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MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Cam Tissue delivered a two-out, two-run single to center field in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead the University of South Alabama baseball team to a 5-4 win over UT-Arlington in Saturday's Sun Belt Conference Conference semifinal.

The Jaguars loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth, and Tissue worked the count to 3-2 with two outs before lining a two-run single into center field. 

USA (32-20) advanced to Sunday's SBC Championship final with the win. 

NEXT UP
South Alabama will face the winner of Louisiana and Georgia Southern at 1 p.m. Sunday in the SBC Championship final.

GAME FACTS
- UTA scored the game's first run in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly to right field by Boone Montgomery. 
- Cam Tissue led off the bottom ofa the third with a walk, and advanced to second on a bunt single up the first base line by Richard Sorrenti. Hunter Donaldson then reached on an error by UTA left-hander Kody Bullard on a sacrifice bunt to load the bases with no outs. Ethan Wilson delivered a one-out single into right-center field to score Tissue and tie the score 1-1. Michael Sandle followed with an RBI groundout to third to plate Sorrenti for a 2-1 Jaguar lead.
- UTA tied the score 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning on a one-out RBI single through the left side of the infield by Anthony Dominguez. Phillip Childs followed with an RBI single to center field for a 3-2 Maverick lead. 
- South Alabama tied the score 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth on a leadoff solo home run to right field by Kaleb DeLaTorre.
- UTA put runners at second and third with no outs in the top of the fifth on a leadoff single by Josh Minjarez, and a single by Connor Aube, who advanced to second on a wild pitch one pitch later. But Jaguar right-hander Jackson Boyd struck out Dylan Paul for the first out of the inning, and recorded the second out of the frame when Andrew Miller reached on a fielder's choice on a grounder to third, which Tissue fielded and threw to home to put out Minjarez attempting to score. Boyd then recorded an inning-ending strikeout of Dominguez to end the threat and preserve a 3-3 tie.
- UTA loaded the bases with one out in the top of the sixth on a walk by JD Wadleigh, a double to left field by Carson Gregory and a walk by Boone Montgomery. Minjarez followed with a sacrifice fly to shortstop into shallow center field for a 4-3 UTA lead.
- Tissue led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to left-center field, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Sorrenti, and moved to third when Hunter Donaldson reached on a two-base fielding error by UTA third baseman Montgomery. But a 7-4 double play on a lineout to left field by Santi Montiel ended the threat.
- Sandle reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the bottom of the eighth, and moved to second on a one-out single to center field by Stokes. DeLaTorre followed with a walk to load the bases with one out. Andrew Bates reached on a fielder's choice when UTA right-hander Tanner King fielded a comebacker to the mound and fired to home for the second out of the frame. Tissue followed with a two-out, two-run single to center field for a 5-4 Jag lead.
 
NOTES
- Sandle extended his on-base streak to 21 games with a leadoff walk in the bottom of the sixth inning.
- Jaguar left-hander Tyler Samaniego (2-2) tossed a career-high two scoreless innings, and allowed one hit while striking out two without issuing a walk to earn his second win of the season.
- Right-hander Jase Dalton struck out two in one perfect relief inning to record his fourth save of the year.
- Tissue went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run scored to lead the Jags at the plate.
- DeLaTorre added a home run, his sixth of the season, one RBI and two runs scored.
- The win marked the Jags' third straight over UTA.
- The Jaguar bullpen combined to allow one run on two hits with eight strikeouts against two walks in five innings.

QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the win:
"What a great game. We knew (Kody) Bullard was good. We probably saw his worst start of the year (in the regular season series), but I have seen him on video prior to us facing him the first time and leading into this, and we had a lot of lefties in there. We have done a really good job of working some pitchers, getting some pitch counts up and not striking out as much as we were the first half of the season. We have had some guys get some really good at-bats, and I didn't want to change the lineup. I knew it was going to be tough, and that someone was going to have to run into one and this is a park that we can do it. (Kaleb) DeLaTorre did that and got momentum back in our dugout. I just kept walking up and down the dugout telling the pitchers and anyone who would listen to keep it tight and we were going to win it late. We were going to get Bullard out of there, and we had all of those lefties in there for their last two relievers who throw from the side and lefties see a little better. Ultimately, it was a righty, (Cameron) Tissue who came up and got a good swing on their guy. 

"But all the credit in the world to our club. They have guts and have shown it all year long, and especially today. JoJo (Booker) could have buckled but didn't. It wasn't his best start, but he is one of the reasons we are at where we are at. (Jackson) Boyd and (Tyler) Perez and the situations they were brought into, especially Perez with the bases loaded, (Tyler) Samaniego was fantastic and Jase Dalton in the end. But our guys just grinded all game long, and they have all year long. We knew how talented UT-Arlington was, and knew who we were facing and they had a lot of really good players. We had to play a really good game today, and we did."

Third Baseman Cam Tissue
- On his game-winning hit:
"That is one of my first go-ahead type hits. I was just trying to see something over the plate, and put it in plate at least and force them (UTA) to make a play."

- On advancing to the SBC Championship final:
"That's going to be huge. At the beginning of the year we set our goals and what our objectives were, and going to the championship and winning it is a stepping stone to our end goal in Omaha."

First Baseman Kaleb DeLaTorre
- On UTA starter Kody Bullard:
"He was throwing strikes and had us off balance early on. We just kept going at it. Coach (Calvi) said to keep it close and we would win the final-third of the game, and we did."

- On advancing to the SBC Championship final:
"It means a lot. Seeing all the South fans here today chanting 'USA' was a big deal. But the job is not done. We have one more win left, and we're ready to go."

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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