MOBILE, Ala. — The South Alabama baseball team took two of three games from Louisiana-Monroe at Eddie Stanky Field over the weekend, and the No. 20 South Alabama softball team swept Western Kentucky on the road to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt Conference tournament.
Gleason Homers in Opener
South Alabama used a four-run fourth inning to beat Louisiana-Monroe 7-4 on Friday night.
The Warhawks took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly and a two-out, two-run homer. In the bottom of the second, Garrett DeGallier doubled to right field with two outs to score Hayden Jones, who had walked.
The Jaguars tied the game in the third when Davis Knapp singled to left with one out and Cole Gleason followed one batter later with his first career home run, over the left-center field wall. South Alabama then scored four runs in the fourth to go ahead 7-3. Louisiana-Monroe’s only other run came on a solo homer in the fifth.
Locke St. John improved to 5-1, allowing four runs on four hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 6 2/3 innings. Ben Taylor struck out four and walked one in 2 1/3 scoreless innings for his first career save.
Jaguars Clinch Series Saturday
South Alabama clinched the series with a 6-5 win Saturday.
Knapp led off the third with a single. Cameron Cummings bunted, and the Louisiana-Monroe pitcher threw the ball into center field trying for a force at second, putting runners on second and third. Gleason followed with his second home run in as many games for a 3-0 lead.
The Warhawks scored in the fourth on a two-out RBI double after a runner reached on an error. In the bottom half, Knapp doubled into the left-center gap, moved to third on Cummings’ groundout and scored on Gleason’s RBI single.
Leading 6-4 in the seventh, South Alabama allowed a leadoff walk that later scored on an RBI single. Louisiana-Monroe loaded the bases with a walk and a hit batter, but James Traylor got an inning-ending flyout near the warning track in right field.
Kevin Hill (3-5) earned the win, allowing three earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts and three walks in 5 1/3 innings. Traylor pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings with two strikeouts for his third save.
Warhawks Win in 11 Innings
South Alabama rallied from three runs down in the bottom of the ninth Sunday to force extra innings. Knapp led off with a double and took third on Cummings’ single, and Matt Wojciechowski walked to load the bases. Hayden Jones lined a two-run single through the left side, Connor Hawthorne walked to reload the bases and DeGallier’s fly ball to left scored Jones to tie the game 7-7.
Louisiana-Monroe took the lead in the top of the 11th when a runner scored on a two-out fielding error by shortstop Drew LaBounty, and South Alabama could not answer in the bottom half.
South Alabama is 19-24 overall and 8-13 in the Sun Belt.
Softball Sweeps Western Kentucky
South Alabama spoiled Western Kentucky’s Senior Day on Saturday with a 3-2 win in the opener. The Hilltoppers scored in the second and third innings for a 2-0 lead. Chloe Rathburn led off the fourth with a double, and pinch runner Alyssa Linn scored on Emily Messer’s foul out down the third-base line.
South Alabama threatened with runners on second and third in the sixth, but a double play ended the inning. In the seventh, Amanda Herron and Rathburn hit RBI doubles to right-center to score Kaitlyn Griffith and a pinch runner for Herron. Hannah Campbell scattered nine hits with five strikeouts and two walks for the win.
In the second game, Messer’s two-run single scored Amanda Minahan and Rathburn in the second inning. Griffith reached on one of Western Kentucky’s five errors and scored on a wild pitch for a 3-0 lead. The Hilltoppers pulled within 3-2, but Rathburn hit a two-run homer in the fifth. Western Kentucky scored twice in the bottom of the inning before a wild pitch by Emily Rousseau allowed Blair Johnson to score in a 6-4 Jaguar win. Farish Beard improved to 19-5, striking out seven with two walks and allowing four runs, one earned, on six hits.
South Alabama completed the sweep Sunday with a 9-5 win, tying a season high with 16 hits. Seven Jaguars had multiple hits. Johnson went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Rathburn and Messer each drove in a run, and Griffith walked, was hit by a pitch and scored twice. Minahan, Stephanie Pilkington, Alex Breeden and Taylor Rodgers had two hits apiece. Campbell improved to 16-4, striking out four without a walk and allowing five runs, four earned, on nine hits.
South Alabama improved to 37-10 overall and 14-5 in the Sun Belt. Western Kentucky fell to 31-20 and 10-8 and was eliminated from contention for the No. 2 seed, which South Alabama secured.
