BIRMINGHAM – Samford's three-run fourth inning proved too much for the Jacksonville State softball team on Wednesday, when the Gamecocks dropped a 4-2 decision at the Bulldog Softball Stadium.
The Gamecocks (17-12) fell behind after the Bulldogs (15-12) scored a run in the third and extended the lead to 4-0 in the fourth and couldn't recover. The loss is JSU's first to its in-state rival this season after taking two games at University Field during the Jacksonville State Invite earlier in March.
Freshman
Kat Carter (9-7) suffered the loss for JSU in the circle after allowing four runs on seven hits in 3 and 2.3 innings of work. Fellow freshman
Sarah Currie allowed just one hit in 2 and 1/3 innings of scoreless relief work to close out the game for the Gamecocks.
Samford's McKenzie Newcomb (10-6) grabbed the win after tossing all seven frames and limiting the Gamecocks to two runs on six hits. She struck out seven and didn't issue a walk.
Sophomore
Lindsey Richardson and freshman
Hannah Buffington each had two of the Gamecocks' six hits and each drove in one of their team's runs in the game. Senior
Karsen Mosley and junior
Megan Fortner each doubled to account for the other two hits for JSU.
Gwynnie Hornibrook started the scoring for Samford in the third, when her RBI single to right made it a 1-0 game. Sarah Squillace started the three-run fourth with he RBI single and was one of the runs that scored on M.K. Tedder's two-run double that put the Gamecocks in the four-run hole.
Buffington got JSU on the board in the fifth with a single off the wall in right plated Mosley, and Richardson's single to score Fortner in the seventh cut JSU's deficit to 4-2 with no outs. The Gamecocks would put the tying run on when Buffington laced a two-out single to right, but Newcomb got
Addie Robinson to ground out to end the threat.
The Gamecocks will return home and return to ASUN Conference play on Saturday, when they start a three-game series against North Florida at University Field. The two will play a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday before concluding the three-game series with a single game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
