Box score (Game 2)
Box score (Game 3)

ATLANTA – The 23rd-ranked University of South Alabama baseball team clinched its sixth Sun Belt Conference series with a 2-1 win over Georgia State in Sunday's series finale at GSU Baseball Complex.

After taking game one, the Jags fell in game two – which was suspended Saturday and resumed Sunday morning – before rebounding for a one-run win in game three.

The series finale featured another lightning delay, which marked the third of the series after two on Saturday.

"It's hard through three lightning delays at 30 minutes each, and getting on and off the bus – it was hard and I thought our guys did a good job keeping their energy. Our guys played hard and well. Today we played just well enough to win and win you win it's good enough. It wasn't looking good early – just the feel of the game and then the delay. You could kind of sense it in the dugout, but our guys did a nice job and kept their concentration and poise. You can't stay locked in through a 45-minute lightning delay; you get mentally exhausted. They were in the dugout and stayed very professional, and that's what this team has been this year."

Game 2 – GSU 7, USA 4
Georgia State evened the series in game two, which was suspended Saturday and resumed Sunday morning, with a 7-4 win. 

Panther left-hander Garrett Ford (3-4) allowed one unearned run on four hits with a pair of strikeouts in four innings to earn his third win of the season. Jaguar southpaw James Traylor (5-1) allowed five runs on two hits with one strikeout and four walks in 1 1/3 innings in the loss.

GSU took a one-run lead in the top of the first on a Jaguar miscue. Ryan Blanton drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Justin Jones. Blanton tagged up on a flyout to right field off the bat of Joey Roach, and scored on a throwing error into third base from right field by Travis Swaggerty for a 1-0 Panther lead.

Georgia State threatened one inning later in the bottom of the second. James Clements led off the inning with a single through the right side of the infield, and moved to second on a single to right field by Darius Sewell. A sacrifice bunt by Jack Thompson advanced both runners into scoring position, but Soleymani ended the threat with a lineout to Adam Wolfe at second off the bat of Will Kilgore and an inning-ending strikeout of Rhett Harper to keep the USA deficit at one run.

USA answered with three runs in the top of the fifth. Brendan Donovan reached on a one-out single to shortstop in the inning, and moved to second on a single to left field by Jared Barnes. Wolfe then delivered a two-out, three-run home run to left field – his sixth of the season – for a 3-1 Jaguar lead.

South Alabama added one run to its lead in the top of the sixth. Cole Billingsley led off the top of the sixth with a bunt single to second then stole second before scoring on an RBI double by Drew LaBounty for a 4-1 USA advantage. 

But GSU responded with the game's final six runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Panthers loaded the bases with no outs on consecutive singles by Clements and Sewell and a walk by Jack Thompson. USA left-hander James Traylor induced a grounder to third off the bat of Kilgore, which Ben Gann fielded and fired home to Barnes for the first out of the inning. But the southpaw issued back-to-back walks to force home two Panthers and cut the Jaguar lead to 4-3. Jones followed with a three-run double to the left-center gap for a 6-4 Panther lead. Joey Roach then delivered an RBI single to right field to plate Jones with the game's final run.

Sewell went 3-for-4 with one run scored to lead the Panthers at the plate, and Jones finished 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI and one RBI. Wolfe finished 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and one run scored to lead the Jaguars offensively.

Game 3 – USA 2, GSU 1
With the scored tied 1-1 after seven innings, USA pushed the game-winning run across in the top of the eighth en route to a 2-1 series-clinching win over the Panthers.

Barnes doubled to right-center field with one out in the eighth, and Cryar followed with a single to center field to put runners at the corners. Barnes scored later in the inning when Cryar was caught stealing in a rundown for a 2-1 USA lead.

"We actually had another play on," Calvi said. "We weren't supposed to get caught in a rundown there. Sometimes you make a mistake and it works out, and sometimes you plan perfectly and try to execute and it doesn't work out. That one was a mistake that worked out for us, and I will take it. That's one of the things we will have to clean up baserunning-wise, and our guys have done a really good job on the bases this year. But we were fortunate it turned out to be a run for us."

Jaguar right-hander Mike Dolloff (2-3) tossed 4 1/3 perfect innings in relief to earn his second win of the season. GSU right-hander Bryan White (1-3) allowed one run on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings in the loss. 

The Panthers took a one-run lead in the bottom of the second. Jarrett Hood led off the inning with a double to center field, and moved to third on a groundout back to Jag right-hander Austin Bembnowski. Sewell followed with an RBI single back up the middle to score Hood for a 1-0 GSU lead.

South Alabama (33-12, 18-3 SBC) loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the fourth on consecutive walks by Wolfe and Matt Bolger, and a single through the left side of the infield by Barnes. Jason Cryar followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Wolfe and tie the game 1-1.

GSU (20-23, 8-13 SBC) threatened in the bottom of the fifth. Sewell led off the inning with a double to center field, and moved to third on a groundout back to Bembnowski off the bat of Kilgore. Rhett Harper and Blanton followed with consecutive walks later in the inning to load the bases with two outs. But Dolloff entered the game and induced an inning-ending groundout off the bat of Jones to end the threat.

Barnes went 3-for-4 with a double and one run scored, and Cryar added a hit and one RBI to lead the Jaguars at the plate. 

USA will return to action when it hosts Jacksonville State in a pair of midweek games, with game one scheduled for Tue., May 3, at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field.

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).