Cards Plate Three Runs in the Eighth Inning to Beat Georgia Southern

Saturday, March 2

Tampa, Fla.

1:30 PM

University of Louisville

14-4

Georgia Southern

12-4

Georgia Southern

Louisville

Photo by: Chad Harmon

Cards Plate Three Runs in the Eighth Inning to Beat Georgia Southern

March 02, 2024 | Softball

Box Score

Cards rally in seventh and eighth innings to beat Georgia Southern 7-6

By: Lori Harmon

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Louisville softball team scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Georgia Southern 7-6 Saturday at the USF Tournament. The Cards (14-4) will face host USF at 5 p.m. Saturday evening.

Louisville's first game of the day was a back-and-forth contest that featured three lead changes and two ties and saw the Cardinals score a run to tie the score in the bottom of the seventh and overcome two-run deficit in the eighth en route to a 7-6 victory.

Alyssa Zabala (8-1) got the win after giving up four runs, three earned, on eight hits and striking out six in 5.1 innings of relief. Vanessa Miller paced the Cardinals at the plate with two hits, including a home run, four RBIs and two runs.

The teams played through two scoreless innings before Georgia Southern (12-4) capitalized on three hits and two walks to break through with a pair of runs in the top of the third.

Louisville answered in the home half of the inning when Riley Frizell and Katie Thatcher earned back-to-back two-out walks to bring up Vanessa Miller who crushed a shot over the left field fence for her fourth homer of the season to give the Cards a 3-2 lead.

The Eagles got the run back in the top of the fourth, utilizing a bases-loaded walk to even the score at 3-3. The sixth inning saw another Georgia Southern run after the Eagles used three hits to go back on top 4-3.

The Cards battled back in the bottom of the seventh. With one out in the home half of the inning, Daisy Hess laced a double and one out later, Frizell connected on an RBI triple to even the score at 4-4. A fly out ended the inning and the teams moved into extras.

With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, Georgia State started the eighth inning with a runner placed at second base. The Eagles struck quickly, leading off the frame with an RBI single. After Ally Alexander and Frizell teamed for a double play, a two-out RBI hit made the score 6-4.

Louisville countered in the home half of the eighth. Thatcher was placed at second to set up Miller's RBI hit. After a groundout, Goff was hit by a pitch to place runners on the corners with one out for Gabby Holloway who delivered a pinch-hit RBI single to tie the game at 6-6. Chelsea Mack's bunt single loaded the bases with one out and Goff was called safe on a play at the plate on a fielder's choice to give the Cards the 7-6 victory.

Ainslie Pettit (4-3) took the loss, surrendering four runs, three earned, on six hits and delivering five strikeouts in 3.1 innings of relief. Emma Davis had three hits and scored four runs while Jess Mazur also tallied a trio of hits and drove in three to lead the Eagles offensively.