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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat Gonzaga 7-6 Sunday at Stanky Field.

USA trailed Gonzaga (3-8) by three runs entering the bottom-half of the ninth inning before plating four runs on one hit and one Bulldog error to clinch the victory. The Jaguars clinched the three-game series with the win.

 GAME FACTS
- Gonzaga scored the game's first run in the top of the second inning. Ryan Sullivan led off the inning with a double down the left field line, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout back to the pitcher by Jack Machtolf for a 1-0 advantage.
- South Alabama answered in the bottom of the second. Kaleb DeLaTorre drew a one-out walk, and advanced to second on a single through the left side of the infield by Santi Montiel. Alden Davis delivered a two-out, two-run double to left field later in the inning to score DeLaTorre and Montiel for a 2-1 Jaguar lead.
- Gonzaga loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the fifth on a leadoff hit by pitch to Alex Shanks, one-out walk by Ernie Yake and two-out hit by pitch to Tyler Rando. But Jaguar right-hander JoJo Booker induced an inning-ending flyout to left-center field off the bat of Brett Harris to escape the jam and preserve a one-run Jaguar lead.
- USA responded in the top of the fifth inning. Hunter Stokes doubled off the left field wall to lead off the inning, moved to third with one out on a groundout to second by Alden Davis and scored on a one-out RBI single up the middle by Dakota Dailey for a 3-1 Jaguar lead.
- GU cut the Jaguar lead to 3-2 in the top of the sixth on a one-out RBI triple to right field by Machtolf.
- The Bulldogs took a 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth on a one-out, two-run home run to left-center field by Stephen Lund. GU added two more runs in the inning on a passed ball and a two-out RBI single by Josh Bristyan for a 6-3 advantage. 
- USA loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth on a hit by pitch to Montiel, and consecutive walks by Stokes and Davis. Dailey followed with a two-run single to left-center field to score Montiel and Stokes to cut the GU lead to 6-5. Carter Quinn then reached on a hit by pitch to load the bases with one out. Sandle then reached on a fielder's choice on a grounder to third that allowed pinch-runner Bennett Shell to score and tie the game at 6-6. GU third baseman Brett Harris' throw to the plate attempting to cut down Shell sailed wide of the plate and off the backstop to allow Dailey to score the game-winning run.

NOTES
- Davis recorded the first extra-base hit of his Jaguar career, which came in the form of a two-out, two-run double to left field in the bottom of the second inning.
- Both Powers and Sandle each had a seven-game hit streak snapped.
- Jaguar right-hander Tyler Trussell (1-0) tossed 1 1/3 scoreless relief innings with one strikeout to earn his first win of the season. 
- Right-hander JoJo Booker aloowed two runs on four hits with six strikeouts against two walks in five innings pitched without factoring in the decision.
- Dailey went 2-for-3 with a season-high three RBIs and one run scored to lead the Jags at the plate. Davis added a double and two RBIs.
 
QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the win:
"In this program, you have to play 27 outs and it took us right down to the wire. It didn't look or feel good in the seventh and eighth (innings), but our guys kept playing hard. I think we can be a pretty good team if some guys start performing a little better. The bottom line is we've had a really tough schedule. We've won some games, not as many as we would have liked, but we have four or five guys who aren't quite on it yet. It's just a testimony to their fight. I told them to keep their confidence no matter what."

- On JoJo Booker:
"I thought JoJo was really good. He threw enough sliders in there, he did a really nice job. He threw his breaking ball in some fastball counts with a 15 mile-per-hour wind blowing out. Days like this can get ugly and they are tough to pitch in, and I give JoJo a lot of credit."

- On the ninth inning:
"We were down by three (runs) so we were taking a strike. We had to get the tying run in the batter's box, and it kind of snowballed. Momentum is a very precious thing. We got momentum with those two walks, and the belief started rolling. We have had a lot of these games in my tenure at home where we have pulled them out late, more than I would like, but our guys just kept fighting until the end. The guy who really gave us a chance was Tyler Trussell coming in with the bases loaded. He came in in a tough situation, and we were getting ready to give up more of a crooked number like yesterday, and he settled it down and did a nice job with the bases loaded. You can't bring a kid into a tougher situation than that. All the credit goes to Trussell coming in and getting the job done."

NEXT UP
South Alabama will return to action Tue., March 3, when it travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a 6 p.m. contest with Alabama.

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.