Friday, February 26
Eagles Top Highlanders 6-3 to Open Four-Game Series
STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern picked up its first home win of the year on Friday night with a briskly paced 6-5 victory over Radford. Returning to the field just 48 hours after a 16-inning marathon game against Georgia Tech, the Eagles needed just 2:18 to tally the win and open the four-game series with the Highlanders. With the win, the Eagles improve to 2-3 while Radford falls to 0-4.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Evan Challenger – LHP – R-Jr. - Mount Dora, Fla.
7.0 IP // 4 H // 3 R // 2 ER // 1 BB // 9 Ks
Evan Challenger went seven strong innings to pick up his first win of the season on the mound. He matched a career high with nine strikeouts and was economical, needing just 86 pitches to take the strain off a heavily used bullpen from Wednesday's 16-inning marathon.
QUOTABLES
HEAD COACH RODNEY HENNON
"After a tough loss like Wednesday night, the guy you want to run back out there is Challenger. He stepped up for us tonight and gave us seven strong innings. I didn't think he was real sharp right out of the gate, but I thought he settled in and got better as he went. Ryan Fredrick did a nice job finishing off the last two innings."
"We took advantage of some free bases tonight. Our guys did a good job of executing when we had guys on base and did a pretty good job, for the most part, running the bases tonight. We had some better at-bats. With college baseball right now, when you get some freebies like that you have to be able to execute, move guys around and take advantage of it. At that same token, I think we gave up a couple of freebies, but overall it was a solid game."
STARTING PITCHER EVAN CHALLENGER
"It was definitely good to get a win tonight and get the first win under my belt, and just kind of go from there. Coach called a great game for me and I was able to locate a lot better than I have been in my last start."
CRUCIAL MOMENTS
TOP 1ST (RAD 1-0) – Zach York capitalized on a one-out walk to drive in a run in the opening inning. The RBI was the first of three on the day for the Highlander first baseman.
BOTTOM 1ST (GS 3-1) – Following a leadoff strikeout, the Eagles loaded the bases without a hit on a hit batter, throwing error and a walk. Will Hudgins converted the Eagles' first bases loaded opportunity of the season for a run with a painful RBI as he was hit in the wrist. Later in the inning, Logan Baldwin plated two more with a single to left. He, however, rounded first too far and was cut down to end the inning.
BOTTOM 4TH (GS 5-1) – After Hudgins earned his second painful pass (HBP), a walk and an ill-advised throwing error by the catcher put runners on the corners for Baldwin. A fielder's choice scored Hudgins as Baldwin got aboard with one out. Baldwin reached third on a single by Kent Rollins and scored when Evan McDonald dropped a safety squeeze and made it 5-1.
BOTTOM 5TH (GS 6-1) – A fielder's choice and single by the heart of the Eagle lineup in the sixth put runners on the corners for Hudgins. The Eagle third baseman placed a sacrifice bunt of his own to score Jordan Wren from third and extend the lead to 6-1.
TOP 6TH (GS 6-3) – Radford cut into the advantage with a pair of runs to open the sixth. A throwing error to start the frame pulled Cleveland off first base and York made the Eagles pay with a no-doubt home run to score two.
TOP 8TH (GS 6-3) – Ryan Frederick came on in the eighth for Challenger and immediately got the first two outs by strikeout. A walk and a single to left put the senior in a spot of bother, but he coolly worked out of the jam with a fly out.
NOTES
- The Eagles had their five hits scattered across five batters while CJ Brazil and Will Hudgins were both hit by pitches twice.
- Logan Baldwin drove in three runs for the Eagles while Will Hudgins drove in a pair.
- Radford's Zach York went 3-for-4 on the day with all three RBIs.
- Ryan Frederick picked up his first save of the season on Friday night. It is his first save since taking a six-pitch save on May 22nd against Western Carolina in the SoCon Tournament.
- Friday night was Challenger's 20th collegiate start. Over his career, Challenger went deeper into the game just three times including a career-high 8.0 last season at Troy.
Warhawks Take Game One from Catamounts
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - ULM score multiple runs in four different innings and got a three-run homer as well as a grand slam en route to an 11-6 win over Western Carolina on Friday afternoon at Childress Field at Hennon Stadium.
