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STARKVILLE, Miss. – Bulldog first baseman Tanner Allen recorded three hits and five RBIs to lead No. 5 Mississippi State to a 7-5 win over University of South Alabama baseball Wednesday at Dudy Noble Field.

Allen went 3-for-4 with a double, one home run, five RBIs and one run scored to lead the MSU (28-6) attack. Jaguar outfielder Michael Sandle also finished with three hits to lead USA at the plate.

South Alabama (14-18) will return to action this weekend when it travels to Lafayette, La., for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series with Louisiana. The series will kick off Fri., April 12, with game one at 6:30 p.m. at Russo Park.

GAME FACTS
- Ethan Wilson led off the game with a double to right-center field, and Sandle reached on a hit by pitch to put the first two Jags in the order on base to start the top of the first inning. A sacrifice bunt by Carter Perkins moved both runners into scoring position with one out. Eddie Paparella drew a one-out walk to load the bases for Wells Davis, who popped up to shortstop for the second out of the inning. MSU left-hander Jack Eagan then threw a wild pitch that allowed Wilson to score the game's first run.
- MSU answered in the bottom of the second on a one-out solo home run to left field by Justin Foscue to tie the game at 1-1.
- The Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third on an RBI double to left-center field by Jordan Westburg. Allen followed with a two-run single back up the middle for a 4-1 MSU advantage.
- The Jags cut the MSU lead to one run in the top of the fifth. Dakota Dailey led off the inning with a single to center field, and scored one batter later when Wilson lifted a 1-0 pitch from MSU right-hander Brandon Smith over the right field wall to cut the MSU lead to 4-3.
- Jake Mangum led off the bottom of the seventh for the Bulldogs with a double to the left-center field gap, and moved to third with no outs on a wild pitch. Allen delivered a three-run home run to center field later in the inning for a 7-3 MSU lead.
- USA answered in the top of the eighth. Eddie Paparella led off the inning with a single to left field, and scored one batter later when Davis lifted a 3-2 pitch from Riley Self over the right field wall for a two-run home run, his sixth of the season, which accounted for the final runs of the game.

NOTES
- Right-hander Chase Lambert tossed a season-high 2 2/3 scoreless relief innings, and allowed one hit with one strikeout and one walk.
- Sandle extended his on-base streak to eight games when he reached on a hit by pitch in the first inning.
- Wilson extended his hitting streak and on-base streak to four games with a leadoff double in the first inning.
- Santi Montiel reached base safely in his 13th consecutive road game with a leadoff single in the fourth inning.
- Smith (2-0) allowed two runs on four hits in 2 2/3 relief innings to earn the win.
- Jaguar right-hander Patrick McBride (0-2) allowed four runs on six hits with one walk in two innings pitched in the loss.

QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the loss:
"We had some chances. We had an inning where we left some men on; we had a chance to break the game open early and we didn't. The three runs in the third (inning) and the three in the seventh to a good team like that got us. We scratched, clawed and got back in it. We had our chances, and our guys fought like crazy. I am proud of their effort. There are some guys who are starting to step up and are swinging the bat a little bit better, but we need a couple of guys to come along and a couple of pitchers in the moment to make that pitch and get us out of a jam. That's how close we are; it's a fine line between winning and losing with our schedule, and we're on that fine line. If we were way off of it, then I would say that but we're right on that fine line. We're in pretty much every game, it's a matter of making a play, getting a hit or making a pitch. 

"Our guys are very capable of it, and that's why it's frustrating. Despite playing the fifth-ranked team in the country, it doesn't matter. We're in position to take some games. We're a little bit past the halfway point, and the good thing is that there are some guys who are starting to come on and we'll need a few more guys. Like 99 percent of the year, I was very proud of their effort tonight and the way they fought. They showed up and represented themselves and the program in a professional manner. The only thing I have been upset with, like these guys, have been the results. The effort has been there. We haven't always played the game the cleanest, but the effort is there. If you keep going hard and showing up at the door and knocking, eventually it will open up for you."

NEXT UP
South Alabama will return to action this weekend when it travels to Lafayette, La., for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series with Louisiana. The series will kick off Fri., April 12, with game one at 6:30 p.m. at Russo Park.

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.