Box scoreMOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team scored multiple runs in five straight innings, including a five-run fourth, to defeat Little Rock 13-3 in Saturday's series opener at Stanky Field.
USA (10-4, 1-0 SBC) pounded out 15 hits in the game, and every Jaguar starter recorded at least one hit in the contest, led by Danny Martinez who went 2-for-5 with three RBI. Cole Billingsley finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, and Carter Perkins added two hits, two RBI and one run scored.
"It's been a while since we have come out and swung the bats like that," head coach Mark Calvi said. "I know their (Little Rock) Friday night guy has been off a little bit, but give our guys credit; I thought we did a nice job. We were aggressive, but we weren't chasing the ball all over the place and we found some holes. We got our leadoff guy on a lot, and we took advantage of it. We got some hits, stole some bases and had seven different guys with RBI. I have a lot of faith in these guys and they have a lot of faith in each other. They did a good job tonight. But Little Rock is going to be here all day long tomorrow. We have two games left to play and they are not going away. Tomorrow is a new day, and we better be ready to play. But I was pretty pleased with our effort this evening."
Jaguar right-hander Kevin Hill (3-1) allowed three unearned runs on seven hits, and struck out seven – passing Clark Girardeau for seventh on the all-time strikeouts list with 238 – while issuing two walks to earn his third win of the season.
"I thought Little Rock did a nice job with Kevin," Calvi said. "I don't think he is in mid-season form yet. His velocity is pretty good, but it's not quite there yet. He made some pitches we he needed to, and threw some changeups in there; he got enough lead outs. It's hard to mount a rally on a guy like Kevin with one out. He did a good enough job of getting his leadoff out tonight, but I think the best Kevin Hill this year is yet to come. I'm proud of his effort tonight, and I thought (Jared) Barnes and (Tanner) Halstead did a really nice job catching him tonight."
South Alabama spotted Hill a two-run lead in the top of the second. Ben Gann led off the inning with a single to the six-hole at shortstop, and moved to third on a single to center field by Perkins to put runners at the corners with no outs. Jared Barnes followed with an RBI single through the left side of the infield to score Gann with the game's first run. Brendan Donovan drew a walk on four straight pitches from Trojan right-hander Cory Malcom to load the bases for Ryan Raspino, who grounded into a 4-6-3 double play that allowed Perkins to score from third and double the Jaguar lead to 2-0.
The Trojans looked to push their first run across in the bottom of the second, but had the runner thrown out at the plate. Ty Gunter drew a leadoff walk from Hill and moved to third on a single to right field from Cameron Knight, but was thrown out at the plate attempting to score by left fielder Donovan who chased down an errant throw to third from right fielder Travis Swaggerty.
South Alabama added a pair of runs to its lead in the top of the third. The Jags put runners at the corners with no outs in the inning on consecutive singles by Billingsley and Drew LaBounty. LaBounty moved into scoring position on a wild pitch from Malcom before Martinez delivered a two-run single through the right side of the infield to score both runners and push the USA lead to 4-0.
Little Rock (5-8, 0-1 SBC) threatened when it loaded the bases off of Hill in the bottom of the third. Hayden Martin led off the inning with a single to center field. A two-out single by Dalton Thomas followed by a walk by Nik Gifford loaded the bases with two outs. But Hill escaped the jam with an inning-ending strikeout of Gunter.
The Jaguars erupted for their biggest inning in the top of the fourth, sending five runs across the plate. Barnes and Donovan reached on consecutive singles to start the inning. Raspino then reached on a throwing error to first base by Malcom on a sacrifice bunt attempt to load the bases before Swaggerty singled to second base to score Barnes for a 5-0 USA advantage. Billingsley drew a bases-loaded walk to score Donovan for a 6-0 Jaguar lead, and LaBounty followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Raspino to increase the South Alabama lead to 7-0. A walk by Martinez from Little Rock right-hander Jacob Boggess loaded the bases. Perkins delivered a two-out, two-run single to center field later in the inning for a 9-0 Jaguar advantage.
Little Rock answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a one-out RBI single to center field by Martin and a two-out RBI single by Ryan Scott to cut its deficit to 9-3.
USA responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Donovan drew a leadoff walk and then stole second with one out before scoring on a throwing error to first by Martin at second base on grounder off the bat of Swaggerty to push the Jaguar lead to 10-3. Martinez followed with an RBI single to right field with two outs to score Swaggerty for an 11-3 USA lead.
USA scored the game's final runs in the top of the sixth. Barnes and Donovan drew consecutive walks to start the inning. Ryan Raspino followed with an infield single to shortstop that allowed Barnes to score when Little Rock shortstop Zach Baker's throw sailed wide of first base. Swaggerty then drew a walk to load the bases with no outs for Billingsley, who lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Donovan and push the Jaguar lead to 13-3.
Malcom (0-3) allowed eight runs on 11 hits with two strikeouts and one walk in three innings in the loss for Little Rock. Martin went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to lead the Trojans at the plate.
The series will conclude Sunday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. at Stanky Field.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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