Box score

MONROE, La. – Jaguar right-hander Kevin Hill tossed six scoreless innings to help lead the University of South Alabama baseball team to a 12-4 series-opening win over Louisiana-Monroe Friday at Warhawk Field.

Hill (3-0) scattered 10 hits and struck out six without issuing a walk to extend his consecutive scoreless streak to 15 innings and earn his third win of the season. Cody Van Aken tossed three innings, and allowed one earned run on three hits with a pair of strikeouts and one walk.

ULM (12-11, 2-5 SBC) threatened Hill just once. The Warhawks loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the first on three consecutive singles from Kodie Tidwell, Justin Stawychny and Nathan Pugh. But Hill escaped the jam with an inning-ending strikeout of Danny Springer to preserve a one-run Jaguar lead.

USA (17-9, 6-4 SBC) held an eight-run lead after the game's first four innings. Cole Billingsley led off the game with a double to right field, and moved to third on a groundout to shortstop off the bat of Jared Barnes. Bud Collura followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Billingsley with the game's first run.

South Alabama loaded the bases in the top of the second when Cole Gleason reached on a one-out error, and Matt Bolger and Garrett DeGallier reached on consecutive walks. Billingsley then delivered a two-out, two-run single to center field later in the inning to score Gleason and Bolger and extend the Jag lead to 3-0.

Collura reached on a leadoff single in the top of the third, and scored later in the inning on a two-out RBI single to right-center field by Gleason to increase the USA lead to 4-0.

USA added to its lead in the top of the fourth when DeGallier led off the inning with a single, and later scored on a two-out RBI triple off the left-field wall by Barnes for a 5-0 advantage. A Warhawk fielding error with two outs on a ball hit to first off the bat of Collura allowed Barnes to score and push the USA lead to 6-0. Adam Ballew followed with an RBI single to center field to score Collura and move the USA lead to 7-0. A second ULM error in the inning on a ball put in play off the bat of Danny Martinez to allow Ballew to score and extend the Jag lead to 8-0.

A two-out, two-run single to left field by Bolger in the top of the sixth pushed the USA lead to 10-0. DeGallier followed with an RBI single to center field to extend the South Alabama lead to 11 runs.

ULM scored its first runs of the game in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run single to center field by Stawychny to cut the Jaguar lead to 11-2.

The Jags added their final run in the top of the ninth, while the Warhawks scored their final two runs of the game in the bottom-half of the ninth.

Every Jaguar starter had at least one hit, led by DeGallier who finished 3-for-3 with an RBI and one run scored. Billingsley went 3-for-6 with two RBI and one run scored, and Bolger added two hits, two RBI and three runs scored. Tidwell finished 4-for-4 with one run scored to lead ULM offensively.

USA will attempt to clinch the series in game two Saturday 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).