MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama found their way back into the win column, recording 14 hits in a 12-11 victory over Louisiana Friday night at Eddie Stanky Field in the first game of the weekend series.
 
The Jaguars (9-13, 1-3 Sun Belt) scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh and four runs in the bottom of the eighth to secure the come-from-behind victory over the Cajuns (16-7, 3-1 SBC). The victory ended a streak of seven-straight losses for South Alabama.
 
Jackson Boyd (1-0) recorded his first win on the season, holding the Cajuns scoreless in the eighth inning as the Jaguars mounted their comeback. Grant Wood notched his third save of the season.  
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• (B1) Will Turner reached on a fielder's choice, then Cole Ketzner brought him home with a home run off the scoreboard in left field, South Alabama 2-0.
• (B2) With the bases loaded, Erick Orbeta flied-out to left field, allowing T. Lewis to advance home from third base., South Alabama 3-0.
• (T3) Louisiana answered back with five runs in the top of the third. Kyle DeBarge singled through the left side to drive home one. Carson Roccaforte followed that with a double of his own to send home Ben Robichaux. Two miscues by South, a wild pitch and a throwing error on a steal attempt, allowed two more runs for the Cajuns. John Taylor finished it off with a single through the right side to drive home Heath Hood. Louisiana 5-3.
• (B3) South Alabama got back within one quickly off an RBI single from Trey Lewis. Louisiana 5-4.
• (B4) The Jaguars reclaimed the lead in the fourth, thanks to two RBI singles from JG Bell and Cole Ketzner, South Alabama 6-5.
• (T5) The Cajuns tied the game with a homer from Julian Brock in the top of the fifth, South Alabama 6-6.
• (T6) Louisiana took the lead on an RBI fielder's choice from Roccaforte and an RBI walk from Brock, Louisiana 8-6.
• (T7) Debarge sent a three-run homer over the fence in left field to extend the Cajuns' lead, Louisiana 11-6.
• (B7) The Jaguars took two back in the bottom of the seventh with a Joseph Sullivan homer and an RBI single from Mitchell Heer, Louisiana 11-8.
• (B8) South Alabama came alive with four runs in the frame. Colson Lawrence drove in Will Turner on an RBI fielder's choice, followed by a two-RBI triple to right center from Micah Morgan. Morgan came home on a single through the right side from Heer for the winning run. South Alabama 12-11.

 
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mark Calvi
On the resiliency of the players:
"When we went down, 11-6, it didn't feel good, but there wasn't a bad feeling in the dugout. You know when somebody is dead, or a team is dead. Our team has never been dead. They haven't had a lot of breaks this year, but then again you have to make your own breaks. We've talked about that. We haven't, at times, played well enough to be lucky enough to get our breaks and put ourselves in position. We've been in position before, but we haven't done enough to put ourselves over the hump. Tonight, we did. I'm really proud of our effort. It was a total team effort. I'm really proud of our guys, Matthew DeLano and Jacob Bruning coming in and holding down the fort. Jackson Boyd in the eighth was huge, and then Grant Wood in the ninth."
 
On the amount of hits and walks they had tonight:
"The guys are starting to settle in. They've worked really hard in practice, and they are buying in. We switched some things up with our on-field batting practice, and every one of those dudes bought in. They've been bought in all year long, which is amazing considering some of the things that have happened to us and some of the things we've done to ourselves. But, we did a few different things in batting practice, and I thought our guys just stood in there and were tougher. When it comes down to it, you've got to be tough in the box at this level. Our guys were tough and just kept working."
 
UP NEXT
The series between the Jags and the Cajuns continues tomorrow with a double-header, beginning at 1 p.m. at Eddie Stanky Field.
 
Follow the Jags
For complete coverage of University South Alabama baseball, follow the Jaguars on social media @SouthAlabamaBSB (Twitter), /SouthAlabamaAthletics (Facebook), @southalabamabsb on Instagram, or visit the official home of South Alabama athletics at USAJaguars.com.
  Read Full Article