A five-run seventh inning was the difference as Stephen F. Austin pulled away from Texas Southern 9-3 in Tuesday's softball home opener at Memorial Park.
An error by TSU in the third inning set the tone for SFA as an RBI double led to a 2-0 deficit followed by another run in the inning to claim a 3-0 lead.
TSU answered back with two runs in the bottom half as A'Leccia Bell led the inning off with a walk and moved to second off a Haley Castro bunt single. Both runners moved over a base after a groundout which led to Crimson Davis' RBI single. TSU added another run on the play as a SFA fielding error scored Castro. The Tigers tied it up in the fourth on Bell's RBI double but SFA moved ahead 4-3 in the fifth on a RBI single.
Unfortunately, the tide of the game changed in the top of the seventh as a hit better led the inning off for SFA which led to an RBI double and 5-3 deficit. Eventually, the bases became loaded and SFA, the preseason favorite in the Southland Conference, hit a grand slam for the final margin as TSU didn't score in its final at-bat.
TSU opens SWAC play in Montgomery, Ala. on Friday at Alabama State.
