Box Score (PDF)

ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington used a five-run third inning to defeat the University of South Alabama baseball team 6-3 in Sun Belt Conference action in Friday's series opener at Clay Gould Ballpark.

UTA (17-10, 5-2 Sun Belt) sent 10 batters to the plate in the third, and scored five runs on six hits in the inning.

USA (12-12, 3-4 Sun Belt) will return to action Saturday when it faces UT Arlington in game two of the series at 2 p.m. at Clay Gould Ballpark. 

GAME FACTS
- UTA loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the first on three consecutive walks by Connor Aube, Will Olson and Andrew Miller. But Jaguar right-hander JoJo Booker escaped the jam with an inning-ending flyout to right field off the bat of Josh Minjarez to preserve a scoreless tie.
- The Mavericks loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the third on consecutive singles by Aube and Wilson, and a walk from Miller. Anthony Dominguez followed with a two-run single to center field for a 2-0 UTA lead. Minjarez singled to third to load the bases with one out before Dylan Paul reached on an RBI fielder's choice on a grounder to third to allow Miller to score for a 3-0 UTA advantage. Tyler Rice followed with a two-out RBI single to left field for a 4-0 UTA lead. Aaron Funk followed with an infield single to first, and Paul scored on the play when Wells Davis' throw to JoJo Booker covering at first sailed wide of the bag for a 5-0 UTA advantage.
- South Alabama answered in the top of the fourth inning when Kaleb DeLaTorre lifted a 2-2 pitch from UTA right-hander Cade Winquest over the right field wall to cut the UTA lead to 5-1.
- USA loaded the bases in the top of the fifth on consecutive walks from Brandon Auerbach and Santi Montiel, and a single to left field by Carter Perkins. But Winquest struck out Davis to end the threat and preserve a four-run UTA advantage.
- The Mavericks pushed their lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the sixth on a one-out RBI single to right field by Dominguez.
- Davis, Ethan Wilson and DeLaTorre reached on three consecutive one-out singles in the top of the eighth to load the bases for Michael Sandle, but UTA right-hander Cesar Gomez rolled a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play to end the threat.
- USA loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the ninth on consecutive singles by Felix Aberouette and Bennett Shell, and a pinch-hit walk from Colton Thomas. Carter Perkins then delivered a one-out, two-run single to right field to cut the UTA lead in half at 6-3. Wilson drew a two-out walk to load the bases for DeLaTorre, but UTA right-hander Andrew Gross induced a game-ending groundout to second. 

NOTES
- Santi Montiel extended his on-base streak to nine games with a two-out walk in the top of the fifth inning.
- Booker (3-3) allowed four earned runs on nine hits with four strikeouts against five walks in five innings pitched in the loss.
- Winquest (4-0) allowed one run on four hits with eight strikeouts and three walks in 5 1/3 innings to earn the win.
- DeLaTorre went 3-for-5 with a home run, one RBI and one run scored to lead the Jaguars at the plate.
- The loss marked the third straight for South Alabama.

QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the loss:
"We had too many walks in there, and had several chances to win the ballgame. It's about playing cleaner baseball and doing the little things right. We have allowed too many free passes on the mound and defensively, and we have left too many men on base. The frustrating thing is these guys are capable of better. I'm proud of the fact that we fought and made it a ballgame. We can play much better than we have played, so that's the silver lining in this and that was my message to the team when we had a meeting this week – that they're much better than they have shown, and that's a good thing. If we were playing the best that we could, I would be concerned but we haven't played our best baseball yet. We've been close in some games not playing our best baseball. But we need to get it going quick, because we're capable and the season is wearing away. It's still early in the league (season), but you can't dig too big of a hole for yourself. We just need to play better in all three facets. I know I have said that the last few weeks, and that's been the case. We haven't played well the last two weeks, and it's shown." 

NEXT UP
South Alabama will return to action Saturday when it faces UT Arlington in game two of the series at 2 p.m. at Clay Gould Ballpark.

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).

Join the Dugout Club - the baseball-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members enjoy all games from inside the Stadium Club with climate control, private restrooms, private concessions and access to listen to the radio broadcast. All donations to the Dugout Club go directly to support the South Alabama baseball program. For more information on how you can join visit JaguarAthleticFund.com.