JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — South Alabama baseball stayed unbeaten Wednesday afternoon, scoring four runs in the first inning and beating Jacksonville State 8-3 at Rudy Abbott Field to improve to 9-0.
Every Jaguar starter recorded a hit, and five had multiple hits.
Four-Run First Inning
South Alabama took control in the top of the first. Jordan Patterson lined a two-run double, and Nick Zaharion followed later in the inning with a single that scored Patterson. Whitt Dorsey singled to center to drive in the inning’s fourth run for a 4-0 lead.
“We scored four in the first on five hits and that was good to see, because there wasn’t a lot offense yesterday,” first-year head coach Mark Calvi said.
Bell Recovers After Early Homer
Jacksonville State answered in the bottom of the first with a three-run home run off Matt Bell, cutting the lead to 4-3. The Gamecocks did not score again.
Bell finished five innings, allowing three runs on four hits with three strikeouts. After the home run, he retired 14 of the final 15 batters he faced.
“Credit Matt Bell for coming back,” Calvi said. “He threw up zeros his next four innings, and we got every leadoff hitter out except for the ninth inning. He did what he had to do. He bent a little but didn’t break, and gave us a chance to score some runs. And we were pretty good out of the bullpen again.”
The South Alabama bullpen held Jacksonville State scoreless over the final four innings.
Calvi Wants Deeper Starts
Calvi said the schedule gets more difficult beginning this weekend and that he wants his starting pitchers to work deeper into games.
“We have to be good,” Calvi said. “It gets tougher from here. College of Charleston is going to be good. We face a really good pitcher on Friday. They have some good arms and have some hitters returning, so we need quality starts. We need our starters to get us into at least the sixth (inning).”
“We’ve used the bullpen a little and they have done a great job, but I want to see our starters get into the sixth or seventh inning and have a full cupboard for Saturday and Sunday,” he said.
Weekend Series at College of Charleston
South Alabama travels to Charleston, S.C., for a three-game series against College of Charleston this weekend. The Cougars are 3-4 and have lost three straight, all close games at the Auburn Tournament against Indiana State, Auburn and Middle Tennessee State.
