Jags Baseball Falls At Jackson State 5-4
South Alabama fell to Jackson State on the road last night 5-4. On the night, Jaguar pitchers issued 10 walks which proved to be the difference.
Starter Jared Gates allowed three unearned runs on two hits in five innings of work. He finished with four strikeouts and six walks. Matt Peacock, who took the loss, walked all three batters he faced in relief of Gates. Cameron Carleton threw three shutout innings while allowing four hits, a strikeout and a walk.
The Jags scored two runs in the first inning to give Gates early run support. Bud Collura got on base with a one-out walk before advancing to third on a single by Hayden Jones. He scored on an RBI grounout by Matt Mojciechowski to take a 1-0 lead. Erik Hindmon reached base on a fielding error by JSU’s third baseman which schoed Jones from second for a 2-0 lead.
The Tigers would tie the game up in the bottom of the fourth after an RBI double and a passed ball.
The Jags tied the game back up in the top of the fifth when Collura doubled and later scored on a two-out RBI single by Jones.
JSU answered right back with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. The bases were loaded by three consecutive walks before a sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout to shortstop scored the two deciding runs.
The Jags would only manage one more run the rest of the way. In the top of the eighth Hindmon would advance to third on a flyout to right field by Adam Ballew then would score when the relay throw to third sailed out of play.
The Jags will play again tonight against #12 Mississippi State in Starkville, MS. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm and will be broadcast on ESPN3 and WNSP.
USA Baseball Clinch Series Against #24 Arkansas
The Jaguar baseball team fell 12-1 in the first game against #24 ranked Arkansas but rebounded on Saturday to claim both games of a double-header to win the weekend series against the Razorbacks.
In the first game the Razorbacks jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first and the Jaguars never had a chance to rebound.
In game one of the double header, Locke St. John allowed just one run while scattering eight hits in a career-high 8 1/3 innings pitched as the Jags won 2-1. St. John struck out three and only walked two batters as he retired 8 of his final 10 batters faced. Brandon Hallford came in in the ninth to pick up his second save of the season.
In game two, Jaguar righty Kevin Hill allowed three runs on seven hits through eight innings of work while striking out five and walking three in his first career start as the Jags won the series finale 5-3.
Through the first eight innings Hill retired 10 consecutive batters before hitting a player with a pitch and walking another batter and being lifted in the ninth inning. Righty Brandon Hallford pitched one inning in relief and allowed only one hit to pick up his third save of the year, his second save of the day.
The Jags evened their season record at 5-5. They will travel to Jackson, Mississippi to face Jackson State on Tuesday before traveling to Starkville to face Mississippi State on Wednesday.
Baseball And Softball Games Cancelled Yesterday
Both the Softball and Baseball games that were scheduled for Wednesday were cancelled.
The Softball teams trip to Thibadaux was cancelled due to heavy rain in the area and the rescheduled date has not yet been determined. Though they will face each other this weekend in Gulfport for the Gulf Coast Softball Classic.
The baseball team’s game against Jacksonville State was also cancelled due to unplayable conditions at Eddie Stanky Field. Rain that pass through overnight Tuesday night continued into Wednesday morning forcing the cancellation.
No makeup date has been announced yet. The Jags will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas for a three-game weekend series against the #24 Razorbacks.
USA Baseball Defeats JSU 4-2
The Jaguar Baseball team put three runs across the plate in the bottom of the second inning as they defeated Jacksonville State Tuesday night at Eddie Stanky Field 4-2.
Jared Gates allowed only one run in 5 1/3 innings of work while striking out four with no walks to earn his first career win as a Jaguar. Bandon Haliford threw two shutout innings while striking out three to earn his first career save as a Jaguar.
The three run second inning began with Matt Mojciechowski doubling to right-center to lead off the inning. Then Erik Kindmon followed with a walk before Matt Bolger delivered a two-run triple to left-center in his first at-bat as a Jaguar to put the Jags on the board 2-0. Cameron Cummings followed with an RBI single to score the third and final run of the inning.
Through the first five innings Gates faced the minimum before surrendering a leadoff single to Andre Bishop. That would be followed by an RBI double from Tyler Gamble to cut the Jaguar lead to 3-1 in the top of the sixth inning.
In the top of the seventh inning, JSU’s designated hitter Paschal Petrongolo got on base with a two-out double to center, he was then replaced with pinch runner Ty Pierce. The next batter, Ryan Sebra, hit an RBI double to cut the Jaguar lead to one run, 3-2.
The Jaguars responded in the bottom half of the inning when Drew LaBounty led off the inning with a single to center. He would later score on a one-out RBI single to left field by Bud Collura.
In the top of the eighth inning with James Traylor pitching for the Jags, the Gamecocks threatened with a leadoff double then a walked batter put the tying run on first base with no outs. Hallford entered the game and got three straight outs, two of them being strikeouts.
The Jags improve to 3-4 on the season while JSU falls to 4-3. The Jags can even their season record this afternoon when they meet on the diamond again at 3pm.