The Warhawks (2-2) struck first for the second consecutive game as back-to-back-to-back hits led to a pair of runs for ULM. With one out in the top of the third frame, Nathan Reynolds got things going with a single up the middle and Cade Stone followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. Anthony Herrera drove in both Reynolds and Stone as he notched his second double of the contest, putting ULM ahead, 2-0.
One inning later, ULM increased its lead to five runs thanks to the Warhawks' second straight multiple run inning. Danny Springer reached base thanks to an error at third base and moved to second on Dalton Todd's sacrifice bunt. Jacob Stockton drew a walk to put two men on base and Josh Faciane sent the first pitch he saw from Catamount pitcher Brendan Nail over the wall in center to give ULM a 5-0 advantage.
ULM starter Brayden Bouchey kept the Catamounts off of the scoreboard for the first three innings of the game, but Western Carolina broke through in the fourth and ended Bouchey's scoreless inning streak to start the season.
Between the fourth and fifth innings, Western Carolina (0-4) plated a quartet of runs to climb within one run at 5-4. Bryson Bowman picked up a RBI groundout in the fourth, while Brett Pope, Matt Smith and Kramer Ferrell each picked up a single RBI in the bottom of the fifth.
The Warhawks scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the sixth as the visiting club increased its lead to three runs. With Faciane standing at second base, Cade Stone tallied a two-out RBI single to center field to push the lead to 6-4. Stone later came into score on a Herrera RBI single to right field, putting the Warhawks ahead, 7-4.
Keller Bradford and Ethan Daily recorded a hold against the Catamounts as Bradford got one out in the sixth before giving way to the left-handed Daily. Daily pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless baseball.
Western Carolina got within two at 7-5 as Spencer Holcomb connected on a pinch hit solo home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth.
ULM put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth as Stockton notched his first hit of 2016. With two outs and the bases loaded, Stockton delivered what wound up being an inside the park grand slam to push the ULM lead to six at 11-5. On Stockton's inside the park sprint, Vincent Dellocono, Springer and Todd all scored.
The Catamounts set the final tally at 11-6 with a single run in the home half of the ninth inning.
Keegan Curtis earned the save getting the final six outs of Friday's contest. Western Carolina starter Brendan Nail (0-2) was charged with the loss after allowing seven runs (four earned) on eight hits and one walk in 5.2 innings.
Georgia State's Uvila Fans 10 in 22-4 Win over Coppin State
ATLANTA -- Cole Uvila struck out a career-high 10 in six shutout innings and Joey Roach homered to lead the offensive onslaught in Georgia State's 22-4 victory over Coppin State Friday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
The 22 runs are the most by the Panthers (2-2) since a 23-1 win over Alabama State in 2010. Georgia State scored in every inning but the first and the eighth, and every starter drove in at least one run. The Panthers' 19 hits were spread among 13 batters.
Uvila (1-0), the senior right-hander, has not allowed a run in his first two starts of 2016, throwing 13 scoreless innings with 16 strikeouts and just two walks.
Tonight, Uvila took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, when he allowed a one-hit double. He faced just two over the minimum, surrenduring two hits and one walk in his six innings. His 10 strikeouts are the most by a Panther pitcher since Nathan Bates fanned 10 vs. Arkansas State in 2014.
After a scoreless first inning, Georgia State scored three in the second inning and then exploded for nine runs in the third, when the Panthers sent 14 men to the plate. Roach led off the frame with his first homer of the season, one of nine hits in the inning. Six of the runs scored after two were out.
Roach, Ryan Blanton, Jarrett Hood, Zach Wingate and Andy Burnett each drove in two runs in the game. Wingate was the only Panther with three hits. The Panthers also took advantage of 13 walks issued by Coppin State (1-3).
"The story of the night is two-fold," head coach Greg Frady said. "Of course it was Cole Uvila again, who pitched very well last weekend and was just sensational tonight.
"But the other story is a commitment to playing better offense. We didn't play good offense last weekend, when I thought our hitters pressed a little bit. We went into this game saying we needed to be more disciplined, and tonight we did not get ourselves out. We had a much more mature approach, and we had some big RBIs."
