MOBILE, Ala. - South Alabama (25-17, 10-9 SBC) came just up short in the series opener with Southern Miss (30-12, 12-7 SBC) by a final score of 4-3 on Friday night at Stanky Field.
PRIMARY THREADS
- After zero's for both sides through two, the Golden Eagles posted a crooked number to break the scoring open in the third inning on an RBI infield single.
- With two Jaguars in scoring position, Marc Stephens gave the Jags the lead in the fifth inning on a hard single over the head of the Golden Eagle second baseman to plate Mike Young and Robert Miranda who reached on a walk and a bunt single respectively.
- Southern Miss responded in the sixth with three hits, the third of which scored a run to tie the game at two.
- A Golden Eagle two-run homer proved to be the difference in the contest when it doubled the Southern Miss lead in the seventh.
- The Jaguars kept fighting in the ninth when Brennon Wright grounded out to plate Ethan Melton who tripled, but came up short, 4-3 final.
KEY STATS
- Shortstop Marc Stephens drove in two runs on an RBI single in a 1-4 effort at the plate.
- Ethan Melton collected two hits, both good for extra-bases, with a double and a triple while scoring a run. Melton leads the team in the double category with 12 this season.
- Lead-off man Brennon Wright picked up a knock and an RBI in the contest, pushing his hit streak to four games.
- Mike Young went 1-2 at the dish and drew two walks, pushing his hit streak to four games.
- Jaguar starter Mitchell Heer delivered 5.1 innings of two run ball without allowing a walk and struck out three for a no-decision.
QUOTABLE
HEAD COACH MARK CALVI
"That game is on me. I knew the situation and have so much faith in Shineflew, and should have walked Gillespie in that spot. That's my fault. I don't judge the guys on wins and losses. If they don't go hard and we lose? Then we have a problem. They went hard tonight and it didn't go our way. We have two-thirds of the series left and it's all about tomorrow's game. It's about getting up off the mat and we have to continue to pitch and play good defense. I told them on Thursday, both teams will have opportunities. Whoever maximizes the most will win. The window will open, even if it's a small crack. We had a couple openings and just fell short tonight. Southern Miss is as advertised. They're good, and have been around the block. We just didn't get it done tonight. Tomorrow is a new day and we'll move on and be ready to go."
ON DECK
The series continues on Saturday, April 25 at 1:00 p.m. (CT).
Ryland Bozenhard (2-1, 4.61 ERA) is scheduled to make his tenth start of the season for the Jaguars, while right-hander Camden Clark (5-0, 1.69 ERA) is the probable for the Golden Eagles.
FOLLOW THE JAGS
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USAJaguars.com.
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