Box Score

STATESBORO, Ga. – The University of South Alabama baseball team scored seven unanswered runs to defeat Georgia Southern 12-5 in Friday's series opener at J.I. Clements Stadium.

USA (25-13, 12-4 SBC) broke a 5-5 tie with a six-run sixth inning, and added a run in the eighth to secure its ninth consecutive win. Right-hander Miles Smith (4-0) struck out seven in 6 1/3 relief innings to earn his fourth win of the season. Michael Sandle went 3-for-6 with two home runs and a career-high eight RBIs.

NEXT UP
South Alabama will return to action Saturday when it faces Georgia Southern at 1 p.m. (CT) in game two of the series at J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Ga.

GAME FACTS
- Georgia Southern (25-16, 9-7 SBC) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a one-out, two-run single up the middle by Noah Ledford.
- South Alabama answered with three runs in the top of the third. Hunter Donaldson led off the inning with a single, and Santi Montiel followed with a double to left field. Michael Sandle then delivered a three-run home run to left field on the first pitch he saw from Eagle right-hander Tyler Owens for a 3-2 Jaguar lead.
- Georgia Southern answered to tie the score 3-3 in the bottom of the third on a one-out double to left field by Christian Avant.
- The Eagles took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly to right field Matt Anderson.
- Donaldson led off the top of the fifth with a single through the right side of infield, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a single to left field by Montiel. Sandle followed with a two-run single to center field for a 5-4 Jag advantage.
- Georgia Southern tied the score 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out single through the right side of the infield by Ledford.
- Cameron Tissue led off the top of the sixth with a walk, and moved to third on a pinch-hit bunt single by Brandon Auerbach. Montiel followed with an RBI bunt single to first to score Tissue for a 6-5 Jag lead. Sandle then delivered a three-run home run to right field for a 9-5 advantage. Kaleb DeLaTorre later singled to center field to score Ethan Wilson, who singled earlier in the inning, to double the USA lead at 10-5. Hunter Stokes followed with an RBI double to right field for an 11-5 lead.
- USA added the game's final run in the top of the eighth on a two-out RBI single to right field by Tissue.

NOTES
- Montiel extended his on-base streak to seven games when he reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the game.
- Sandle extended his hitting streak and on-base streak to seven games in the top of the third with a three-run home run in the top of the third, which marked his fifth of the season.
- Montiel recorded his 100th career hit, which came in the form of a double, in the top of the third inning.
- Donaldson recorded his second career multiple-hit game, and finished 2-for-5 with 
- Powers extended his on-base streak to nine games with a one-out walk in the top of the fifth.
- Wilson extended his hitting streak to five games with a single to right field in the bottom of the sixth.
- Smith allowed two runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in 6 1/3 innings.
- Sandle finished 3-for-6 with two home runs, a career-high eight RBIs and two runs scored to lead the Jags at the plate.
- Sandle's eight RBIs were the most by a Jaguar since Eddie Paparella's nine RBIs on Feb. 18, 2017, against Eastern Illinois. 
- Sandle is the first Jaguar to hit multiple home runs in a game since Ethan Wilson and Carter Sanford hit two apiece at Northwestern State on March 28 this season.
- The win extended South Alabama's win streak to nine games, which marks the most consecutive wins by a Jaguar team since 2013. 

QUOTES    
Head Coach Mark Calvi 
- On the win:
"(Tyler) Owens wasn't quite what we saw and Jeremy (Lee) wasn't what they saw on video. I felt pretty much felt whichever team settled the game down on the mound was going to be the team that won. We were both kind of trading blows. What I did say was that we can't trade blows with these guys. We tied a season-high in runs scored tonight, but that hasn't been our MO. We needed to settle it down and get back into playing our ballgame. It was great to see some guys get multiple hits and drive in multiple runs. A bunch of guys swung the bat really well. Mike (Sandle) had eight RBIs tonight; he was outstanding. Brandon Auerbach opened that (sixth) inning by getting that bunt down. We worked to get on. (Cameron) Tissue got on before Auerbach, then Brandon got the bunt down and their (Georgia Southern) pitcher slipped and that opened up the inning for us. It was kind of how we've had to do it with the small ball to open it up. I'm really proud of Jeremy (Lee) for gutting and giving us what he had. I had a feeling that it would manifest itself somewhere – up and down and using him out of the bullpen last week. Tonight he just wasn't sharp, but luckily for us we have a veteran like Miles (Smith) coming in behind him."

- On the remaining games of the series:
"The series is far from over. I told our guys that Georgia Southern isn't going away; they have good arms and good players. We worried about today today, and we're on to tomorrow. Tonight is over and tomorrow is a brand new day. Today is zero indication of how tomorrow is going to go. The momentum is on the mound. You can give it and take it, and right now we have it. We need to continue that trend tomorrow with momentum. It starts by (Matt) Boswell going out there and being the best version of himself."

Outfielder Michael Sandle
- On his performance:
"The ball was looking pretty big, but I think it was just preparation and knowing what I wanted to do at the plate. I just wanted to stay on the fastball, and that is what I got all of my hits off of. It's the same way whether I am swinging it good or not. I'm just up there trying to help the team win. The first home run I hit, we had runners at second and third with no outs and I was really just trying to hit a ball to the outfield to score a run. The same thing with the second home run; I was just trying to hit a ball in the outfield to move the runners and score them, and it just happened to work out. I knew the first one was going to score the run whether it was caught or not, but I knew I got the second one."

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.