MOBILE, Ala.-ULM
out-hit South
Alabama 10-9 in the Sun Belt Conference series opener Friday night at
Stanky
Field, but the Jaguars were able to put together the big inning and
defeat the
Warhawks 8-4.
South Alabama
(25-14, 12-4 Sun
Belt) used a four-run fourth inning to stake a 6-0 lead before the
Warhawks
began to chip away. The Jaguars had four of their six extra-base hits of
the
game in the inning. Following a leadoff single, Taylor White tripled and
Tyler
Vick doubled to plate the first two runs. Clint Reynolds and Adam
Heisler drove
home the final two runs of the frame with back-to-back doubles following
a
sacrifice bunt.
Boomer Blanchard,
Nick Wade
and Judd Edwards each had three hits to lead the Warhawks (13-21, 3-10).
Both
of Wade's hits were doubles to give him three doubles and two home runs
in two
games this week.
White and Heisler
each had two
hits for South Alabama while five other players had one each.
The Jaguars took an
early 2-0
lead in the bottom of the second inning after loading the bases with one
out.
Sean Laird, who walked, scored on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Brown and
White
scored on a ULM error on what should have been an inning-ending grounder
by
Reynolds.
Blanchard and Wade
put
back-to-back doubles into right field in the top of the sixth inning to
put the
Warhawks on the board.
Heisler snuck a
ball just
inside the left-field line with two outs in the home half of the sixth
to score
Reynolds. Reynolds reached base on a fielder's choice after Brown fisted
a ball
into shallow center for a single.
ULM cut into the
lead in the
seventh on a two-run single past third base by Blanchard with the bases
loaded.
Jaguar starter D.D. Hanks left the game with an apparent injury after
allowing
a single to Josh Gill and a double to Shane Ardoin. Phillip Byrd walked
Caleb Clowers
to load the bases and Kyle Dees allowed the single to Blanchard.
Brent Tanner pushed
the South
Alabama lead back out to five, 8-3, with a home run to straightaway
center
field with one out in the bottom of the seventh.
Gill got the run
back for the
Warhawks when he drove home Edwards on a grounder in the eighth. Edwards
and
Poche led off the frame with back-to-back singles back up the middle off
Dees.
Hanks (8-2) allowed
three runs
on seven Warhawk hits - four for extra bases - over 6 2/3 innings to
pick up
the win. He struck out six batters and didn't issue a walk, but did hit
one
Warhawk batter.
Drew Granier (3-4)
took the
loss for ULM after allowing eight runs - seven earned - on nine hits
over seven
innings of work. He walked three and struck out three before handing the
ball
off to Corey Brown who worked a perfect eighth.
The teams continue
the
three-game series Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. The game will be
televised live
by the Sun Belt Network with coverage on CSS and Cox Sports Television.
