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MOBILE, Ala. – Caleb Balgaard delivered a leadoff walk-off solo home run over the left center field wall in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the University of South Alabama baseball team to a 5-4 series-opening win over Middle Tennessee Friday at Stanky Field.

The Jags held a 4-0 lead through five innings before Middle Tennessee (5-3) scored four runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game 4-4 before Balgaard's game-winning home run in the 10th inning.

NEXT UP
South Alabama will return to action Saturday when it hosts Middle Tennessee at 2 p.m. in game two of the series at Stanky Field.

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second inning when Santi Montiel lifted the first pitch he saw from Blue Raider right-hander Aaron Brown over the left field wall for a two-run home run that scored Michael Sandle, who reached ahead of Montiel on a one-out single to left field, for a 2-0 Jaguar lead. 
- Ethan Wilson tripled to the left center gap on the first pitch of the bottom of the third inning, and scored one batter later on an RBI double down the left field line by Caleb Balgaard for a 3-0 USA advantage. Reid Powers followed with an RBI single up the middle to plate Balgaard for a 4-0 Jaguar lead. 
- Middle Tennessee cut its deficit to 4-1 in the top of the sixth on an RBI double to center field by Mason Spiers. The Blue Raiders cut the Jaguar lead in half at 4-2 one batter later when Alden Davis dropped a popup off the bat of JT Mabry that allowed Brycen Thomas, who singled earlier in the inning, to score from third. Middle Tennessee loaded the bases with one out after a single to left field by DJ Wright. Nathan Sanders followed with a two-run single through the left side of the infield to tie the score at 4-4. 
- Balgaard lifted the first pitch he saw from Middle Tennessee right-hander Austin Cheeley over the left center field wall for a walk-off solo home run – his third home run of the season.

NOTES
- Montiel extended his on-base streak to 13 games with a two-run home run, his first of the season, in the bottom of the second inning. It also marked Montiel's first RBIs of the year.
- Powers extended his on-base streak to five games with an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning.
- Jaguar right-handed starter Jeremy Lee retired the first 15 batters he faced in the game in order before Mark Engle reached on a fielding error by Jaguar second baseman Hunter Stokes, and allowed his first hit of the game on the following batter to Brycen Thomas in the form of a single through the left side of the infield in the top of the sixth inning.
- Cameron Tissue extended his hitting streak and on-base streak to four games with a one-out single to center field in the bottom of the sixth inning.
- Lee allowed four unearned runs on four hits, and struck out a career-high 10 batters in a career-high seven innings pitched. Lee's 10 strikeouts were the most by a Jaguar pitcher since Drake Nightengale struck out 10 against Gonzaga on Feb. 28 last season. 
- Balgaard's walk-off home run is the first game-winning home run by a Jaguar since Hunter Stokes in last year's season opener on Feb. 14 against Campbell.

QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi 
- On right-hander Jeremy Lee:
"Jeremy (Lee) is the player of the game. The whole team gets the win, but I was super impressed with Jeremy even in the sixth inning. We made some mistakes behind him. (Jase) Dalton was ready to go out in the seventh (inning), but this is our Friday-night guy right now. He is a freshman who was at 88 pitches and we were going to run him to 100. I wanted to see how he responded, and went out there and had two strikeouts in the seventh inning and shortened it for Jase so he only had to go three (innings). I can't say enough about Jeremy Lee – the poise, composure, competitiveness and the bulldog that he is. He never got flustered even though we made a couple of mistakes. He knows how hard our guys work on defense, and our defense knows how hard the pitchers work. We just moved right through it. It was just a great example of the team sticking together through thick and thin tonight."

- On the offense:
"(Caleb) Balgaard was big. He drove in two runs tonight, Reid Powers had a big RBI in the third inning and Santi Montiel had the two-run home run. We had multiple guys with RBIs and two guys with two RBIs each. Our guys just grinded. That's a really good pitcher (MT starter Aaron Brown) that we put four (runs) on. He's going to win a lot of games, and their (Middle Tennessee) reliever was good. I thought we had a little bit of a lull in the seventh through ninth innings, but when you get to that point it isn't time to play hero ball. The bottom line is, I don't care what inning you are in, you're just trying to put a good swing on a good pitch and not get too amped up and try to do too much. Balgaard was just calm and slowed himself down. He was outstanding tonight on defense; he made two unbelievable plays. He's been outstanding for us. Our team played hard tonight and I am super proud of them."

Outfielder Caleb Balgaard
- On his walk-off home run:
"It all started with Jase (Dalton) on the mound. Coming out with three strikeouts in a row brought the energy into that inning. I stepped to the plate not trying to do too much and put a good swing on a fastball. I didn't do too much and got a pretty good swing on a fastball low and in."

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.