Box Score

MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama right-handers Jeremy Lee and Miles Smith combined to shut out Troy 6-0 in Thursday's series opener at Stanky Field, sponsored by Hampton by Hilton "Providence Park."

Lee (2-1) tossed six shutout innings and struck out nine against two walks in six innings pitched to log a quality start and post his second win of the season. Smith allowed a pair of hits while striking out four with one walk in three innings pitched to record his first career save.

USA (14-10, 3-1 SBC) plated four runs in the first inning, and added one run in the fourth and one in the fifth to close out the game's scoring. 

NEXT UP
South Alabama (13-10) will return to action Friday when it hosts Troy at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field to continue a three-game Sun Belt Conference series, sponsored by Hampton by Hilton "Providence Park."

GAME FACTS
- Cameron Tissue led off the bottom of the first with a single to left field, and moved to second and third with no outs on consecutive wild pitches from Troy right-hander Bay Witcher. Michael Sandle drew a walk to put runners at the corners with no outs. Ethan Wilson then reached on a fielder's choice on a grounder to first, which allowed Tissue to slide in safely ahead of the tag at the plate for a 1-0 Jaguar lead. Caleb Balgaard reached on a fielding error by Trojan third baseman Jesse Hall to load the bases with no outs. Witcher recorded consecutive strikeouts before Hunter Stokes drew a two-out walk to plate Sandle and double the Jag lead at 2-0. Santi Montiel followed with a two-out, two-run single to left field to score Wilson and Balgaard for a 4-0 South Alabama advantage.
- Montiel reached on a fielding error by Troy shortstop Drew Frederic to lead off the bottom of the fourth, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kaleb DeLaTorre and moved to third on a one-out single to right center field by Tissue. Sandle followed with an RBI safety squeeze bunt to first base to score Montiel for a 5-0 USA lead.
- Balgaard led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to left field, and later scored the game's final run on an RBI bunt single by Stokes on a suicide squeeze.

NOTES
- Wilson's on-base streak was snapped at 13 games.
- Lee tossed six scoreless innings, and allowed four hits while striking out nine against two walks in six innings pitched to earn his second win of the season.
- Smith recorded his third consecutive scoreless appearance dating back to March 20 at UT Arlington.
- Tissue went 2-for-4 with one run scored to lead the Jags at the plate. Stokes and Montiel added one hit and two RBIs apiece, while Sandle and Wilson drove in one run each.
- The shutout marked South Alabama's first over Troy since 2008 when the Jags shut out the Trojans 7-0 in the series opener at Troy. 

QUOTES    
Head Coach Mark Calvi 
- On Jeremy Lee: 
"That is what a competitor does, tonight he bent but did not break. I thought it took him three innings to find his rhythm; in the fourth, fifth and sixth (innings) he really found his rhythm. We talked about having that rhythm to his delivery. I didn't think there was a flow to the game, but he is talented and a competitor and he made pitches to get out of it. I was really pleased with his performance, and then Miles (Smith) in behind him did what Miles has been doing and that is just pitch, get guys out and compete."

- On the offense:
"I would rather win ugly than lose pretty and lineout 11 times, which I've seen. We're not lighting it up offensively, but (Kaleb) DeLaTorre laid a sacrifice bunt down, Carter Sanford has been getting some opportunities lately and has been really good – he missed the sacrifice bunt, but grounded out with two strikes and moved runners and then we squeezed. So we moved runners around and we got some bunts down. (Hunter) had two RBIs with a squeeze and a walk with the bases loaded, and Santi with a two-run single early (in the game). He's been working his tail off in the cages and made some necessary adjustments with his swing, and I'm excited about him moving forward. Reid Powers has been swinging it better, (Caleb) Balgaard had a hit and (Cameron) Tissue led us off with a hit. When Tissue gets on base we usually score a run, which we did in the first inning. It wasn't pretty offensively, but I would rather win ugly than lose pretty."

RHP Jeremy Lee
- On his performance:
"I was struggling to find the zone early and kept falling behind. If you want to pitch a long time you can't keep falling behind. I had to start getting ahead early and making the hitters hit my pitches. The offense took off, made my job a lot easier. We got a big double play by Stokes, and that gave us some momentum."

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. 

—USA—