Box score

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team scored five unanswered runs over the final two innings to defeat Jacksonville State 5-1 Wednesday at Rudy Abbott Field.

USA (26-16) tied the game 1-1 in the top of the eighth. The Jaguars did not have a leadoff batter reach base until the top of the eighth when Cole Billingsley reached on a hit by pitch from JSU right-hander Michael McCreless. A sacrifice bunt from Bud Collura advanced Billingsley to second with one out, and a wild pitch by McCreless moved him to third with one out in the inning. Gann followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Billingsley and knot the score at one run apiece.

South Alabama then rallied for four runs in the top of the ninth. Garrett DeGallier reached on a one-out walk, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Davis Knapp who reached second on the play on an error by Gamble at first base to set up two runners in scoring position with one out. Ryan Raspino then delivered an RBI double to left-center field to plate DeGallier for a 2-1 Jaguar lead. Billingsley followed with a two-run double down the right-field line to score Knapp and Raspino for a three-run Jaguar advantage. Collura then singled through the right side of the infield to plate Billingsley with the game's final run.

"DeGallier got the inning started for us with a one-out walk," assistant coach Alan Luckie said. "We actually swung the bat pretty well yesterday. We hit 10 balls on the screws, but we just didn't have any hits to show for it. Today, we frankly did not hit the ball very well until DeGallier reached on the walk then we strung together some hits. It was good to see.

"We didn't play well last Saturday and lost two at Evansville, and then we got popped yesterday. So we had a three-game losing streak that needed to be stopped before we start the weekend with Georgia State. I'm proud of the kids for hanging in there and battling today. We finally got the hits we needed in the end. Ben Taylor was magnificent and (Hunter) Soleymani did a good job for us on the front end as well. And it was extremely encouraging for us to see Shane McKinley today. His velocity was way up and his command was good, and Taylor came in and did what he has done for us all season."

JSU (20-20) looked to take the first lead of the game when it loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the third. Consecutive singles from Taylor Hawthorne and Gavin Golson led off the bottom of the inning. Clayton Daniel then reached on a throwing error by Soleymani on a sacrifice bunt attempt after the throw pulled Danny Martinez off the bag, which loaded the bags for the Gamecocks. Soleymani induced a 5-2-3 double play off the bat of Paschal Petrongolo for the first two outs of the inning, then got Tyler Gamble to flyout to center field to escape the jam and preserve a scoreless tie.

Soleymani then went on to retire the final nine batters he faced in order before giving way to right-hander Mike Dolloff to start the bottom of the sixth inning.

Clayton Daniel reached on a leadoff walk from Dolloff to lead off the bottom of the sixth, stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball. An intentional walk to Gamble put JSU runners at the corners with one out in the inning. Ryan Sebra followed with an infield single to shortstop to score Daniel with the game's first run.

Taylor (4-1) tossed 1 2/3 perfect relief innings, and struck out three to earn his fourth win of the season. Jesse Fry (0-1) allowed two runs with a walk and a strikeout without allowing a hit in the loss for the Gamecocks. Soleymani tossed five scoreless innings, and struck out a season-high five batters with one walk and three hits allowed without factoring in the decision.

Billingsley went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored to lead USA at the plate. Martinez finished 2-for-3, and Raspino added a double and an RBI. Collura finished with a hit and one RBI.

South Alabama will return to action this weekend when it hosts Georgia State in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Stanky Field, beginning with game one Friday at 6:30 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).