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MOBILE, Ala. – No. 19 Georgia Southern scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to defeat the University of South Alabama baseball team 5-4 in Friday's series opener at Stanky Field.

Georgia Southern (25-12, 12-4 SBC) trailed South Alabama (22-14, 9-7 SBC) 3-2 after eight innings following a two-out RBI single by Hunter Donaldson. But the Eagles tied the score with a leadoff solo home run by Austin Thompson, and added two insurance runs on consecutive RBI singles by Jason Swan and Christian Avant.

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action Saturday when it hosts Georgia Southern at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field.

GAME FACTS
- Georgia Southern took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on an RBI double down the right field line by Christian Avant that scored Jesse Sherrill, who reached on a walk to lead off the game. A one-out RBI single to right field by Noah Ledford plated Avant to double the Eagle lead at 2-0. 
- USA cut the Georgia Southern lead in half at 2-1 in the bottom of the third when Hunter Stokes reached on an infield single to second, and Eagle second baseman Sherrill's throw sailed wide of first base to allow Landon Jordan, who reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the inning, to score from second.
- Erick Orbeta led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk, and later scored on a one-out pinch-hit RBI single to left field by Joe Sutton to tie the score 2-2.
- Landon Jordan reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the bottom of the eighth, and advanced to second with no outs on a single to center field by Miles Simington. Will Turner singled to right field with one out, but Jordan was put out 9-2 at the plate for the second out of the inning. Hunter Donaldson then delivered a two-out RBI single through the left side of the infield to score Simington for a 3-2 Jaguar lead. 
- The Eagles tied the score 3-3 in the top of the ninth on a leadoff solo home run to left field by Thompson. An RBI single through the left side of the infield by Swan later in the inning gave Georgia Southern a 4-3 lead. Avant followed with an RBI single through the left side of the infield for a 5-3 Eagle advantage.
- The Jags cut the Eagle lead to 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth on a two-out solo home run to left field by Santi Montiel. 

NOTES
- Jaguar right-handed starter Matt Boswell allowed two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk in 6 1/3 innings pitched without factoring in the decision.
- Turner extended his on-base streak to 23 games with a one-out single to right field in the bottom of the eighth.  
- Altamirano extended his on-base streak to 22 games with a two-out walk in the bottom of the second.  
- Orbeta extended his on-base streak to 19 games with a two-out single up the middle in the bottom of the second.   
- Jordan extended his on-base streak to 11 games when he reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the bottom of the eighth, but had his hitting streak snapped at 10 games. 
- Orbeta went 2-for-3 with a double and one run scored to lead the Jags at the plate. Montiel added a home run, one RBI and one run scored. Sutton finished with one hit and one RBI, and Donaldson added a hit and drove in one run.
- Jaguar right-hander Miles Smith (5-2) allowed three runs on five hits with three strikeouts in 2 2/3 relief innings in the loss.
- Eagle left-hander Jay Thompson (4-1) allowed one run on three hits with two strikeouts in two relief innings to earn the win.
- The loss snapped a Jaguar 13-game home win streak. 

Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the loss:
"We had a chance to score a couple of runs in the eighth (inning). We scratched one (run) there, but we had a chance to score two and extend it a little bit more. We didn't get the bunt down; that hurt us. The next guy gets a hit and we get thrown out at the plate, but I would send him 100 out of 100 times in that scenario. I'm proud of the way our guys fought and fought back to take the lead. It hurts to lose late, especially with the way our guys competed. I thought their (Georgia Southern) guy (Ty) Fisher did a really nice job. He had some good sink and we moved up on the plate a little bit. It was hard to get him up in the air. They fielded ground balls behind him and kind of went quick. I thought (Matt) Boswell, after the first inning, really settled in and did a nice job. We were in a position to score a few more, we just didn't get it done. It was a really good college baseball game, we were just on the wrong end of it tonight. I'm proud of the effort that my guys came out here with and fought all night. It hurts but we'll be back ready to go tomorrow."

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