MONROE, La. ? Matt Jackson didn’t have his best stuff, but he grinded through six innings and the University of South Alabama held off a late rally to beat Louisiana-Monroe 11-9 Saturday at Warhawk Field.
USA (23-23, 11-12 SBC) has taken the first two games of the series and will look for their first-ever sweep against ULM (25-22, 12-14 SBC) in Sunday’s finale.
Jackson (4-3) struggled through the first inning, allowing three runs on four hits and a pair of walks, but the Jags picked him up with their best inning of the conference season.
USA sent 11 batters to the plate and recorded seven runs on seven hits in the second inning to take a 7-3 lead. David Doss and Jake Overstreet doubled to start the inning, Derek O'Reilly drove in a run with a single, and Hook followed with a RBI double.
Matt Drake was hit by a pitch, Chris Davis knocked a RBI single, and after Clint Reynolds advanced two runners with a sacrifice bunt, Grichor drove in another run with a single. Adam Heisler followed the Jags’ seventh hit of the game, and Doss brought home the seventh run with a groundout.
O’Reilly went 4-for-5 with a run and two RBI to extend his career-best hitting streak to 13 games. He had his first four-hit game as a Jag in Friday’s series opener, and he has hit safely in 22 of the last 23 games, raising his batting average from .211 to .370.
Jackson allowed only one hit over the next four innings, but he ran into trouble with four walks and an error. ULM loaded the bases after a two-out error and a pair of walks in the fourth, but Jackson got Ben Soignier to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the threat.
Jackson worked around a walk in the fifth by getting a groundball double play from Matt Laird, and he allowed only a leadoff homer in the sixth to Matt Laird before getting the next three batters to complete his afternoon. He went 6.0 innings and allowed four runs on six hits and six walks with three strikeouts.
ULM starter Jordy Poche (6-2) took the loss. He allowed seven runs on six hits in 1.1 innings, but the Warhawks remained close due to the relief work of Drew Graham, who allowed only two runs in 6.1 innings.
USA finally broke through for some insurance runs after Graham allowed a single and a walk leading off the eighth. He turned the ball over to Keith Christensen, who walked Reynolds to load the bases, setting up a three-run triple from Grichor to extend the Jags’ lead to 10-4.
The Jags added another insurance run in the ninth when Doss hit his second double of the game and O’Reilly followed with a RBI single to give USA an 11-4 advantage.
Greg Johnson came on in relief to start the seventh and worked a pair perfect innings before running into trouble with two out in the ninth. An error helped the Warhawks plate five unearned runs, and after a two-run single brought the tying run to the plate, Lance Baxter was summoned out of the bullpen.
Facing Wade, who had already homered in the game, Baxter got a swing and a miss with a 2-2 fastball to notch his sixth save of the season and his fifth in conference play. All five of his saves in SBC action have come in the state of Louisiana.
The Jags go for the sweep in the series finale Sunday at 11 a.m ? the game was originally scheduled for 1 p.m., but was moved up due to inclement weather. Brandon Sage is expected to take the mound for the Jags, and he will be opposed by Don Williams.
Notes: Derek O'Reilly extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games. He has hit safely in 22 of 23 and reached base safely in 24 straight ... David Doss set a new career-long streak of games reaching base safely by extending his streak to 19 games ... The seven runs in the second inning were the most in an inning by the Jags since scoring 10 in the third inning against Alabama on April 22, and the most in an inning in a conference game this season ... Brad Hook extended his career-long hitting streak to five games ... O’Reilly and Zach Grichor each hit their first triples of the season ... USA leads the all-time series 14-7.
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).
