Sarahbelle
04-06-2005, 08:35 AM
South Alabama pounds out 16 hits in win over future conference foe
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
By KIM SHUGART
Sports Reporter
South Alabama produced season-high hits and runs Tuesday night at Eddie Stanky Field en route to a 17-8 college baseball victory over future Sun Belt Conference foe Troy.
The Jaguars pounded four Trojan pitchers for 16 hits, including seven extra-base hits, to improve to 18-12 on the season. Troy, which begins conference play in baseball next season, had 14 hits while dropping to 21-9 on the year.
"I thought our guys did a great job of hitting with two outs tonight," South Alabama coach Steve Kittrell said after watching his club score in each of the first seven innings.
"I was really happy to see the guys swing the bats like that and we only made one error. Overall, our pitching was pretty good. We gave up a lot of hits, but Troy is a good-hitting team."
The Jaguars scored two runs each in the first, second and third innings to build a 6-3 advantage over the Trojans.
Quendon Montgomery's RBI single and a fielding error by second baseman Bryan Madril allowed the Jaguars to score their two runs in the first. Troy got its runs on a two-run single from catcher Henry Gutierrez.
South Alabama took the lead for good in the second inning on a two-run double off Troy starting pitcher Ryan Ellison by center fielder Tyler Jones. Jones doubled with two outs after Jeff Cunningham and Jeff Morris had started the inning with a pair of singles.
The Jaguars took a 6-3 lead in the third on a two-run homer by Cunningham. The freshman designated hitter's second home run of the season came with two outs and knocked in third baseman David Freese, who had doubled to lead off the inning.
South Alabama added a single run in the fourth inning when Morris tripled to center and scored on Josh Stapleton's ground out.
Troy sliced the deficit to 7-5 in the top of the fifth with two runs and South Alabama answered with seven runs in its half of the fifth inning to take a commanding 14-5 lead.
Catcher Ryan Nichols had a two-run single off left-hander reliever Brandon White in the inning and Freese blasted a three-run homer, his third long ball of the year, off right-handed reliever Tony Falls.
The Jaguars added one more run in the sixth and picked up their final two runs in the seventh inning. The Trojans also had a single run in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Jones and Morris each had three hits for South Alabama. Jones also had four RBIs. Freese added two hits and three RBIs, Cunningham two hits and two RBIs and Nichols finished with three RBIs. Gutierrez led Troy at the plate with three hits and four RBIs.
Right-hander Joey Doan, the first of five USA pitchers, picked up the win to improve to 2-0. Doan worked two innings, giving up five hits and three runs. Ellison (1-1) took the loss.
"Overall, we got a lot of guys some experience and it was a good night," added Kittrell.
South Alabama returns to Sun Belt play on Friday when it begins a three-game series at Florida International.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
By KIM SHUGART
Sports Reporter
South Alabama produced season-high hits and runs Tuesday night at Eddie Stanky Field en route to a 17-8 college baseball victory over future Sun Belt Conference foe Troy.
The Jaguars pounded four Trojan pitchers for 16 hits, including seven extra-base hits, to improve to 18-12 on the season. Troy, which begins conference play in baseball next season, had 14 hits while dropping to 21-9 on the year.
"I thought our guys did a great job of hitting with two outs tonight," South Alabama coach Steve Kittrell said after watching his club score in each of the first seven innings.
"I was really happy to see the guys swing the bats like that and we only made one error. Overall, our pitching was pretty good. We gave up a lot of hits, but Troy is a good-hitting team."
The Jaguars scored two runs each in the first, second and third innings to build a 6-3 advantage over the Trojans.
Quendon Montgomery's RBI single and a fielding error by second baseman Bryan Madril allowed the Jaguars to score their two runs in the first. Troy got its runs on a two-run single from catcher Henry Gutierrez.
South Alabama took the lead for good in the second inning on a two-run double off Troy starting pitcher Ryan Ellison by center fielder Tyler Jones. Jones doubled with two outs after Jeff Cunningham and Jeff Morris had started the inning with a pair of singles.
The Jaguars took a 6-3 lead in the third on a two-run homer by Cunningham. The freshman designated hitter's second home run of the season came with two outs and knocked in third baseman David Freese, who had doubled to lead off the inning.
South Alabama added a single run in the fourth inning when Morris tripled to center and scored on Josh Stapleton's ground out.
Troy sliced the deficit to 7-5 in the top of the fifth with two runs and South Alabama answered with seven runs in its half of the fifth inning to take a commanding 14-5 lead.
Catcher Ryan Nichols had a two-run single off left-hander reliever Brandon White in the inning and Freese blasted a three-run homer, his third long ball of the year, off right-handed reliever Tony Falls.
The Jaguars added one more run in the sixth and picked up their final two runs in the seventh inning. The Trojans also had a single run in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Jones and Morris each had three hits for South Alabama. Jones also had four RBIs. Freese added two hits and three RBIs, Cunningham two hits and two RBIs and Nichols finished with three RBIs. Gutierrez led Troy at the plate with three hits and four RBIs.
Right-hander Joey Doan, the first of five USA pitchers, picked up the win to improve to 2-0. Doan worked two innings, giving up five hits and three runs. Ellison (1-1) took the loss.
"Overall, we got a lot of guys some experience and it was a good night," added Kittrell.
South Alabama returns to Sun Belt play on Friday when it begins a three-game series at Florida International.