JACKSONVILLE — If nothing else, Jacksonville State softball found out Sunday that it means plenty to beat the Gamecocks.
Jax State already has clinched the Conference USA regular-season championship, but fell 5-4 in the team's final home game of the season to 10th-place Middle Tennessee. When the Blue Raiders recorded the last out, two of the infielders threw their gloves in the air. Everyone let out shouts of joy and sprinted to the pitcher's circle.
This was anything but a matter-of-fact celebration.
"We're a fantastic team top to bottom, so for them to celebrate that … yeah, I'll take that as a compliment," Jacksonville State coach Julie Boland said. "I don't like seeing it on our field. I don't like feeling it on our field. But, if we can learn from this, we'll be all right."
The result didn't change either team's postseason fate, although it did add a bit of a damper to Jax State's Senior Day celebrations
The Gamecocks still will be the No. 1 seed in the CUSA tournament May 5-9 in Newark, Delaware, while Middle Tennessee still is eliminated from the eight-team field.
Even so, on this day, Jax State struggled to break the door open when it had opportunities. The Gamecocks had runners reach base on 11 hits, five walks and two fielding errors.
"We left a lot of runners on base, and I think we made it harder on ourselves today than it needed to be," Boland said. "We got out of ourselves at the plate because our girls were not happy with the strike zone. So that was a hurdle that we had to overcome, and I think that played into our mentality a little bit, and thought we have to hit anything the pitcher throws."
Also, Jax State was coming off a Saturday win that clinched the CUSA regular-season crown, and Boland had worried there might be a bit of a hangover Sunday.
"Coming off a big day with high energy and a lot of hype around it, it's tough," Boland said. "So we're going to use this as a learning experience. I'm not mad at them. I think it's a good opportunity to learn from."
The Gamecocks put at least two runners on base in six of the seven innings. They had only one in the second.
In the bottom of the fifth, Jax State loaded the bases with two outs and Ashley Phillips ripped a shot to deep left field. But, she just got under the ball, and Middle Tennessee left fielder Macie Harter caught it with her back against the fence.
In the sixth, Jax State put the first two runners on base before the next three batters made outs.
In the seventh, down 5-2, Phillips doubled home pinch-runner Jocelyn Garcia, and Mikayla Deville brought home Teá Gutierrez with an infield single. The Gamecocks couldn't muster another run to tie it.
Maybe the biggest bright spot of the day came in the pitching circle as freshman Yulai Woodruff got her first opportunity to pitch in a CUSA game. She worked the final four innings and didn't give up a run in the first three. MTSU got a pair of runs in the seventh. She allowed three hits and four walks while striking out one.
"She threw a lot of balls, and if we can shut down the balls early and get ahead, those are totally different at-bats," Boland said. "I thought she did really well, and she's not been getting a whole lot of pitching time. So, for her to come into a situation like that and produce like she did, she did well."
—Fifth-year senior Morgan Nowakowski (center fielder) and fourth-year seniors Makalyn Kyser (catcher), Jaliyah Holmes (pitcher) and Ashley Phillips (second baseman) were honored in Senior Day ceremonies with their families. In a day when it's common for teams to lose a portion of its roster every year to the transfer portal, all four signed with Jax State out of high school and have remained on campus their entire careers.
—Because graduation exercises will take place while the Gamecocks are in Delaware for the CUSA tournament, Jacksonville State University President Don Killingsworth Jr. presented diplomas to two softball players during Senior Day ceremonies. Nowakowski received her master's diploma, and junior catcher Ainsley Grimes got her undergraduate diploma.
—Phillips went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Kailey Martin went 2-for-4 as well.
—Emma Elrod was 1-for-3 with two walks, and Amber Reed was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Reed has reached base in 29 straight games.