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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Owen Diodati delivered a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift No. 23 Alabama to an 11-8 win over University of South Alabama baseball Tuesday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. 

South Alabama (6-6) held an 8-6 lead after eight-and-a-half innings before Alabama (11-2) plated five runs in the bottom of the ninth for the win. The Jags held a 5-1 lead after six innings, but the Crimson Tide scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 6-5 advantage. USA scored three runs in the eighth inning before Alabama's five-run ninth.

NEXT UP
South Alabama will return to action Fri., March 12, when it hosts Jacksonville State at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field to open a three-game weekend series. 

GAME FACTS
- Michael Sandle led off the top of the second inning with a double off the right field wall. But UA right-hander William Freeman recorded consecutive outs on line drives off the bats of Hunter Stokes and Santi Montiel for the first two outs of the frame, and induced an inning-ending flyout to center field by Noah Bailey to end the threat.
- Cameron Tissue singled to left field with one out in the top of the third, and scored from first on a two-out RBI double to left field by Caleb Balgaard for a 1-0 Jaguar lead.
- South Alabama doubled its lead at 2-0 in the top of the fifth inning when Kaleb DeLaTorre lifted an 0-1 pitch from UA right-hander William Freeman over the right field wall for his first home run of the season. 
- Alabama answered in the bottom of the fifth when Jim Jarvis tripled to right field with two outs, and scored one batter later on an RBI double to right field by Andrew Pinckney.
- USA responded in the top of the sixth. Santi Montiel reached on a two-out single to center field, and moved to third on a double to right field by Noah Bailey. DeLaTorre then lifted the first pitch he saw from UA right-handed reliever Jacob McNairy over the left field wall for a three-run home run that gave the Jags a 5-1 lead.
- UA loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh on a single to left field by Zane Denton, double by Owen Diodati and hit by pitch to Jackson Tate. A wild pitch from Jaguar left-hander Andy Arguelles allowed Denton to score and cut the Jag lead to 5-2. Arguelles stuck out Jarvis for the first out of the frame before Pinckney delivered a one-out, two-run single up the middle to cut the USA advantage to 5-4. William Hamiter followed with a two-run double to right field for a 6-5 Alabama lead.
- The Jaguars tied the game 6-6 in the top of the eighth on a one-out RBI double down the left field line by Santi Montiel that scored Stokes, who reached on fielder's choice bunt earlier in the inning. Bailey drew a walk before DeLaTorre singled through the right side of the infield to load the bases with one out. UA right-hander Chase Lee struck out Tissue for the second out of the frame before Ethan Wilson delivered a two-out, two-run double down the right field line on the 10th pitch of the at-bat. 
- Peyton Wilson singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth, and advanced to second on a one-out single to right field by Sam Praytor. Drew Williamson reached on a fielding error by Montiel on a chopper up the middle to load the bases with one out. Denton then reached on a fielding error by Stokes on a grounder to second that allowed Wilson to score and cut the USA lead to 8-7. Diodati then delivered a walk-off grand slam for the win.

NOTES
- Sandle extended his hitting streak and on-base streak to five games with a leadoff double to right field in the top of the second.
- DeLaTorre recorded his first home run of the season, and his first since the 2019 campaign. It also marked his first career game with multiple home runs. DeLaTorre tied his career high in hits (3) and RBIs (4), finishing 3-for-4 with two home runs, four RBIs and two runs scored. 
- Tissue recorded a career-high three hits, and finished 3-for-5 with a double and one run scored. 
- Boswell struck out a career-high eight batters and issued one walk while allowing four runs on six hits and tying his season high in innings pitched with six without factoring in the decision. 
- Montiel tied his career high in hits (3), finishing 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored. 
- Powers' on-base streak was snapped at seven games.  

QUOTES    
Head Coach Mark Calvi 
- On the loss:
"(Matt) Boswell was outstanding. I thought he was great against a good team. They (Alabama) went ahead, then we fought back and went ahead. The bottom line today was we hit and pitched well enough again, we just didn't play good enough defense and that's what got us tonight. The good thing is Ethan (Wilson) was feeling better out there in left field, and we had some guys who have been off to some slow starts offensively swing the bat well tonight – that's the silver lining in this, but you can't make routine defensive mistakes like that and expect to win against a good team and that's what got us tonight. I saw some good things from our guys tonight, but the defense got us and it has to get better for us to achieve our goals of winning championships and getting into the postseason."

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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