MOBILE, Ala. — Cole Gleason’s walk-off double in the 10th inning gave South Alabama baseball a 2-1 win over Troy at Eddie Stanky Field on Saturday after the Trojans won the series opener, and the No. 14 South Alabama softball team won both of its games at the Cowgirl Classic in Stillwater, Okla.
Hicks Blanks Jaguars in Opener
Troy right-hander Tanner Hicks threw a complete-game shutout Friday night as the Trojans beat South Alabama 5-0. Hicks allowed six hits with five strikeouts and one walk to even his record at 2-2.
South Alabama right-hander Kevin Hill pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed three earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts and four walks. Cameron Carleton and Dillon Buhrkuhl combined for 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.
Gleason Delivers in the 10th
In the bottom of the 10th inning of game two, Bud Collura singled up the middle and moved to second on a wild pitch, and Gleason followed with the game-winning RBI double.
Brandon Hallford earned the win with 2 1/3 hitless, scoreless innings and a strikeout. Starter Locke St. John pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run on seven hits with five strikeouts and no walks, and did not figure in the decision.
The third game, moved into a Saturday doubleheader because of weather concerns, was suspended in the bottom of the fourth inning because of heavy rain. Its scheduled 1 p.m. Sunday resumption was canceled because of inclement weather, and no makeup date has been announced.
South Alabama plays at LSU in Baton Rouge on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Softball Wins Twice in Stillwater
South Alabama opened the Cowgirl Classic on Saturday with a 9-0 win over New Mexico in five innings.
Chloe Rathburn opened the scoring with a solo home run, and Amanda Herron’s RBI double scored Kaitlyn Griffith in the fourth. In the fifth, Emily Messer led off with a single and moved up on Stephanie Pilkington’s sacrifice bunt, Blair Johnson singled to score Messer, and after Amanda Minahan walked, Griffith hit a two-out double to score Johnson and Minahan for a 5-0 lead.
Alex Breeden singled to score Griffith before New Mexico changed pitchers. The reliever walked Messer with the bases loaded, and Taylor Rodgers and Herron scored on a fielder’s choice by Pilkington to complete a seven-run inning.
Farish Beard retired the final three Lobos to close the Jaguars’ fifth run-rule win of the season. Beard allowed only two baserunners, striking out four and walking one.
South Alabama then beat host Oklahoma State 5-1. In the second inning, Rathburn and Griffith led off with back-to-back singles, and Herron drove both in with a single off the shortstop’s glove.
Hannah Campbell retired 12 of the next 15 batters she faced. In the sixth, Minahan reached on an error and Griffith was hit by a pitch, and Breeden hit a two-out, three-run homer over the left-field wall for a 5-0 lead.
Oklahoma State loaded the bases on three straight singles in the bottom of the sixth, but Campbell escaped with a strikeout, a force out at home and a groundout to third. The Cowgirls scored in the seventh on a double down the right-field line, and Campbell ended the game with her 10th strikeout.
Sunday’s rematch with Oklahoma State was canceled because of heavy rain. South Alabama is 22-3 and opens Sun Belt play Saturday at home against UT Arlington with a doubleheader at Jaguar Field, followed by a single game Sunday.
Football Holds Mini-Scrimmage
The South Alabama football team closed its first week of spring practice Saturday with a mini-scrimmage.
The session opened with special teams work on punting before the offense and defense split up for drills. The first-team defense worked on installing coverages while the second team focused on blitz packages. After about 20 minutes of drills, the offense worked against the scout team before the scrimmage began.
The scrimmage lasted roughly an hour and included about 100 plays, with the first three units on each side getting most of the work. Drives began at the offense’s own 30-yard line before moving to the 40 after five series.
Brandon Bridge threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Timmons for the first score of the day. The scrimmage closed with possessions starting just outside the red zone, where the offense scored on three of four drives: Bridge threw a 10-yard touchdown to Jake Howton, Trey Fetner hit T.J. Glover for a 14-yard score and Brett Sheehan connected with Martavious Stewart from 20 yards.
Raheem Robinson had the only turnover, an interception on the final possession. Between drives, kickers Aleem Sunanon and Zac Henry made two of three field goal attempts from 37 yards or longer.
Head coach Joey Jones singled out Jimmie Gipson III at defensive end and cornerbacks Qudarius Ford and Montell Garner. Jones also said Bridge looked better at quarterback after an off day earlier in the week.
“I thought it was a good week, especially from an intensity standpoint,” Jones said. “These guys have a good spirit about them, I like that. We’re trying to watch what they are doing individually to get better.”
“But I think we got better, and my challenge to everyone is to improve individually so we can get better as a team,” Jones said.
