 defeat in the finale.

The Gamecocks (8-4) jumped on the Great Danes (6-6) in the first game of the day, scoring the first eight runs and never looking back. South Florida (9-5) ran out of the gates to a 10-0 lead by the third inning in the nightcap to wrap up JSU's weekend with a 3-2 record.

Against Albany in their first game of the day, senior Kayla Collins went 4-for-5 and drove in a game-high three runs to pace a Gamecock offense that amassed 20 hits and scored in every inning but one. Junior Nikki Prier also went 4-for-5 in the game, doubling twice and scoring three times.

All nine batters hit safely at least once, while six Gamecocks had multiple hits. Junior Hillary Downs was 3-for-4, while senior Courtney Underwood recorded a pair of doubles in her five plate appearances.

Junior Kelly McGregor (2-0) was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst by the Gamecocks, as the Camarillo, Calif., native earned the win in the circle. She allowed four runs, three earned, on six hits in 3.2 innings of work. Collins tossed the final 3.1 frames, surrendering a run on three hits to earn her first save.

Marissa Powell (1-6) took the loss for Albany after giving up 11 runs, 10 earned, on 20 hits in seven innings of action. She struck out one and walked a pair in the loss.

The Gamecocks didn't fare as well in their final game of the weekend. Host South Florida chased JSU starting pitcher Ashley Eliasson (1-3) after she surrendered five runs on three hits and two walks before recording the second out of the second inning. Senior Melissa Dowling pitched the final 2.2 innings and allowed five runs, two earned, on five hits in the process.

USF's Candace Howell (3-2) held the JSU bats in check in her 4.2 innings in the circle. She gave up just three hits and walked three while picking up five strikeouts.

The Gamecocks got two singles from senior Allie Barker, and Downs tripled and scored their only run off of a Prier double in the fifth.

Jacksonville State will return to the diamond on Friday, when they get the University of Tennessee Classic underway with a 6 p.m. CT showdown with North Dakota State. They will then play North Carolina and James Madison on Saturday before wrapping up the tourney with a Sunday matinee vs. Winthrop.