Game 2 box score
Game 3 box score
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of South Alabama baseball swept a doubleheader against No. 24 Arkansas Saturday at Baum Stadium to clinch the series behind the starting pitching of left-hander Locke St. John and right-hander Kevin Hill.
Game 1 – South Alabama 2, No. 24 Arkansas 1
Locke St. John allowed just one run and scattered eight hits in a career-high 8 1/3 innings pitched to lead South Alabama to a 2-1 win over No. 24 Arkansas in game two of the three-game series at Baum Stadium.
St. John (1-0) struck out three and issued two walks, and retired eight of his final 10 batters faced before Brandon Hallford entered in the ninth to record the final two outs of the game and pick up his second save of the season. Arkansas right-hander Chris Oliver (0-1) suffered the loss in five innings, allowing only one run on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
Cameron Cummings went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a walk to lead the Jags at the plate. Adam Ballew had one hit and one run scored, while Hayden Jones, Matt Wojciechowski and Cole Gleason added one hits apiece. KJ Wilkerson went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks to lead the Razorbacks offensively.
South Alabama loaded the bases in the top of the first after a leadoff walk by Cummings, one-out single by Jones and walk by Wojciechowski. But Oliver escaped the jam with a strikeout and inning-ending groundout off the bat of Erik Hindmon.
Michael Bernal doubled to lead off the bottom of the third and moved to third on a bunt single to first by Joe Serrano, but was put out at the plate on a throw from Jones to Wojciechowski to preserve a scoreless tie.
Ballew led off the top of the fifth with a single to right field, advanced to second on a sacrifice from Matt Bolger and later scored the game's first run on a two-out RBI single to left field by Cummings.
Hindmon drew a leadoff walk after a nine-pitch at-bat in the top of the seventh, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ballew and advanced to third with one out on a passed ball. Drew LaBounty then reached on a fielding error by Razorback shortstop Brett McAfee to score Hindmon and double the Jag lead to 2-0.
The Razorbacks put the tying run on base with one out in the bottom of the ninth after Wilkerson drew a one-out walk and Eric Fisher followed with a single through the right side of the infield. McAfee followed with a sacrifice fly to right-center field to cut the USA lead to one run. But Jaguar right-hander Brandon Hallford induced a game-ending flyout to center field off the bat of pinch-hitter Blake Baxendale.
Game 2 – South Alabama 5, No. 24 Arkansas 3
Jaguar right-hander Kevin Hill allowed three runs on seven hits in eight innings, and struck out five Razorback batters while issuing three walks in his first career start to lead the Jaguars to a 5-3 series-clinching win in the series finale.
Prior to the ninth inning, Hill (1-1) – who earned his first career win in Saturday's start – retired 10 consecutive Razorbacks before being lifted after a hit by pitch and walk to start the ninth frame. Right-hander Brandon Hallford pitched one shutout inning in relief, and allowed just one hit to pick up his third save of the season and second in as many games.
South Alabama (5-5) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third on an RBI single to center field by Wojciechowski to score LaBounty from third after he led off the inning with a single to right field. Hindmon followed with a two-out, two-run double to center field to score Jones and Wojciechowski and extend the USA lead to 3-0. Gleason then pushed the Jag lead to 4-0 on a two-out single through the left side of the infield to score Hindmon.
USA loaded the bases in the top of the fourth on a single by LaBounty and walks by Jones and Cummings. But Razorback reliever Colin Poche struck out Wojciechowski to escape the jam without allowing a run to cross.
Arkansas threatened to push its first run of the game across in the bottom of the fourth after a one-out walk by Wilkerson and single to right-center by McAfee. But Hill rolled a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play off the bat of Baxendale to end the threat and preserve a 4-0 Jaguar lead.
Bobby Wernes reached on a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fifth, and moved to third on a one-out single by Joe Serrano. Tyler Spoon then delivered a two-out, two-run triple off the center field wall to cut the USA lead to 4-2.
USA added its final run of the game in the top of the sixth when LaBounty scored on an Arkansas fielding error at shortstop off the bat of Jones.
Arkansas loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, and cut the USA lead to 5-3 on a sacrifice fly to center field from Benintendi. A two-out infield single by Serrano loaded the bases for the second time in the inning, and put the tying run in scoring position at second. But Hallford induced a game-ending flyout to right field off the bat of Brian Anderson to clinch the series and secure the sweep of the doubleheader.
South Alabama will return to action Tue., March 4, when it travels to Jackson, Miss., to face Jackson State at 6 p.m.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
—USA—
NOTES: Saturday marked South Alabama's first win over a ranked opponent since 2012, when the Jaguars defeated No. 30 Florida Atlantic 7-4 in Boca Raton, Fla. … USA evened the all-time series with Arkansas at 2-2 … Saturday's wins were Calvi's first over an SEC opponent … It also marked the first time South Alabama has defeated an SEC team on the road since a 7-1 win at Auburn in former head coach Steve Kittrell's final season in 2011 … Ballew extended his hitting streak to five games, and extended his on-base streak to 10 games along with Wojciechowski.
