Nashville - The Tennessee State softball team took a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning, but could not hang on and fell 5-2 to the South Dakota Coyotes Wednesday.

Reina Castillo (4-2) started and took the loss in the circle for Tennessee State (11-11). The right-hander went six innings, giving up five runs, three earned, on seven hits, allowing no walks and striking out five. Holly Ayala was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going one shutout inning while allowing one hit, walking none, and striking out one.

At the plate, the Tigers were led by Jasmine Blackburn, who went 2-for-3 on the day with two RBI.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Tigers put runs on the scoreboard first, starting the scoring in the second inning. Blackburn drove in two runs for Tennessee State with a single, that scored Nahtali Simpson and Alexis Woods. The Tigers were unable to hold the lead, as South Dakota scored five times over the remaining five innings to grab the 5-2 win.

GAME NOTES

» Tennessee State's highest scoring inning was the second, when it pushed two runs across.
» Tennessee State pitchers limited South Dakota to just 2-for-11 (.182) with runners in scoring position.
» Tennessee State pitchers faced 32 South Dakota hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out six.
» Blackburn led the Tigers at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.

NEXT UP

The Tigers will be back in action this weekend as they are set to host Lindenwood in their first home OVC series of the season. TSU will play a double-header on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.