MOBILE, Ala. - South Alabama (24-16, 10-8 SBC) grabbed a gritty win over Marshall (18-20, 9-9 SBC) in Sunday's rubber game at Stanky Field. The Jaguars took the lead late by way of Paxton Bigby's go-ahead two-RBI single in the eighth inning.


PRIMARY THREADS

• An overcast day with the wind blowing in from the outfield at Eddie Stanky Field set the scene for a pitcher-friendly afternoon. The Jags got on the board first when Blake Guerin drew a walk with the bags full of Jags to score a run.
• Marshall tied the game at one in the fifth inning when an RBI single plated its lone run of the afternoon.
• The 1-1 score remained true until the eighth inning, when Paxton Bigby stepped in as a pinch-hitter. Bigby worked the count full with Mike Young and Stewart Puckett moving on the payoff pitch with two-away, when a hard single through the right side plated both runs and gave the Jags a 3-1 lead late. The Jags weren't done yet when Marc Stephens singled to keep the inning alive, and Rett Johnson followed suit with an RBI single that snuck through the left side of the pull-shifted Marshall infield that plated one more run in the frame.
• Zach Stevens entered in the seventh with two-away and would close the game out without allowing a hit and earned his fourth win of the season.

KEY STATS

• Paxton Bigby's pinch hit two-RBI single in the eighth inning put the Jags in position to secure the series victory.
• Brennon Wright collected his second multi-hit game of the series and scored his fourth run of the weekend in the win.
• Shortstop Marc Stephens tallied his 13th multi-hit game of the season and pushed his hitting streak to eight games. Stephens is 14-31 (.452 average) in that span.
• Starter Daniel Gonzalez delivered his eighth start of over 5.0 IP this season (10 total). Through four hitless frames, the right-hander marked the following line: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 6 BB, 2 K.
• Zach Stevens (W, 4-1) has not allowed a run in his last five appearances across 9.2 IP. The junior did not allow a hit in today's rubber game in 2.1 IP with 3 K's.

QUOTABLE
HEAD COACH MARK CALVI
"Gonzo allowed seven free passes, but threw it across the plate enough to allow us to play great defense behind him. It was a tough day to hit with 15 MPH in your face at the plate. I don't typically put a bunt down in the first inning but today we did, and struggled pushing runs across. Their starter was really good with a sneaky fastball and did a really good job. Bigby coming off the bench came up huge for us. I tell the guys I try to keep as many guys sharp as I can. It was Paxton's turn today, and he did a great job."


ON DECK
The Jaguars will continue its homestand with a midweek contest on Wednesday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m. when Lamar comes to visit Stanky Field.


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