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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team scored 10 unanswered runs, and right-hander JoJo Booker tossed five scoreless relief innings in a 12-4 series-opening win over ULM Friday at Eddie Stanky Field.
Booker (4-2) did not allow a hit and tied his season high with seven strikeouts against two walks in five scoreless innings to earn his fourth win of the season. Erick Orbeta led the Jaguar attack at the plate with four hits, which tied his career high, along with two RBIs and one run scored.
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South Alabama (28-20, 14-11 SBC) will return to action Saturday when it hosts ULM at 6:30 p.m. at Eddie Stanky Field.
GAME FACTS
- ULM took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a one-out RBI single to left-center field by Grant Schulz. A sacrifice fly to right field by Colby Deaville doubled the Warhawk lead at 2-0. ULM took a 3-0 lead on an RBI double to the right-center gap by Landon Cato.
- Orbeta led off the bottom of the first with a single, and advanced to third on a double down the left field line by Miles Simington. Santi Montiel reached on a throwing error by ULM pitcher Cam Barlow to score Orbeta and Simington to cut the ULM lead to 3-2.
- Hunter Donaldson doubled to right-center field to lead off the bottom of the second, and Carter Sanford followed with a hit by pitch. A sacrifice bunt by Cameron Tissue advanced both runners into scoring position with one out. Orbeta then drew a walk to load the bases. Barlow struck out Will Turner for the second out of the inning, and escaped the jam with an inning-ending flyout to right field by Simington.
- ULM doubled its lead at 4-2 on a leadoff solo home run to center field by Holt.
- The Jags loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth when Sanford reached on a hit by pitch, Orbeta singled to left field with one out and Simington drew a two-out walk. A wild pitch by Barlow allowed Sanford to score to cut the ULM lead to 4-3.
- Santi Montiel reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the bottom of the fifth, and Joe Sutton followed with a walk. Donaldson then reached on a throwing error by ULM third baseman Schulz on a sacrifice bunt that allowed Montiel to score to tie the game 4-4. Sanford followed with an RBI single through the right side of the infield to plate Sutton for a 5-4 Jag lead. A one-out, two-run single through the left side of the infield by Orbeta gave the Jags a 7-4 lead.
- Landon Jordan delivered a one-out pinch-hit double to left-center field in the bottom of the sixth, and scored one batter later on an RBI single to left-center field by Donaldson to double the USA lead at 8-4. Sanford followed with an RBI double to right field to plate Donaldson for a 9-4 advantage.
- The Jags loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh on a single to right field by Hunter Stokes, hit by pitch to Montiel and walk by Jordan. A wild pitch by ULM left-hander Adam Tubbs scored Stokes for a 10-4 lead. An RBI groundout to second by Donaldson scored Montiel to push the USA lead to 11-4.
- South Alabama loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth, and Tissue, who led off the inning with a walk, scored on a hit by pitch to Montiel with the final run of the game.
NOTES
- Turner's on-base streak was snapped at 34 games, and had his hit streak ended at seven games.
- Stokes extended his on-base streak to 17 games, and extended his hitting streak to eight games with a leadoff single up the middle in the bottom of the third.
- Orbeta tied his career high with four hits, finishing 4-for-4 with two RBIs and one run scored. He reached base in all six plate appearances with two walks in addition to his four hits.
- Sanford went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored, and Donaldson finished 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.
- ULM did not record a hit after the third inning.
Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the win:
"Both JoJo (Booker) and Boz (Matt Boswell), we got seven of our nine leadoff outs. I told the guys I am as proud of them tonight as I have been all year. We got popped in the mouth and it did not look or feel good. Our guys were ready. We were coming off the rain delay, and we have all the respect in the world for ULM. I told the team the other day that they (ULM) are a very good club. They have good makeup, are coached well and are a tough group; they always are. I knew they were going to come out and play hard. They drilled some balls and couple of balls fell in, and the next thing you know you are down 3-0. Boz just settled in and gave us 100 pitches, and then JoJo came in and was outstanding. His pitches were much crisper and his slider was later. That first inning when he went out there and we answered back and he punched out the side, that was huge. We had some great at-bats and Tish (Cameron Tissue) getting some (sacrifice) bunts down, but I thought JoJo punching out the side in the fifth (inning) leveled the game off and we had momentum back in our dugout.
"Our guys did a really good job of not chasing their lefty (Cam Barlow) too much; we did a little bit, but he had some spin rate to his fastball and had a good slider. You can see why they are in every game when he is on the mound. We got him out (of the game) and got to the bullpen. We just had really good at-bats up and down the line, and some big hits."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. 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.
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