MOBILE, Ala. — Junior Austin Bembnowski threw eight scoreless innings of relief Tuesday night, and South Alabama came back from an early three-run deficit to beat Auburn 7-4 at Eddie Stanky Field.
The win kept the Jaguars unbeaten at 4-0 this season.
Auburn Strikes First
Jaguars starter Jared Gates walked the first two batters of the game, and both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Jordon Ebert. Bo Decker followed with a two-run double down the left-field line, and Cody Nulph singled through the right side to score Decker for a 3-0 Auburn lead.
South Alabama loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first. Garrett DeGallier singled, Cole Gleason was hit by a pitch and Daniel Martinez reached on an error by the Auburn center fielder. Jared Barnes’ sacrifice fly to center made it 3-1.
Auburn added a run in the second when Kyler Deese walked to lead off the inning and later scored on a wild pitch by Bembnowski, making it 4-1.
Jaguars Rally
Barnes and Connor Hawthorne opened the bottom of the fourth with consecutive singles, and Ryan Raspino moved both runners up with a groundout to third. Adam Ballew then lined a two-run single to left to pull South Alabama within 4-3.
The Jaguars scored four more runs over the next two innings to take control.
Bembnowski Shuts Down Tigers
Bembnowski (1-0) retired 13 of the first 14 batters he faced and allowed three hits and two walks while striking out six over his eight innings.
Auburn right-hander Keegan Thompson (1-1) took the loss after allowing six runs on eight hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings.
Barnes went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored. Ballew was also 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run. Collura had two hits, an RBI and a run scored, and Raspino added two hits and a run.
Calvi Praises Approach at the Plate
“It was tough falling behind early like that,” South Alabama head coach Mark Calvi said. “But our guys kept fighting and we put some good at-bats together. They kept playing hard and we got back into it. We had one strikeout tonight, which was outstanding. We made them (Auburn) work for everything, and made them field every ball.”
Calvi said he had not planned for Bembnowski to pitch as long as he did. “Bembnowski was really good; he settled the game down for us. I didn’t plan to use him that long. It was going to be a long-relief role but he kept going out there,” Calvi said. “He’s an extremely strong kid, and he was ready to go out there and compete.”
Up Next: Round-Robin Tournament
South Alabama hosts Arkansas, No. 13 Maryland and Central Florida in a round-robin tournament at Eddie Stanky Field this weekend. The Jaguars open against Maryland at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