South Alabama Sports – Weekend Roundup
Men’s Basketball
The Men’s basketball team took Coach Graves’ words to heart and went out and dominated the first half against Troy to help earn a 86-78 win on Saturday night at the Mitchell Center.
“What I told our guys was, this is a must win game,” head coach Matthew Graves said. “If you want to compete in New Orleans for a conference championship you have to win tonight. I thought our energy and effort from the opening tip was outstanding. We got off to a great start. The first half was as well-played a first half that we’ve had all year, on both ends of the floor. Then, in the second half, we really played to protect the lead instead of just playing the game and keep attacking. We got really conservative and I thought Troy got on a great run there. They have some tremendous shooters. Certainly if you give up 54 points in a half, you don’t expect to win very often, but our guys made enough plays down the stretch.”
The Jags jumped out to a 26 point lead in the first half but Troy would cut the lead down to only six points on two occasions in the second half but the Jags reponded each time to keep their hopes for a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament alive.
Rubit earned a double-double in the game with a team-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. He also set a new career high with five assists while going 8-for-15 from the floor with two blocks. He also tied Terry Catledge for career double-doubles with 52 as he earned his 10th of the season.
Five Jaguars scored in double digits, a season-high for the team. Ken Williams added 18 points, one shy of a career high, with four assists. Senior Antoine Allen added 15 points off the bench while sophomore Barrington Stevens III and junior Mychal Ammons added 11 points each.
Williams scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half going 4-of-6 from three-point range. But then did not score again until 6:39 left in the second half, though they came at a key time for the Jaguars.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Williams sparked South Alabama to a 26-7 run to open the game.
Troy went on a 12-3 run as the Jaguars went almost six minutes without a field goal with 7:29 left in the game. But the Jags would answer with the next five points to stretch the lead back out to double digits.
“I thought we were flat,” Troy head coach Phil Cunningham said. “As I told the coaches before we left the huddle in the first half that we were flat. It’s obvious how big of a game this was, but I just sensed that we were flat. But I also sensed at halftime that we could get back in the game because in the last couple minutes of the first half, we made that little run on them. Give them credit, they made shots. They were lighting that thing up from everywhere in the first half.”
“I do think fatigue played a little bit of a factor,” Graves said of Troy’s comeback attempt. “We were on the road Thursday and with the quick turnaround and Aakim’s (Saintil) limited minutes due to foul trouble. I think those guys got tired, but at the same time, Troy has a couple guys that can really shoot the basketball. When they get feeling good and get in a rhythm, they’re certainly capable of making shots. We missed a couple switches and a couple things on our rotation. In large part, it was due to our fatigue and you have to credit Troy because they could have easily rolled over, but they kept fighting until the end.”
The Jaguars have a two-game road swing this week to close out their road games for the regular season. They will continue their fight to get into the conference tournament when they travel to Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday for a 7pm game.
Softball
USA Baseball Falls To Alabama State 5-0
The USA Baseball team fell at home to Alabama State on Tuesday night at Eddie Stanky Field, 5-0. The Jags could only muster four hits in the shutout.
ASU righty Mike Estevez threw five shutout innings while only allowing three hits with five strikeouts and five walks for his first win of the season. Jaguar lefty Jared Gates took the loss after sevens innings of work by allowing only one run on just three hits with three strikeouts and a walk.
The game started with ASU’s Richard Amion hitting a solo home run to left center field to put them up 1-0 in their first at-bat. Gates would then settle in and retire 18 of the next 19 batters he faced, with only a walk in the sixth inning as a blemish. He would then force the next batter into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Jags looked like they were even the game when Logan Kirkland singled to left field with a runner in scoring position, but the Hornet’s left fielder threw Davis Knapp out at the plate with a great throw.
Again, in the bottom of the seventh the Jags loaded the bases on three walks with two outs but the Hornet’s righty Hunter McIntosh worked himself out of the jack with a flyout to center ending the threat.
In the top of the eighth, ASU loaded the bases with one out before their catcher hit a two-run single to left field to put them up 3-0. The final runs of the game came in the top of the ninth on a two-run homer by Dexter Price.
The Jags left 14 runners on base.
The Jags (1-3) will travel to New Orleans this weekend for a three game series beginning at 6:30pm on Friday.
USA Baseball Lose First Series Of Season To TTU
The South Alabama baseball team lost the series to Tennessee Tech over the weekend 2 games to 1.
On Friday night, the Jags took the game to the 11th inning before a bases loaded walk scored the eventual game-winning run in the top of the inning. Jag lefty James Traylor struck out the first two batters before allowing a single and two walks to load the bases.
The Jags had a 3-0 lead through the first two innings before TTU came back. But could not hold onto it and lost the first game 5-4.
In the second game on Saturday, the Jags scored five runs in the bottom of th eighth inning to defeat TTU 6-3. The Jags trailed 3-1 through seven-and-a-half innings before a two-run double down the right field line by Erik Hindmon tied it up. Drew LaBounty followed with a go-ahead single to center field to drive in Logan Kirkland. Cameron Cummings entered earlier in the game as a pinch-runner would get a RBI single to right field to score Cole Jarman, who came on to pinch run for Hindmon. Bud Collura then added the final run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Tripp Hobbs earned teh win in three innings of relief. He allowed only one run on two hits with four walks and a strikeout.
