LAFAYETTE, La. ? David Doss became the University of South Alabama’s career hits leader, and Miles Ethridge pitched 7.0 innings for the second straight time as the Jags knocked off Louisiana-Lafayette 9-5 Friday night at Tigue Moore Field.
Ethridge, who earned a win when he set a new career-best with 7.0 innings in his previous start, improved to 3-2 on the season by allowing three earned runs on six hits and one walk with seven strikeouts.
For the sixth straight game, USA (16-20, 6-10 SBC) got on the board first. Zach Grichor singled, Sean Laird doubled, and Doss followed with a sacrifice fly to put the Jags on top 1-0 in the first; it was the sixth time in the last seven games USA scored in its first at-bat.
ULL (18-17-1, 8-10 SBC) answered with four runs in the third. Ethridge Kyle Olasin with a pitch to load the bases, then hit Travis Whipple to bring in the tying run. After Scott Hawkins struck out for the second out of the inning, Les Smith followed with a single to center that cleared the bases after it was misplayed in center field, and the Cajuns led 4-1.
The Jags wasted no time retaking the lead. Nathaniel Lami doubled, then came home on Clint Reynolds’ two-out single. Adam Heisler followed with a RBI single to cut the ULL lead to 4-3. Ethridge held the Cajuns scoreless in the bottom of the inning, and the Jags trailed 4-3 after four.
Doss led off the fifth with a double down the line, giving him 278 hits in his career and moving him past Mike Mordecai as the Jags’ all-time leader. Ryan Bohanan tied the game with a RBI single, and after Lami singled, ULL starter Alex Fuselier handed the ball to Zach Osborne out of the bullpen.
Derek O'Reilly reached on an infield single to load the bases, and Reynolds gave USA the lead with a fielder’s choice groundout. Heisler added an insurance run when he brought Reynolds home with a double, and the Jags took a 6-4 lead.
Ethridge faced the minimum number of batters over his final three innings of work before turning the ball over to Lance Baxter with a 6-4 lead in the eighth.
Baxter issued a one-out walk on his 10th pitch to Hawkins, then struck out Smith before Chad Keefer kept the inning alive with a single. Matt Goulas followed with a RBI single to cut USA’s lead in half at 6-5. A wild pitch pout Goulas at second as the potential go-ahead run, but Greg Fontenot popped out to second to end the threat.
The Jags padded their lead with three runs in the ninth with the help of a ULL error. Bohanan and Overstreet hit one-out singles, and Lami was hit by a pitch to load the bases before O’Reilly brought in the first run when he reached on an error. Reynolds brought in Overstreet with a fielder’s choice, and Heisler capped the scoring with a RBI single.
Baxter punctuated a perfect ninth by striking out Olasin to end the game and notch his second save in a week. The Jags won their second consecutive Friday night game in which Ethridge worked the first seven innings and Baxter got the final six outs.
Adam Heisler went 3-for-6 and drove in three runs to lead six Jags with multi-hit games; all nine starters recorded at least one hit. All eight of ULL’s hits were singles, while five Jags knocked doubles.
It wasn’t all good news for the Jags, as Sean Laird left the game after being hit by a pitch on the hand on an attempted check-swing. He finished the at-bat, but Chris Davis relieved him in right field.
The Jags and Cajuns return to action in the second game of the series Saturday at 2 p.m. Matt Jackson is slated to start for the Jags against Luke Wagley.
Notes: David Doss’ fifth-inning double gave him sole possession of USA’s career hits record with 278. He passed Mike Mordecai. Though Mordecai played only three years at USA and Doss is in his fourth, Doss got the record-breaking hit in the 193rd game of his career, while Mordecai played in 195 contests. Doss came around to score his 175th run, moving him to within one of Luis Gonzalez for third on the all-time runs list. He’s also six RBI behind Gonzalez for the all-time lead ... Sean Laird’s double in the first inning extended his hitting streak to a career-best 10 games ... USA has scored first in each of its last six 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).
