MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama baseball defeated Nicholls State 5-4 Wednesday at Eddie Stanky Field to earn its third consecutive win.

Jaguar left-hander Zach Willingham (2-0) tossed two scoreless relief innings, and allowed one hit with two strikeouts and one walk to record his second win of the season. Right-hander Colson Lawrence, who started the game in right field, recorded the final four outs of the contest, tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts to record his first career save. NSU's Chase Gearing (0-1) allowed three runs on one hit with two strikeouts and one walk in 1 2/3 relief innings in the loss.

Jaguar right-handed starter Tyler Smith struck out four and allowed one run on two hits in 2 1/3 innings pitched in his first collegiate start, but did not factor in the decision.

Center fielder Will Turner went 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI, one run scored and two stolen bases to lead the Jaguar offense. Erick Orbeta finished with two hits, and Tyler Borges and Lawrence finished with one hit and one RBI apiece. Shortstop JG Bell hit a home run and drove in two runs as well.

USA (4-1) trailed by a run, 2-1, after four-and-a-half innings, but posted two runs in the bottom of the fifth and two in the sixth for a 5-2 lead. NSU (3-2) added a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to round out the scoring in the game.

How It Happened
•    (T1) Nicholls State took a 1-0 lead on a one-out solo home run to left field by Edgar Alvarez, 1-0 NSU.
•    (B1) South Alabama tied the score 1-1 on a one-out RBI double to left-center field by Will Turner to score Erick Orbeta, who reached on a fielding error by NSU second baseman MaCrae Kendrick to lead off the inning, tied 1-1.
•    (T5) The Colonels took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth on a two-out RBI single to center field by Wes Troups, 2-1 NSU.
•    (B5) The Jags took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth on a one-out, two-run home run to left field by JG Bell, the first of his career, 3-2 USA.
•    (B6) An RBI fielder's choice on a grounder to third by Tyler Borges scored Will Turner to double the Jaguar lead, 4-2 USA.
•    (T8) Nicholls State cut the Jaguar lead to two runs on an RBI groundout to shortstop by Gerardo Villarreal, 5-3 USA. 
•    (T8) The Colonels then cut the USA advantage to one run on an RBI double down the left field line by Garrett Felix, 5-4 USA.
 

Up Next
South Alabama returns to action Friday when it hosts Nebraska at 6:30 p.m. to open a three-game weekend series at Eddie Stanky Field.
 
Quotes
Head Coach Mark Calvi 
- On starter Tyler Smith:
"It was exactly what we wanted with his first start. You could see his velocity went down a little bit out of the stretch, and that's something we need to clean up. And there is some adrenaline going. You don't want to leave him out there when doesn't quite have his best stuff right now in his first start where he leaves on a sour note. He knows leaving there he has to be better out of the stretch and maintain his velocity, but I thought it was a great night for him."

- On JG Bell:
"He's had a couple of big hits for us early in the year. The two-run home run was really big; it put us ahead, and he's been outstanding. He gives you that great at-bat when there's some pressure, and that's what the good guys do – when the game's on the line they come up there and give you their best effort and JG is that kind of guy."

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