Box Score
Photo Gallery

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 1-seeded University of South Alabama baseball team recorded season highs in runs and hits in a 14-7 win over No. 6 seed Coastal Carolina Wednesday in the Sun Belt Conference Championship at Riverwalk Stadium.

USA (30-20) tallied 14 runs on 15 hits with six Jaguars collecting multiple hits, led by Hunter Donaldson who finished with a career-high four hits along with two RBIs, two runs scored and one stolen base. The Jaguars secured a spot in Saturday's semifinal round with the win. 

NEXT UP
South Alabama will face Little Rock at 11 a.m. Thursday in the Sun Belt Conference Championship in Montgomery, Ala.

GAME FACTS
- Coastal Carolina took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on an RBI groundout to first base by BT Riopelle that scored Nick Lucky, who struck out to lead off the game but reached on wild pitch on the third strike.
- South Alabama answered in the bottom of the first when Ethan Wilson lifted a 2-0 pitch from CCU right-hander Nick Parker over the right field wall for a solo home run to tie the score 1-1.
 - The Chanticleers took a 3-1 lead in the top of the second on a one-out, two-run home run by Zack Beach.
- USA cut the CCU lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the second inning on a leadoff solo home run to right field by Andrew Bates. Cameron Tissue followed with a single to left field, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Richard Sorrenti. Hunter Donaldson then singled to center field to put runners at the corners with one out. Santi Montiel followed with an RBI double to right field to tie the score 3-3. An intentional walk to Wilson loaded the bases with one out for Michael Sandle, who delivered an RBI single to right-center field for a 4-3 Jaguar lead. Hunter Stokes then reached on an RBI fielder's choice on a grounder to second that scored Montiel for a 5-3 USA advantage. Kaleb DeLaTorre followed with an RBI double to left-center field to score Wilson and double the Jag lead at 6-3.
- CCU cut the USA lead to 6-4 in the top of the fifth on a one-out solo home run to center field by Lucky. 
- Donaldson led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to left field, and moved to second when Montiel reached on a hit by pitch. Wilson followed with a two-run triple to the left-center field gap for a 9-4 Jaguar advantage. A suicide squeeze sacrifice bunt by DeLaTorre later in the inning plated Wilson for a 10-4 lead.
- A one-out solo home run to left field by Beach in the top of the seventh cut the USA lead to 10-5.  A two-run home run to right field by Lucky later in the inning cut the Jaguar lead to 10-7.  
- The Jags added to their lead in the bottom of the eighth on a two-out RBI single to left field by Tissue for an 11-7 advantage. A walk by Sorrenti loaded the bases before a wild pitch allowed DeLaTorre to score for a 12-7 lead. Donaldson followed with a two-run single to left field for the final runs of the game.

NOTES
- Wilson's home run in the bottom of the first inning traveled 495 feet and left the bat at 115 miles per hour according to TrackMan baseball software.
- Sandle extended his on-base streak to 18 games with a single to right field in the bottom of the second inning.
- DeLaTorre recorded his 100th career hit at South Alabama, which came in the form of a single to center field in the bottom of the eighth inning.
- Donaldson's four hits marked a new career high.
- Jaguar right-hander Miles Smith (5-1) allowed four runs on five hits with eight strikeouts against two walks in six innings pitched to earn his fifth win of the season.
- USA right-hander Jackson Boyd tossed three scoreless relief innings without allowing a hit, and struck out two batters against one walk to record his first career save as a Jaguar.
- Wilson went 2-for-3 with a triple, one home run, three RBIs, three runs scored and three intentional walks. DeLaTorre finished 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and one run scored, and Montiel went 2-for-5 with two doubles, one RBI and two runs scored. 
- Bates added one home run – his second of the season – with one RBI and one run scored. 
- The Jags clinched a spot in the SBC Championship semifinal round with the win, and will face the winner of Arkansas State and UT-Arlington on Saturday, who play Thursday at 3 p.m.  

QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the win:
"It all starts on the mound, and Miles Smith was fantastic. We turned it over to (Tyler) Lehrmann because the matchup was right. He has been great for us all year long. He has been such a great competitor for us and it was the right matchup. He and Jackson Boyd took us home. Our guys were outstanding. We just had great at-bats up and down the lineup. We left a few guys on base, but then we came back with that five-run inning and then tacked on some runs there at the end when they (CCU) made it a three-run ballgame with those runs in the seventh (inning). I can't say enough about the way our guys showed up and their effort all year long, but especially the way they showed up today and just kept fighting. I'm proud of our whole team, coaching staff and everyone involved with the program, and not just today but all year long."

Left Fielder Ethan Wilson
- On his home run:
"I think that is probably the cleanest ball to ever come off of my bat. It felt good to do that and kind of take the momentum into the second inning."
    
- On the offense:
"Our pitchers have pretty much carried us the whole year. At a certain point and time, we had to     
take it upon ourselves as an offense to help them out a little bit. We knew going in (to today's game) that we wanted to be aggressive. We wanted to hit balls hard and put the pressure on them, and that's what we did. I'm just extremely proud of all of the hitters. It was just a really good team win. "

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.