Box Score

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 6-3 series-opening win over University of South Alabama baseball Friday at Bobcat Ballpark.

Texas State (20-27) faced a 3-1 deficit entering the bottom of the eighth, and plated five runs on one hit and one Jaguar error. Jaguar right-hander Miles Smith allowed one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts against two walks in seven innings pitched without factoring in the decision.

NEXT UP
South Alabama (25-16) will return to action Saturday when it faces Texas State at 2:30 p.m. in game two of the non-conference series in San Marcos, Texas.

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Michael Sandle lifted a 1-2 pitch from Texas State right-hander Zachary Leigh over the left field wall.
- Texas State answered to tie the score 1-1 in the bottom of the first on a one-out RBI single to left field by Justin Thompson.
- The Jaguars took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third when Andrew Bates lifted a 1-1 pitch over the right field wall to lead off the inning.
- Kaleb DeLaTorre singled through the right side of the infield to lead off the top of the fourth, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third with no outs on a passed ball. Cameron Tissue reached on a one-out RBI bunt single down the third base line to score DeLaTorre for a 3-1 Jaguar lead.
- The Bobcats loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the eighth when John Wuthrich reached on a throwing error by Tissue on a grounder to third to lead off the inning, and consecutive walks by Will Hollis and Thompson. Isaiah Ortega-Jones drew a pinch-hit walk to plate Wuthrich and cut the USA lead to 3-2. Dalton Shuffield followed with a walk to tie the score 3-3. Cole Coffey then delivered a sacrifice fly to right field for a 4-3 Bobcat advantage. Bryce Bonner followed with a sacrifice fly to right-center field for a 5-3 Texas State lead. A two-out RBI triple to left-center field by Chase Evans scored the final run of the game.

NOTES
- Sandle extended his hitting streak and on-base streak to a career-best 10 games with a solo home run to left field in the top of the first.
- Bates' solo home run in the top of the third inning marked the first home run of his Jaguar career.
- Powers extended his on-base streak to 12 games with a two-out single to right field in the top of the eighth inning.
- Ethan Wilson's hitting streak was snapped at seven games.
- Santi Montiel's on-base streak was snapped at nine games.
- The loss marked South Alabama's first this season when it outhits the opposition 

QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the loss:
"Miles (Smith) was phenomenal. We didn't handle the ball like we should have with our leadoff out in the eighth inning. Our bullpen and pitching has been great this year. We just didn't get it done tonight. But we swung the bats well and outhit them (Texas State), and I thought we outplayed them for two-thirds of that game. The bottom line is you have to play a whole game. You have to play 27 outs, and we didn't play well enough in the eighth. But give them credit, they put five (runs) on us and won the ballgame. I was proud of the way the guys got in there and swung the bats. We faced a good arm tonight. We left a couple of runners on in crucial situations where we could have opened it up in the third and fourth innings; we only scored one run in each of those innings, and we could have extended our lead a little bit more. But that's baseball, we just didn't play well enough at the end of the ballgame."

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.