Box Score (PDF)

JONESBORO, Ark. – Three Arkansas State pitchers combined to shut out the University of South Alabama baseball team Friday in Sun Belt Conference action at Tomlinson Stadium.

ASU right-hander Zach Jackson tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings, followed by 1 2/3 scoreless innings from left-hander Payton Lannon and one scoreless inning from right-hander Zech Jarrard.

South Alabama (11-9, 2-2 Sun Belt) will return to action Saturday when it faces Arkansas State in game two of the series at 4 p.m. at Tomlinson Stadium.

GAME FACTS
- Arkansas State (15-7, 4-0 Sun Belt) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI groundout to third off the bat of Kyle MacDonald.
- USA loaded the bases with one out in the top of the third inning on a walk by Brandon Auerbach, and consecutive singles by Santi Montiel and Carter Perkins. But Jackson rolled a 1-2-3 double play off the bat of Ethan Wilson to escape the jam and preserve a one-run ASU lead.
- The Red Wolves doubled their lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning on a sacrifice fly to center field by Alex Howard.
- ASU pushed its lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI single to center field by MacDonald. Sky-Lar Culver then reached on an error on a dropped fly ball in left field by Ethan Wilson that allowed Howard to score from third for a 4-0 Arkansas State advantage. Jaylon Deshazier grounded into a 6-4-3 double play that allowed MacDonald to score for a 5-0 ASU lead.
- The Red Wolves loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning on consecutive singles from Drew Tipton and Eli Davis, and a walk by Howard. MacDonald followed with an RBI fielder's choice on a grounder to second to score Tipton and extend the ASU lead to 6-0. Culver reached on a two-out walk to load the bases for the second time in the inning, but Jaguar right-hander Joel Cheatwood struck out Justin Felix to end the inning.
- USA loaded the bases with one out in the top of the seventh inning when Auerbach reached on an error, Montiel walked and Perkins singled to left field. Wilson popped up to shortstop for the second out of the frame, and ASU left-hander Payton Lannon struck out DeLaTorre to end the threat.

NOTES
- Perkins extended his on-base streak to six games with a walk in the first inning.
- Montiel extended his hitting streak and on-base streak to five games with a one-out single in the top of the third inning.
- Kaleb DeLaTorre extended his on-base streak to 11 games with a leadoff single in the top of the fourth inning.
- Jaguar right-hander Drake Nightengale (2-1) allowed five runs on five hits with five strikeouts and five walks in five innings to suffer his first loss of the season.
- ASU right-hander Jackson (3-1) tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings, and allowed seven hits with three strikeouts against four walks to earn the win.
- Jaguar right-hander Joel Cheatwood recorded career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts, tossing three innings and striking out four against two walks while allowing one run on two hits.
- Perkins and Colton Thomas led the Jaguars with two hits apiece.

QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the loss:
"(Joel) Cheatwood was really good tonight. We got seven hits and lined out 11 times. All you can ask for is that your team goes out there and puts themselves in a position to win, and I thought our guys did tonight. A lot of that was baseball and the way it goes, but we had good at-bats and had men on, and we would line out or hit into an unfortunate double play. We lined out a bunch of times; it could be 6-6 right now or we could look up and have eight runs on the scoreboard and have won that ballgame with the amount of times we lined out and the number of men we had on (base). As you look at it and see runners left on base, it wasn't strikeouts per se or weak contact; there were some really good at-bats in there. Tonight the ball just didn't find a hole or we would line out right to a defender. But bottom line is you have to attack the strike zone better. On Friday night, you can't get outdueled or give free passes and we gave too many free passes tonight to a good ballclub. And ultimately, that was the ballgame right there. We didn't attack the strike zone enough, and didn't handle the baseball well enough defensively. We didn't score a run, but we were in position to. Tonight wasn't our night, but we'll be ready to go tomorrow."

NEXT UP
South Alabama will return to action Saturday when it faces Arkansas State in game two of the series at 4 p.m. at Tomlinson Stadium. 

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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