MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Matt Wojciechowski hit a go-ahead grand slam during a seven-run eighth inning, and South Alabama rallied from a four-run deficit to beat Alabama State 12-11 in nonconference baseball.
The win moved the Jaguars to 20-24 on the season. Alabama State fell to 33-17.
Hornets Build a Lead
Alabama State scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to go ahead 9-5, and the score stayed that way into the eighth.
Seven-Run Eighth
Garrett DeGallier opened the top of the eighth with a single to right field. Drew LaBounty walked, and Andrew Tindell singled to left to load the bases for Davis Knapp.
Hornets catcher Richard Gonzalez then tried to pick Tindell off first base, but the throw sailed over the first baseman into right field, allowing DeGallier and LaBounty to score and cutting the deficit to 9-7.
Knapp walked to put runners at the corners with nobody out, and Cameron Cummings drew another walk to load the bases. Wojciechowski drove the first pitch he saw over the right-field wall for an 11-9 lead. It was his first home run and first grand slam as a Jaguar.
DeGallier later singled to right with runners on the corners to bring home the seventh run of the inning, South Alabama’s biggest single-inning output of the season.
Alabama State answered with two runs in the bottom of the eighth, but the Jaguars held on for the one-run victory.
Pitching and Hitting Leaders
Right-hander Dillon Buhrkuhl (1-0) earned the win with 1 2/3 innings of relief, allowing two unearned runs on one hit with one strikeout and one walk. Brandon Hallford worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out one, for his seventh save of the season.
Wojciechowski finished 2-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Hindmon collected a career-high three hits, and DeGallier matched his career high with three hits.
Up Next: Georgia State
South Alabama travels to Atlanta this weekend for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Georgia State. The opener is scheduled for 5 p.m. Central on Friday and will be broadcast on 105.5 FM WNSP and online at WNSP.com.
Pregame Notes
The game at Alabama State’s Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex in Montgomery was South Alabama’s final nonconference game of the regular season. First pitch was scheduled for 6 p.m., with the broadcast carried on 105.5 FM WNSP and WNSP.com.
South Alabama entered the game 19-24 overall after winning two of its previous three games. The Jaguars were 9-12 in road games and had lost three straight away from home. Right-hander Matt Sharp (0-0) was scheduled to make the first start of his career; his only previous appearance came April 9 against Nicholls State, when he allowed three runs on one hit with a strikeout and two walks in one inning.
Alabama State came in at 33-16, having won five of its previous six games, including back-to-back wins over Jackson State the previous weekend. The Hornets were 18-7 at home.
South Alabama held a 10-1 all-time record against Alabama State in a series dating to 1987. The Hornets’ lone win came earlier this season, a 5-0 shutout at Eddie Stanky Field.
