Box Score (PDF)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Little Rock scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the University of South Alabama baseball team 13-9 in Friday's series opener at Gary Hogan Field.

The game was tied at 9-9 through seven-and-a-half innings before Little Rock (24-19, 13-8 SBC) scored five runs on five hits in the bottom of the eighth to secure the win.

South Alabama (25-18, 13-8 SBC) will return to action Saturday when it faces Little Rock at 2 p.m. in game two of the three-game series.

GAME FACTS
- Marcus Ragan led off the bottom of the first for Little Rock with a single through the right side of the infield then stole second with no outs. Danny Mitchell Jr. followed with a walk before Matt Merino delivered an RBI single to left-center field to score Ragan with the game's first run. Kale Emshoff delivered a one-out RBI single off the right field wall two batters later to score Merino and double the Trojan lead at 2-0. 
- Ryan Benevidez doubled to left field with one out in the bottom of the second, and Christian Reyes followed with a walk. A groundout to second by Chase Coker allowed both runners to advance into scoring position with two outs, but Jaguar right-hander Tyler Carr ended the threat with an inning-ending groundout to shortstop and keep the USA deficit at two runs.
- Deyvid Silva reached on a one-out single to center field in the top of the third inning, and moved to second with one out when Travis Swaggerty reached on a hit by pitch. Dylan Hardy then reached on a second consecutive hit by pitch from Trojan left-hander Chandler Fidel to load the bases with one out. Brendan Donovan followed with an RBI single through the right side of the infield to score Silva and cut the Little Rock lead in half at 2-1. Carter Perkins then delivered a grand slam to left field on a 2-0 pitch from Fidel for a 5-2 Jaguar advantage. 
- Mitchell Jr. reached on a hit by pitch from Carr to lead off the bottom of the third inning before Merino hit a two-run home run to right field to cut the USA lead to 5-4. Emshoff followed with a single to left field, and advanced to second on a walk by Riley Pittman. Nick Perez then delivered an RBI double off the left field wall to score Emshoff and tie the game at 5-5. Benevidez then reached on a fielding error by Silva at shortstop that allowed Pittman to score for a 6-5 Trojan lead. Reyes followed with an RBI groundout to third base that scored Perez for a 7-5 Little Rock advantage. Ragan delivered a two-out RBI single back up the middle later in the inning to score Benevidez for an 8-5 Trojan lead. 
- Donovan and Perkins reached on consecutive walks to start the top of the fifth inning. Hunter Brittain then delivered an RBI single to center field to plate Donovan and cut the Little Rock lead to 8-6. Perkins scored with two outs on a wild pitch by Fidel later in the inning to cut the Trojan lead to 8-7. 
- South Alabama tied the game at 8-8 when Hunter Stokes led off the top of the sixth inning with a solo home run, his first of the season, over the scoreboard in right-center field on an 0-1 pitch from Little Rock right-hander Hayden Arnold.
- Perkins singled to center field with one out in the top of the seventh, and advanced to second on a pinch-hit single to right field by Paul Russo. A flyout to right-center field by Wells Davis allowed both runners to tag and move into scoring position with two outs. Michael Sandle then reached on an RBI infield single to third that scored Perkins for a 9-8 Jaguar lead. Stokes followed with a walk to load the bases with two outs, but Trojan right-hander Donavin Buck ended the threat with an inning-ending popup into foul territory off the bat of Silva.
- Benevidez doubled off the right field wall to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning, and moved to third with one out on a sacrifice bunt by Reyes. Coker followed with an RBI double to right-center field to score Benevidez and tie the game at 9-9. Ragan then drew a one-out walk from Jaguar right-hander Nick DeSantis before James Gann delivered a pinch-hit RBI single to center field to score Coker for a 10-9 Little Rock lead. Merino followed with an RBI single off the right field wall to score Ragan and extend the Trojan lead to 11-9. A wild pitch by Jaguar right-hander Chase Lambert allowed Merino to move to second before Emshoff delivered a two-run double down the left field line for the game's final runs.

NOTES
- Donovan extended his on-base streak to 13 games with a two-out walk in the top of the first inning, and extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a one-out RBI single in the top of the third inning.
- Swaggerty extended his on-base streak to 25 games when he reached on a hit by pitch with one out in the top of the third inning. 
- Friday marked the shortest career start of Carr's career at 2 2/3 innings pitched. 
- Silva recorded his second career multiple-hit game at South Alabama, finishing 2-for-4 with one run scored.
- Jaguar right-hander Zach Greene (2-4) allowed two runs on two hits while tying his career high in strikeouts (8) against one walk in 4 2/3 innings pitched in the loss.
- Perkins went 2-for-4 with a home run, three runs scored and tied his career high in RBIs with four.
- Donovan finished 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored, and Stokes added a home run, one RBI and one run.
- Little Rock right-hander Carter Brown (1-2) allowed one hit and struck out one in one scoreless relief inning to earn the win.
- Merino went 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored to lead the Trojans at the plate.

QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the loss:
"We win as a team and we lose as a team, that's the bottom line. There are some nights where the pitchers have really done their job and we lost, and there are some games when the hitters have done their job – it's a matter of us putting together a complete game. It's been tough putting together a complete nine innings here in the last couple of weeks. We weren't good enough tonight. Ten hits and nine runs on Friday should be good enough to win, but tonight wasn't our night. I give Little Rock credit, they hung in there and played better than we did and won the game."

- On turning around for game two:
"The quick turnaround tomorrow can either be good or bad. They (team) can mope and feel sorry for themselves and the early start tomorrow will get them, or they can get over it, move on and emphasize the positive. Right now, the momentum in-game is with Little Rock but the real momentum is about who takes the mound tomorrow. Baseball's momentum is who is on the mound and doing their job. It's all about getting off to a good start and pitching well, and that's what we need to do tomorrow."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action Saturday when it faces Little Rock at 2 p.m. in game two of the three-game series. 

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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