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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – No. 15 Southern Miss scored four unanswered runs to defeat the University of South Alabama baseball team 5-3 Tuesday at Pete Taylor Park.

After South Alabama (24-15) scored three runs in the top of the fourth to take a 3-1 lead, USM (29-11) answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth and plated two runs in the sixth.

South Alabama will return to action this weekend when it hosts Arkansas State in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series, with the series opener set for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Fri., April 27, at Stanky Field.

GAME FACTS
- Southern Miss loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning on three consecutive two-out walks by Luke Reynolds, Matt Wallner and Hunter Slater. But Jaguar left-hander Ryan Terry escaped the jam with an inning-ending flyout to center field off the bat of Daniel Keating to preserve a scoreless tie.
- Matthew Guidry and Reynolds drew consecutive one-out walks in the bottom of the third, and advanced one base each on a grounder to first by Wallner. Slater drew a two-out walk to load the bases for Keating, who reached on a hit by pitch to score Guidry with the game's first run. Jaguar left-hander Zach Melton entered in relief of Terry and induced an inning-ending flyout to right field off the bat of Cole Donaldson and preserve a one-run USA deficit.
- Brendan Donovan doubled to right-center field with one out in the top of the fourth inning, and scored when Carter Perkins lifted a 2-1 pitch from USM left-hander Adam Jackson over the right field wall for a two-run home run – his sixth of the season – for a 2-1 Jaguar lead. Michael Sandle lifted the first pitch he saw from Jackson over the left field wall later in the inning for a two-out solo home run, his second of the season, for a 3-1 USA advantage. 
- Mason Irby led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single up the middle, and moved to second on a fielder's choice sacrifice bunt by LeeMarcus Boyd after Wells Davis' throw to second for the force out popped out of USA shortstop Deyvid Silva's glove. A sacrifice bunt by Gabe Montenegro advanced both runners into scoring position with one out. Guidry followed with an RBI groundout to first that scored Irby and cut the Jaguar lead to 3-2. A two-out RBI single to left field by Reynolds scored Boyd and tied the game at 3-3.
- Wells Davis and Sandle reached on consecutive two-out singles in the top of the sixth inning. A wild pitch by USM right-hander J.C. Keys allowed both runners to move into scoring position with two outs. But Keys struck out Hunter Stokes to escape the jam and preserve a 3-3 tie.
- Irby drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the sixth, and moved to second on a single to left field by Boyd. A sacrifice bunt by Montenegro advanced both runners into scoring position with one out. Guidry followed with a sacrifice fly to right field for a 4-3 Golden Eagle lead. Reynolds then delivered a two-out RBI single to center field to plate Boyd and extend the USM advantage to 5-3. 
- Slater led off the bottom of the seventh with an infield single to second, and moved to second with no outs when Keating reached on a hit by pitch. A sacrifice bunt by Donaldson advanced both runners into scoring position with one out. Jaguar right-hander Zach Greene recorded the second out of the frame on a groundout to second by Irby, and escaped the jam with an inning-ending popup into foul territory behind first base for the final out of the inning and keep the Jaguar deficit at two runs.

NOTES
- Donovan extended his hitting streak to seven games and his on-base streak to eight straight games with a two-out single in the top of the first inning. 
- Perkins' two-run home run in the top of the fourth was his fourth home run in his last five games. It also extended his on-base streak to nine games.
- Southern Miss tied its season high with three sacrifice bunts in the game. 
-Sandle's solo home run in the top of the fourth was his first since Feb. 24 against Hartford, which snapped a 28-game homerless streak.
- Keys (3-3) tossed four scoreless relief innings, and allowed two hits with two strikeouts against a pair of walks to earn the win.
- Melton (1-3) allowed four runs on four hits with three strikeouts and one walk in 3 1/3 relief innings in the loss.
- Wallner struck out one in one scoreless relief inning to record his fifth save of the season.
- Sandle went 2-for-4 with a home run, one RBI and one run scored to lead the Jags at the plate. Donovan added two hits, including a double, and one run scored and Perkins finished with a home run, two RBIs and one run scored.
- Reynolds went 2-for-3 with two RBIs to lead the Golden Eagles offensively.

QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the loss:
"I thought our guys competed hard. Carter Perkins and Michael Sandle had a couple of big home runs for us, but we just didn't score enough runs tonight. Our guys competed hard, and it was a good college baseball game between two really good teams. I tip my hat to Southern Miss; they played a little bit better tonight than we did."

- On the mound:
"We had too many walks – you can't pitch that way. (Ryan) Terry has good stuff if he is in the zone more, you just have to keep running him out there and hope he gets it. He showed signs of being really good tonight; he had a good breaking ball and his fastball had good movement to it. He looked good at times, and at other times he was spotty with his command. The walks hurt him; he was good enough to stay out there. You take three or four walks out of there and he goes five (innings). But I thought Ryan competed while he was out there, and Zach Melton came in, competed and gave us a chance. We pitched well enough to win tonight. Southern Miss just scored two more runs than we did. It was a good college baseball game, and Southern Miss did a little bit more tonight than we did."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action this weekend when it hosts Arkansas State in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series, with the series opener set for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Friday at Stanky Field.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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