TROY, Ala. — Left-hander Jared Gates pitched into the eighth inning and Adam Ballew had three hits as top-seeded South Alabama beat eighth-seeded Arkansas State 6-2 on Wednesday in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship at Riddle-Pace Field.
The South Alabama baseball win advanced the Jaguars to a second-round meeting with fifth-seeded Georgia State on Thursday.
Gates Works Through Traffic
Gates (5-3) allowed two runs on four hits over 7 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking seven. Ben Tayler struck out one in two-thirds of an inning of scoreless relief to earn his seventh save of the season.
Early Innings
Arkansas State scored first in the top of the third. The Red Wolves’ leadoff hitter walked and moved to third on a double to right-center, then scored on Zach George’s groundout to shortstop.
South Alabama tied the game in the bottom half. Davis Knapp drew a one-out walk and went to third on Ryan Raspino’s single up the middle, and Cole Billingsley singled to right to drive in Knapp.
Three-Run Fourth
The Jaguars took the lead for good in the fourth. Ballew and Danny Martinez opened with consecutive singles, and Gleason singled off the right-field wall to score Ballew. Matt Bolger’s sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Knapp grounded out to second to bring in Martinez, and Raspino singled to center to score Gleason for a 4-1 lead.
South Alabama added two more in the fifth. Gann was hit by a pitch and reached second when Bud Collura’s grounder to shortstop was misplayed. Ballew doubled off the right-field wall to score Gann, and Martinez’s groundout to first brought in Collura for a 6-1 lead.
Escaping Jams
Arkansas State loaded the bases in the sixth on two walks and a fielder’s choice, but Gates ended the inning with a flyout to left.
In the seventh, Gates hit the leadoff batter, gave up a bunt single and issued a walk to load the bases with no outs. He then induced a 6-4-3 double play, with the runner from third scoring the game’s final run, and got a flyout to left to end the threat.
Top Performers
- Adam Ballew: 3-for-4, double, RBI, run
- Ryan Raspino: 2-for-4, RBI
- Cole Billingsley: two hits, RBI, two stolen bases
- Jared Gates: 7 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 7 BB, 2 SO
- Ben Tayler: 2/3 IP, 1 SO, seventh save
Up Next
South Alabama plays fifth-seeded Georgia State on Thursday in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
