MOBILE, Ala. ? Just when it looked like another late inning lead had gotten away for good, Sean Laird made sure the Jags went home happy.
The first batter to step to the plate in the bottom of the 10th, Laird crushed a 2-1 Garrett Hachtel offering over the fence in left-center field to give the University of South Alabama (6-7) a 4-3 walk-off win over Memphis (6-6) Tuesday night at Stanky Field.
“We certainly needed it,” head coach Steve Kittrell said. “To lose the lead in the ninth inning again was tough. I was worried about the team’s mental state, but we battled back and Sean clutched-up with a big home run.”
The Jags let a 3-2 lead get away in the ninth when Tyler Huelsing walked and two batters later came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Shawn Ablett. After USA went quietly in the bottom of the ninth, Memphis had a chance to take the lead in the 10th, but some strong defensive play made up for a gaffe earlier in the inning.
Tigers’ leadoff hitter Drew Martinez started the inning by reaching second base on a pair of errors by Jag third baseman Jake Overstreet. Brett Bowen, who had homered twice earlier in the night, attempted to bunt Martinez over to third, but Jag pitcher Greg Johnson fielded the bunt and, though he fell down while looking Martinez back to second, Johnson recovered in time to throw Bowen out at first from his knees.
Adam McClain followed with a grounder deep in the hole at shortstop that would have likely been an infield hit, but Derek O'Reilly made a nice backhanded stop and fired to Overstreet at third, who tagged Martinez just before he slid into third base.
That play proved crucial, as Trey Wiedman followed with a single that would’ve scored Martinez from second. Johnson then induced a popout from Cole Shelton to end the threat and set up Laird’s dramatic walk-off home run.
USA starting pitcher Miles Ethridge worked a career-best 6.1 innings and struck out a career-high nine batters. He allowed just five hits and one walk, and surrendered just two runs, both on solo homers. Ethridge allowed only two additional baserunners to reach second base.
The Jags got on the board first when they put a run across in the second inning. David Doss led off with a double, then came around to score on an RBI single off the bat of Matt Drake, who made the first start of his young career.
Memphis answered with a run of its own when Bowen led off the fourth inning with a solo home run to left-center. Two innings later, Bowen put the Tigers ahead 2-1 with his second home run of the night, another solo blast.
But, the Jags answered in the bottom of the sixth. After Nathaniel Lami was hit by a pitch, Laird followed with a single to set up back-to-back RBI singles from Ryan Bohanan and David Doss. Laird finished the night 2-for-5 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored, while Doss reached safely in all four plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch.
Ethridge was pulled from the game with one out and a runner on first in the seventh. Michael Raia came on in relief and hit the first batter he faced before striking out Ablett.
Michael Logan then came out of the pen and struck out each of the first three batters he faced. He allowed a two-out double in the eighth, but got Wiedman to fly out to end the threat before handing the ball to Johnson for the ninth.
Notes: Clint Reynolds came off the bench and went 1-for-2 with an infield single to extend his career-best hitting streak to 11 games ... Jag pitchers recorded a season-best 13 strikeouts, while USA’s hitters tied their season-low by striking out just four times ... Laird delivered the Jags only other walk-off win this season with his 10th-inning single against then No. 6 Ole Miss ... Doss’ double was the 53rd of his career, moving him to within one double of Tyrone Dixon, who holds USA’s career doubles record with 54 ... The double also extended Doss’ hitting streak to a season-high seven games.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
