Box Score MOBILE, Ala. - South Alabama, after tying the game at four, then again in the ninth, fell short in 11 innings, 6-5.
The Jags were down early, 4-0 in the bottom of the third. Jaguar batters loaded the bases with only one out, and
Ethan Melton lined a two-RBI single to right field cutting the Golden Eagles' lead in half.
Jaguar pitching stepped up, with
Carson Swilling and
Eric Lin running from the fourth through the eighth retiring 15 of the next 17 batters, including a stretch of nine in a row.
Joseph Sullivan raked a game-tying two-run homer out of right field in the sixth. A double for USM gave them the lead in the top of the ninth, leaving the Jags in a do-or-die bottom of the ninth. Sullivan struck a double up the middle, then stole third to put the tying run 90 feet away. A foul out and strikeout left the Jags on their final out.
Brennan Holt fell behind on an 0-2 count, then hit a clutch RBI single to ensure extras.
Seth Carter went down the line up in the 10th, and a walk put the go-ahead on. A pop-up in shallow centerfield forced a tangle between Jaguar defenders, allowing the runner to advance home. South was unable to get anyone on base to respond.
Winning Pitcher: Colby Allen (4-2)
Losing Pitcher: Seth Carter (2-1)
QUOTES
Head Coach
Mark Calvi
Overall Thoughts: Good college baseball game. Unfortunately, we came out on the losing end. Made a couple of mistakes; didn't handle the baseball a couple of times. It cost us a couple runs. Our guys competed. We played hard. We pitched well. We just made some crucial mistakes defensively that hurt us against a really good team.
On the team's pitching: Yeah, those guys were fine. That's the game we left on the table. Swilling, Lin, Carter, they competed; pitched well, threw strikes. Yeah, it's unfortunate to lose that ballgame when you had it, very unfortunate. But we competed. I was proud of our effort. Sometimes that happens, we'll be back ready to go tomorrow.
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