MOBILE, Ala. | South Alabama took a first inning lead and never looked back, picking up a 5-2 Sun Belt Conference victory over Georgia State at Eddie Stanky Field on Saturday afternoon.

South Alabama (20-19, 8-9 SBC) scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead before adding one in the third and two more in the fifth on a two-run home run off the bat of Joseph Sullivan. Sullivan finished 1-for-1 with a pair of RBI and two walks, while also being hit by a pitch. Meanwhile, Tyler Borges did not register an at-bat on the day with three walks, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI.

Mitchell Heer (3-1) picked up the win for the Jags, working 5.0 innings and scattering six hits while allowing just two runs. He struck out seven and walked just one before giving way to Zach Willingham to start the sixth inning. Willingham provided an inning of scoreless relief before Colson Lawrence worked the final three innings of relief to pick up his second save of the season.
 
How It Happened

• (B1) The Jags got on the board first with an RBI groundout from Trey Lewis with the bases loaded to score Erick Orbeta for the game's first run, and they added to the lead when JG Bell scored on a wild pitch, South Alabama 2-0.
• (B3) Tyler Borges drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in Will Turner with nobody out in the inning, South Alabama 3-0.
• (T4) JoJo Jackson was able to score on a balk, South Alabama 3-1.
• (T5) Cameron Jones reached on fielder's choice that allowed Dylan Strickland to score from third with the bases loaded, South Alabama 3-2.
• (B5) Joseph Sullivan hit his 10th home run of the season, a two-run shot to score Turner, South Alabama 5-2.

Up Next
The two teams meet in the final game of the series at Eddie Stanky Field on Sunday afternoon with first pitch set for 1 pm.

Quotable, head coach Mark Calvi
These Saturday games are getting fun to watch with Mitch on the mound …
"The game starts and stops on the mound and Mitch gave us a great start against one of the better offenses in the league. I thought he was really good, made a lot of pitches in the game, and really battled. We left a ton of guys on the bases in the first few innings, their guy wasn't sharp, it was a version of our start last night. We were a hit away from going up 5-0, so we had a hard time getting that hit which can be frustrating for a pitcher. But if you are concentrating on what you need to be concentrating on, it's difficult and that's what Mitch did. He worried about what he needed to, and he was outstanding, even through the balk call he kept his composure and gave us a great outing. (Zach) Willingham gave us a really good sixth inning, I would have loved to see him push through the seventh, but we had Colson ready. He has been out for five weeks, but he was really good in the sixth with just six pitches."
 
You've been trying to get Grant (Wood) fresh for the Sunday game, how important is that …
"It is important, it really is. We used both of them – Grant and Colson – and they were fantastic for us. It was good to have both of them fresh for Saturday and Sunday with the rubber match tomorrow. We have Grant Wood fresh, and we've got some guys down there ready to go. Jeremy Lee can get us off to another good start, and the wind blowing in against the guys – if I could dial that up I would. I feel a lot more comfortable with it blowing in than out with these guys."
 
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