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MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama baseball right-hander JoJo Booker struck out a career-high 12 batters while tying his career high in innings pitched to lead the Jaguars to a 4-1 series-clinching win over Coastal Carolina in Sunday's rubber match at Stanky Field.

Booker (6-0) allowed one run on two hits with 12 strikeouts against two walks while tying his career high in innings pitched with eight. Right-hander Jase Dalton tossed one scoreless relief inning, and issued a pair of walks to record his third save of the season. 

NEXT UP
South Alabama will return to action Thu., May 20, when it opens a three-game Sun Belt Conference East Division series against Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., at 4 p.m. (CT).

GAME FACTS
- Caleb Balgaard led off the bottom of the second inning with a single through the left side, and scored one batter later on an RBI double to left-center field by Hunter Stokes for a 1-0 Jaguar lead. 
- Coastal Carolina answered with a leadoff solo home run by Cooper Weiss in the top of the third to tie the score 1-1.
- Richard Sorrenti led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to left field, and scored one batter later when Michael Sandle lifted an 0-1 pitch from CCU right-hander Nick Parker over the left field wall for a two-run home run – his eighth of the season – and 3-1 Jaguar lead. 
- Andrew Bates led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cam Tissue and scored on a two-out RBI single through the left side of the infield by Santi Montiel for the game's final run.  

NOTES
- Sandle extended his on-base streak to 15 games with a one-out single up the middle in the bottom of the first inning.  
- Kaleb DeLaTorre extended his on-base streak to 11 games with a single to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning.
- Booker is the first Jaguar to strike out 12 or more batters since Drake Nightengale's 12 strikeouts against UT-Martin on Feb. 21, 2020.
- Six Jaguar recorded multiple hits in the game, led by Sandle who went 2-for-5 with one home run, two RBIs and one run scored. Stokes added two hits, including a double, and one RBI, and Montiel finished with two hihts and one RBI. 
- South Alabama earned its first series win in program history over Coastal Carolina. 
- The Jaguars tied their season high in hits with 13. 
- USA honored seven seniors in a pregame ceremony:  Andy Arguelles, Jase Dalton, Kaleb DeLaTorre, Noah Michael, Tyler Perez, Richard Sorrenti and Tyler Trussell. 
 
QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the win:
"JoJo (Booker) was good. I am really proud of his effort. It got a little hairy at the end with Jase (Dalton), but Jase has been one of our guys all year long. He is one of my ride-or-die guys, we have a couple of them down there, and today it was ride-or-die with Jase in that situation."

- On winning the series:
"We haven't won as many (games) as we have wanted to, but our guys have gone through some stuff. We've lost some games, but the thing these guys have is energy all the time. I knew they were going to show up, they always do. I'm just really proud of our effort all weekend long. We know there have been a bunch of weekends where we have had a lot of success, but we know there is a fine line between winning and losing. Winning is tough and losing is easy, and these guys took the tough route."

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.