With the series tied at 1-each, USA and TTU both entered Sunday wanting to win the series. But TTU would score five runs in the fourth inning as they held on to a 5-4 series-clinching win.
The Jags led by a run through three innings after a two-out double in the first inning. But TTU’s Daniel Miles led off the fourth with a single before loading the bases with consecutive one-out walks. Jordan Hopkins then hit a two-run double downt he right-field line to give the Golden Eagles a 2-1 advantage.
David Allen then hit a two-out, two-run double to left-center to take a 4-1 lead. An RBI single through the left side of the infield game them a 5-1 lead and chased Jaguar righty Ben Taylor from the game. But the damage had already been done.
The Jags put the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth, but a game-ending groundout ended the game.
USA returns to action on Tuesday when they host Alabama State at Eddie Stanky Field for a 6:30pm game.
USA Baseball Opens Spring Practice Today
The Jaguar baseball team is set to hold their first official practice of the 2014 season today at 2pm at Eddie Stanky Field.
The Jags were Sun Belt Conference co-champion and were selected for the NCAA Regional. Coach Mark Calvi returns 11 letterwinners from last season including Matt Bell who received second-team All-SBC honors. Additionally the Jags will welcome 21 newcomers to the roster with three returning redshirt freshmen.
USA is scheduled to face LSU, Auburn, 2013 College World Series runner-up Mississippi State in non-conference midweek games. They will also travel to Arkansas for a three-game set in Fayetteville against the Razorbacks.
South Alabama will also host the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championship for the 11th time but the first since 2007. The Jaguars have not won an SBC Tournament they have hosted since 2000 with they sweeped the bracket in four games when they were seeded fifth.
“We’re ready to get going,” coach Calvi said. “The team worked hard in the fall and during the offseason, and we are all eager to get started. We have a challenging schedule, but that is what we need in order to be ready for the postseason and get to where we want to go.”
South Alabama will kickoff their season on Friday, February 14 when they host Tennessee Tech for the first of a three game series at Eddie Stanky Field. First pitch is set for 6:30pm.
Former Jaguar Luis Gonzalez Eliminated From BWAA Hall Of Fame Ballot
Former Jaguar baseball player Luis Gonzalez was eliminated from the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot on Wednesday. Photo: downtownphoenix.com
Former Jaguar baseball Star Luis Gonzalez was on the ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame this year. Unfortunately it will be his only appearance.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of American announced the results of their annual vote as to whom, if any, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and Frank Thomas were all elected to the Hall of Fame as they were named on at least 75% of the 571 ballots cast.
Gonzalez received five votes which totaled 0.9% of the ballots which is below the threshold of 5% in order to continue to be considered by the BWAA. A player can remain on the ballot for up to 15 years as long as they receive 5% of the vote annually.
Gonzalez was an All-American first baseman for the Jaguars in 1988. He set the school record for RBI’s in a season with 80, which still stands. When he left USA after three seasons he held the school career record for games, runs, doubles, and RBIs. Those marks have sence been overtaken.
Gonzalez was selected by Houston in the fourth round of the 1988 draft.
As an outfielder he spent 19 seasons in the Majors. He is most notably known for his game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning in the 2001 World Series for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the New York Yankees.
In addition to the Diamondbacks, he also played for the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, LA Dodgers and the Florida Marlins.
In 2,591 games in his career he hit .283 with 1,412 runs, 596 doubles, 354 home runs, 1,439 RBIs, 1,155 walks and a .479 slugging average. He was a five-time All-Star selection and led the National League in hits in 1999 with 206. He scored 100 runs in each season from 1999-2001 and drove in 100 runs each season from 1999-2003. He also hit a career high 57 home runs in 2001.
South Alabama retired his jersey and has named their hitting facility the “Luis Gonzalez Hitting Facility” in his honor.
USA Baseball Add 10 For 2014-2015
The University of South Alabama baseball team added 10 student-athletes for 2014-2015. USA head coach Mark Calvi announced that USA signed nine to National Letter of Intent’s and added one more student-athlete.
The coaching staff worked hard to sign pitching and defensive players but, according to Calvi, they need one more hitter.
The players added were:
- Jared Barnes – Catcher/Infielder from Tallahassee, FL.
- Cameron Cochran – RHP from Baton Rouge, LA via Mississippi Gulf Coast CC.
- Jason Cryar – Utility Player from Altamonte Springs, FL.
- Mike Dolloff – RHP from Davison, MI via Northwest Florida State CC.
- Justin Flores – RHP from McDonough, GA via Middle Georgia State JC.
- Shane McKinley – LHP from Tylertown, MS via Southwest Mississippi CC.
- Zach McMullen – LHP/Outfielder from Sarasota, FL.
- Kevin Moore Jr. – RHP from Mobile, AL via Chattahoochee Valley CC.
- Luke Morgan – RHP/Infielder/Outfielder from New Lenox, IL.
- John Barr – RHP from Waynesboro, PA.