JONESBORO, Ark. ? Giovanni Garcia plated the go-ahead run with a sacrifice bunt in the fifth inning, and Arkansas State held on to defeat the University of South Alabama 7-2 Sunday at Tomlinson Stadium.
USA (11-15, 2-7 SBC) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Clint Reynolds and Zach Grichor drew walks and eventually came around to score against ASU (11-13, 6-6 SBC) starting pitcher Jacob Lee.
Adam Heisler followed with a bunt single and after David Doss walked, Ryan Bohanan brought in the Jags second run of the inning with a double-play grounder.
Jag starter Brandon Sage kept the Red Wolves off the board until the third inning, but he walked Murray Watts with the bases loaded before escaping the jam by striking out Brandon Eller with the Jags leading 2-1.
Sage ran into more trouble in the fourth and fifth innings, but he surrendered only one run in each despite allowing seven baserunners over those two frames. He finished the day with three runs allowed on four walks and five hits with seven strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Lee settled down and scattered four hits over four innings. No Jag baserunners would advance beyond third base the rest of the game, as Lee picked up his first win and Chris Bullington earned a save with three perfect innings of relief.
Lee walked five and allowed five hits, but he allowed only two runs, one of which was earned, over 6.0 innings in the win.
Jordan Kimball gave the Red Wolves an insurance run in the seventh when he hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to deep left field. USA outfielder Nathaniel Lami made a leaping catch on the warning track, but Brandon Eller advanced from third to give ASU a 4-2 lead.
The Red Wolves used four consecutive hits to cap the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Heisler and Derek O'Reilly were the only Jags to record multi-hit games. Heisler went 2-for-4 with a RBI, and O’Reilly went 2-for-3 with a walk and a pair of stolen bases. Zach Grichor had the only other hit for the Jags, who managed five hits on the day.
The Jags return to action Tuesday when they host in-state rival Auburn in a 6 p.m. showdown at Stanky Field. USA will be wearing throwback uniforms from the 1970s, and those jerseys will be auctioned off after the game on www.usajaguars.com.
Notes: With two hits on the day, Adam Heisler finished the week 11-for-20 with nine RBI. He extended his hitting streak to a career-high five games ... Zach Grichor has now hit safely in 17 of his last 18, and he has nine multi-hit games in that span.
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).