The four-game series continues with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
TCU Uses Big Fifth Inning To Defeat Cajuns Baseball
HOUSTON, Texas. – The sixth-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team could not overcome a TCU four-run fifth inning as the Cajuns fell 7-1 in their opening game of the Shriner's Hospitals for Children College Classic on Friday at Minute Maid Park.
With the loss, the Ragin' Cajuns fall to 3-2 on the year, while the 13th-ranked Horned Frogs improve to 4-1.
"We saw another premium arm tonight. The way you beat a premium arm is to pitch and play defense," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "I thought Gunner (Leger) did a great job of answering their guy. We needed to make a critical play at a critical time in the game, and we didn't do it. That hit down the line opened up the door for them. We also have to grab them by the jugular early. We left runners at third early in the game."
Leger was handed his first loss of the year after surrendering five runs (two earned) on seven hits in 4.2 innings. The left-hander did not allow a free pass and struck out four in the outing.
TCU starter Brian Howard earned his second win of the season as he held the Cajuns to one run on five hits in 6.1 innings pitched. Howard struck out seven with one walk.
Offensively, the Frogs outhit the Ragin' Cajuns 12-5 in the contest led by Connon Wanhanen and Dane Steinhagen who both went 3-for-4. Stienhagen had a double, home run, drove in two and scored three times.
The Cajuns threatened in the top of the second with runners on second and third with one out, but Howard settled in and got Alex Pinero swinging followed by a groundout by Nick Thurman to get out of the jam.
An inning later, Joe Robbins drove a one-out triple into the gap in left center. In the next at-bat, Brenn Conrad put the Ragin' Cajuns in front 1-0 on a perfectly executed bunt single down the first base line to score Joe Robbins from third.
Later in the inning, Louisiana had runners on first and third with one out, but again Howard would get out of a tight spot as Kyle Clement hit into a double play to end the threat.
TCU evened the contest at 1-all in the bottom half of the third on an RBI ground out to third by Cam Warner.
The Horned Frogs grabbed the lead for good in the bottom half of the fifth scoring four runs on four hits and a Cajuns error. TCU took a 2-1 advantage on an RBI single up the middle by Wanhanen. Luken Baker extended the lead to 3-1 on an RBI double down the left field line. In the next at bat, Josh Watson gave the Frogs a four-run lead as he doubled in a pair of runs to make the score 5-1.
TCU tacked on two more runs with a two-run homer to left center by Steinhagen in the bottom of the eighth.
The Ragin' Cajuns return to action tomorrow at noon as they face Texas Tech at the Shriners College Classic. The game will be broadcast live on both Cox Sports Television (Cox channel 37 and LUS channel 35) and Root Sports (DirecTV channel 674).
Fans can also catch the game live on the radio with Dan McDonald making the call on KPEL 96.5 FM.
Trojans Fall to IPFW in Series Opener
LITTLE ROCK – Good pitching hampered any offensive gains as Little Rock baseball (2-2) fell 4-2 to IPFW (4-1) on Friday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field.
Junior catcher Cameron Knight batted in both of the Trojans’ runs for the game as he went 1 for 3.
The Trojans could only get four hits off IPFW starter Evan Miller as he went seven innings with seven strikeouts and allowed only three hits and run.
“We played error-free baseball, but pitching, defense and timely hitting is the recipe,” head coach Chris Curry said. “Our offensive approach was really good, and I’m really confident in how we’ll swing the bat this year. We ran into a really good arm, and no matter what your approach is against a guy like that, he’s going to give you a hard time.”
The scoring began in the second inning as IPFW’s Greg Kaiser took a leadoff homer to right. After Little Rock starter Cory Malcom earned a strikeout, the Mastodons’ Grant Wilson walked on seven pitches. Jonathan Valenzuela-Reece then singled to center to put runners on first and second. Jackson Boyce singled to right to load the bases for IPFW. Brandon Soat earned a seven-pitch walk as Wilson trotted home to give the Mastodons a 2-0 lead. That would be all the damage to occur as a force out at home and line out to short ended the inning.
