Box Score

BOONE, N.C. – Jaguar right-hander Drake Nightengale turned in a quality start to lead the University of South Alabama baseball team to a 4-1 win over Appalachian State in Friday's series opener at Beaver Field.
 
Nightengale (5-2) allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts against one walk in six innings pitched to earn his fifth win of the season.

South Alabama will return to action Saturday when it faces Appalachian State in game two of the series at 9 a.m. (CT) at Beaver Field.
 
GAME FACTS
- South Alabama took a four-run lead in the top of the fourth. Michael Sandle led off the inning with a single to left field, and scored on a one-out RBI double down the left field line by Wells Davis for a 1-0 lead. Santi Montiel followed with an RBI sacrifice bunt on a safety squeeze to score Davis and double the Jaguar lead at 2-0. Mountaineer left-hander Tyler Tuthill mishandled Montiel's bunt on the play and then threw the ball wide of first to also allow Dakota Dailey to score on the play for a 3-0 Jag advantage. Kaleb DeLaTorre followed with a suicide squeeze bunt to plate Montiel for a 4-0 lead.
- App State scored the game's final run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Luke Allison led off the inning with a double, and later scored on an RBI groundout to shortstop off the bat of Alex Leshock to cut the USA lead to 4-1. 

NOTES
- Wilson's hitting streak and on-base streak was snapped at 19 games.
- Sandle extended his on-base streak to 13 games and his hitting streak to seven games with a leadoff single in the top of the fourth. 
- Dailey tied his career high in hits with three, finishing 3-for-4 with one run scored.
- Right-hander Zach Greene tossed three scoreless relief innings, and struck out four without issuing a walk while allowing three hits to record his 12th save of the season, which tied former Jaguars Kyle Bartsch (2013) and Mike Nakamura (1995) for the single-season record at South Alabama. It also marked his 17th career save, which is tied for third on the program's all-time list with Nakamura (1995-97).

Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the win:
"We played really good defense and turned a few double plays, including the one to end the game. (Dakota) Dailey made a really nice play in the seventh (inning) on ball that was hit really hard to turn two. We played really good defense and pitched really well. (Drake) Nightengale was really good again, and Zach Greene is what he is; he comes in and gets it done. Nightengale has been really good for the last month. He's been a different guy; he's been better than the first month (of the season). These guys are fresh, it's not like they are at 80 or 90 innings. It's good to see the way they're coming on, especially those guys on the mound."

- On the four-run fourth inning:
"Nick Lewis and Michael Sandle got on (base), Wells Davis had the big RBI double that got us on the board, (Santi) Montiel with the safety (squeeze) and Kaleb DeLaTorre with a suicide squeeze. Fridays, when they are done right, are supposed to be tight and right down to the wire. You have to scratch and claw; you can't sit there and rely on the three-run home run, you have to take runs when the opportunities present themselves and that's what our guys did tonight. They understand, in those situations, that is how we need to play and what might be called offensively, and they're ready to get it done. And they've done a really nice job. Our percentage of execution is very high on our first-and-third stuff that we like to do in those situations. Our guys have done a really nice job of that."

NEXT UP
South Alabama will return to action Saturday when it faces Appalachian State in game two of the series at 9 a.m. (CT) at Beaver 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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