MONROE, La. ? Derek O'Reilly went 4-for-5 with two runs and three RBI to help the University of South Alabama knock of Louisiana-Monroe 12-9 Friday night at Warhawk Field.
The Jags (22-23, 10-12 SBC) jumped out to a 6-0 lead before starting pitcher Miles Ethridge took the mound.
Clint Reynolds was hit by a pitch, Zach Grichor singled and David Doss followed with a RBI single. Jake Overstreet drove in a run when he reached on an error, O’Reilly followed with a two-run double, and Nathaniel Lami capped the scoring with the first home run of his career, a two-run blast.
Louisiana-Monroe (25-21, 12-13 SBC) answered with five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Jon Prevost and Ben Soignier hit back-to-back solo homers, and after a pair of singles, Nick Wade knocked a three-run shot over the wall in left field to cut USA’s lead to 6-5.
USA went right back to work and rebuilt its lead to six with a five-run second inning. Reynolds led off with an infield single, Heisler followed with a RBI double, Grichor singled and Doss walked to load the bases. One out later, O’Reilly drove in a run with an infield single, Lami brought in another with a sacrifice fly, and Brad Hook put the Jags ahead 11-5 with a two-run single.
The Warhawks plated a run in the bottom half of the inning when Perry Smith led off with a triple and came home on a sacrifice fly, but Ethridge escaped a jam with some help from Doss.
With two on an one out, Doss threw out Prevost attempting to advance on a would-be wild pitch, and after another walk, Ethridge struck out Matt Laird to keep the Jags’ lead at 11-6 after two.
Heisler hit his second double with one out in the third and came home on another RBI single from Doss. Heisler finished 3-for-6 with a pair of runs and a RBI, and Doss went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI.
That’s all the scoring the Jags would manage, but Ethridge combined with D.D Hanks and Lance Baxter to keep the Warhawks in check.
Ethridge improved to 4-2 by going 5.0 innings and allowing seven runs on nine hits, and Hanks worked 1.2 innings and allowed a pair of runs on four hits.
Baxter notched his fifth save by working 2.1 hitless innings, but even without giving up a hit, he had to work out of a pair of jams. He came on with the potential tying run at the plate and struck out clean-up hitter Matt Collins for the final out in the seventh.
After issuing a one-out walk in the eighth, he got a groundball double play to send the game to the ninth with the Jags lead 12-9.
Baxter got a pair of groundouts to start the bottom of the ninth, but he hit the next batter and issued back-to-back walks to bring the potential winning run to the plate. This time, the Warhawks pinch hit for Collins, and Baxter got Kelvin York to foul a 1-1 pitch into the air behind home plate where Doss made a diving catch to end the game.
The series resumes at 3 p.m. Saturday with the middle game that will be televised live on Comcast Sports South (CSS). Matt Jackson is slated to take the mound for the Jags against Jordy Poche.
Notes: Derek O'Reilly extended his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games. He has hits in 21 of his last 22 games and has reached base safely in 23 straight ... Adam Heisler had two doubles in a game for the first time and tied a extended his on-base streak to a career-high-tying 13 games ... Brad Hook extended his hitting streak to a career-long four games ... The six runs in the first inning were the most in a first inning by the Jags since scoring the same number on May 4, 2008 against Louisiana-Monroe ... USA leads the all-time series 13-7, and the Jags notched their first win ever in Monroe.
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).
