MOBILE, Ala. - South Alabama (18-25, 7-15 SBC), despite four shutout innings from the bullpen, fell short in the series opening game against Troy (33-13, 15-7 SBC), 5-2.

After striking out three batters in the first inning, two-run frames in the second and third innings gave Troy a 4-0 lead, which was held into the sixth inning. 

A sacrifice fly in the sixth made a 5-0 game for the Trojans, but a solo home run from Lucas Ismaili on the second pitch he saw gave a spark for the Jaguars. Duncan Mathews followed up the homer with a hard single to center field. Mathews made his way home after moving to second on a wild pitch, then touching home when Ethan Melton drove a double down the right field line. 

Lefty reliever Garfield Johns entered in the sixth inning, allowing only one hit and one walk in his 4.0 innings. Johns struck out three batters, one in the eighth and two in the ninth.

Win: Noah Thigpen (2-1)
Save: Jay Dill (6)
Loss: Jaxon Shineflew (3-4)

QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Calvi

Overall thoughts on the game: We put ourselves in position once again and didn't get it done. I mean, we were in position, you know, we had, I think Shineflew had two walks and two hit by pitches, and two or three of those guys scored; free passes. They didn't earn their way on, and they got a hit with men on. I think that was the first two runs; guys that had walked or been hit by a pitch. So we out-hit them tonight. Baseball is a cruel game. We had guys on. We faced some damn good arms. I thought Garfield Johns was exceptional, absolutely exceptional tonight. Our pitching, in totality, gave us a chance to win, but we didn't get it done. So I thought we competed. We out-hit 'em. We took some walks. We had some good at bats. We just didn't have enough when it counted. And Troy, you know, they were more advantageous than we were offensively. I mean, that was the story of the game. They they pitched a little bit better than we did, and they got some bigger hits. That's the bottom line. I thought our guys competed, you know, and I told them that I expect to win tomorrow. I expect to win the series. But yeah, tonight, every loss hurts, especially in conference, every loss hurts. So that's how I see it.

On Garfield Johns' matchup tonight and the pitching as a whole: Garfield Johns was fantastic. I knew Shineflew was cramping up in the fifth. I probably shouldn't have sent him out for the sixth, but he said he was good. I probably should have made a switch with Johns', but Shineflew was alright. Didn't have his best stuff. He's better out of the pen when he can go short bursts and go two to three innings, you know, you see some 92s, and he's unhittable. But we've got some injuries, and we've been a little bit thin on the mound, so you're having to try to get the most out of your guys. You're trying to stretch them a little bit. And you know that that's been the case. So, you know, the good news is, we made them go to, you know, Frida and Dill. They still have a couple more good arms down there, but we made them use the two, two of their main three or four guys. And, you know, we've got some decent matchups down there tomorrow for the next two games.

UP NEXT
South Alabama will look to even the series on Saturday against Troy, with first pitch set for 7 p.m.

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