MOBILE, Ala. - University of South Alabama baseball overcame a seven-run deficit and won in the bottom of the 13th inning on a passed ball to outlast Louisiana-Lafayette, 12-11, Sunday afternoon at Stanky Field.
USA second baseman Zach Grichor led off the bottom of the 13th with a double through the left side, and scored the game-winning run when right-hander Chase Traffica's breaking ball to Brandon Brown rolled to the backstop to give the Jaguars a series-clinching win.
"It was a huge win for us," USA head coach Steve Kittrell said. "The coaching staff is proud of all of our guys. They battled and never quit, and it was a big conference win. It was big for us to move to 5-1 in conference, and to win our first extra-inning game."
Grichor went 4-for-7 with two doubles and two runs scored to lead USA at the plate. Sean Laird, Tyler Vick, Brent Tanner and Clint Reynolds each recorded two hits a piece for the Jags. Vick, Tanner, Reynolds and Adam Heisler each drove in two runs each in the game.
Jaguar left-hander Phillip Byrd (2-0) earned the win in three innings of shutout relief, allowing just two hits while striking out two and issuing two walks.
Traffica (2-1) took the loss for ULL in 5.1 innings of relief, allowing two runs on four hits, while striking out five and issuing three walks. Third baseman Tyler Frederick went 3-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored to lead the Ragin' Cajuns at the plate.
Louisiana-Lafayette jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Chad Keefer's sacrifice fly to center field to score Bowman, who walked to lead off the game.
USA took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning on when White singled to center to score Laird. Vick moved to third on the hit and scored when first baseman Justin Robichaux mishandled the relay throw from center field.
ULL (11-9, 2-4) tied the game 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning when Frederick singled to right field to score Alex Fuselier from second base, who reached on a walk earlier in the inning.
The Ragin' Cajuns took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning on Greg Fontenot's RBI single up the middle to score Frederick, who led off the inning with a single down the left field line.
Vick tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning with a first-pitch solo home run, his second of the series, down the left field line.
La.-Lafayette scored seven runs on six hits in the top of the seventh inning to take a 10-3 lead, aided by a two-run single by Justin Robichaux, a two-run triple by Kyle Olasin and an RBI single by Matt Goulas. Goulas scored the first run of the inning on a wild pitch, and Olasin scored on a passed ball to account for the Ragin' Cajuns' other runs in the inning.
USA answered to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with seven runs on six hits. Laird doubled down the left field line, and came around to score Vick's double down the left field line. Following a single by Brandon Brown and a walk by Taylor White to load the bases, Tanner doubled to right field to score Vick and Brown. Reynolds followed with a two-run double to center field to score Tanner and White and cut the ULL lead to 10-8. Heisler then delivered a two-run home run over the left-center wall to tie the game 10-10.
The Ragin' Cajuns scored a run in the top of the 10th inning to take an 11-10 lead. Jordan Poirrier singled to lead off the inning, and later scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Robichaux.
USA answered to tie the game 11-11 in the bottom of the 10th inning. Grichor singled up the middle with two outs, and advanced to third on Jake Overstreet's single to left field. Grichor then tied the game on a passed ball before scoring the game-winning run in the same fashion.
USA (15-8, 5-1) returns to action Wed., March 24, with a 6 p.m. contest at no. 17-ranked Southeastern Louisiana.
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).
- USA -
NOTES: The win is the Jaguars' first extra-inning win of the season, and the longest game since 2006 when USA defeated Middle Tennessee 1-0 in 13 innings ... Grichor extended his on-base streak to 24 games, dating back to May 21 of last season ... Overstreet started his 117th consecutive game at third base ... USA improved to 52-32 all-time against La.-Lafayette, and 30-10 against the Ragin' Cajuns in regular season games at Stanky Field ... Laird collected his team-leading 11th multiple-hit game of the season ... Tanner recorded his seventh multiple-RBI game of the year.