Dylan Slayton came on for Malcom in the top of the fifth inning and was welcomed to the game with a leadoff single by Soat. Evan VanSumeren singled to short to put runners on first and second with no outs. A ground out to second put both runners in scoring position, and another ground out to second by Shane Trevino scored Soat. After intentionally walking Kaiser, Slayton struck out Shannon Baker to eliminate the threat of more runs.
Down 3-0, Little Rock finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh. Zach Baker doubled to left center to lead off the inning. Kyle Kirk grounded out to Miller, but Baker safely made his way over to third. Knight earned his first RBI of the afternoon as he grounded out to second, allowing Baker to score and cut the IPFW lead to 3-1.
IPFW added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning. With one out, VanSumeran doubled to right center. After, Kendall Whitman singled to right to put runners on the corners. Trevino struck out swinging before Little Rock went to the bullpen as Matt McDowell came on for reliever Jacob Rateliff, who pitched 1.2 innings and earned two strikeouts. With McDowell now on the mound with an out to go, Kaiser doubled to center as VanSumeran scored to put IPFW up 4-1.
Down three runs, Little Rock would have to work some magic in the bottom of the ninth inning. It started well as Nik Gifford and Ty Gunter walked to begin the frame. With one out, Kirk grounded out to the pitcher, but both runners moved into scoring position. Knight came to the plate and earned his second RBI as got on base with an infield single, allowing Gifford to score and cut the Mastodons’ lead to 4-2. Keegan Meyn came on to pinch run for Knight, but a fly out to left field on a 1-0 count ended the game.
Little Rock will turn right around and face IPFW in a doubleheader beginning tomorrow at noon at Gary Hogan Field.
A-State Falls to Morehead State, 2-1, on Walk-off Single
EMERSON, Ga. (2/26/16) – The Arkansas State baseball team lost on a softly-hit, walk-off single to Morehead State Friday at the Perfect Game Complex in Emerson, Ga., by a score of 2-1 despite seven shutout innings from A-State starter Tyler Zuber.
Morehead State (4-1) couldn’t get much going all game long with just seven singles, but the last one proved to be the one that hurt A-State (2-3) the most in the bottom of the ninth. J.D. Miller subbed in to pitch, but was pulled in favor of Tanner Ring after a single and walk. The Eagles sacrifice-bunted the runners to second and third and, after a walk loaded the bases, Jesus Carrera punched a soft line drive down the left-field line to score both runs to give MSU the win.
Zuber went seven strong innings with no runs allowed on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks, while Morehead State starter Luke Humphreys was also impressive with seven innings of one-run ball with five hits allowed, three strikeouts, and two walks. Coulton Lee also pitched a scoreless inning in relief for A-State while the Eagles’ Cable Wright went two innings with no runs allowed on one hit and three strikeouts to earn the win.
The Red Wolves only run of the game came in the seventh inning. Austin Baker led off with a walk and advanced to second on a ground out to begin the frame. Ring laid down a perfect bunt single to put runners on the corners before Garrett Rucker put down a safety squeeze bunt to score Baker. Rucker was able to get a single out of it when no one from Morehead State failed to cover first base. However, A-State couldn’t add on to the 1-0 advantage.
A-State only had one other real threat in the top of the fourth when the team had runners on first and second with one out. Ring hit a line drive that looked destined to be extra bases, but MSU’s third baseman leapt and snagged the ball and was able to turn an unassisted double play. Ring and Rucker led the Red Wolves with two hits apiece, while Ring and Baker each had a double. Michael Patrick led the Eagles with two hits on the afternoon.
A-State plays Saint Louis in a doubleheader starting at noon (CT) Saturday at the Perfect Game Complex in Emerson, Ga., with the second game to follow approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Spartans Run Past Bobcats, 3-2
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – After leaving 10 men on base against Rice on Wednesday, Texas State left eight stranded on Friday against Michigan State to fall to 3-3 on the season. The Spartans used a timely stolen base that eventually led to a run in the sixth and a two-out double to plate the go-ahead run to outlast Texas State, 3-2.
Starter Lucas Humpal pitched a solid seven innings, tallying five strikeouts to just one walk and holding Michigan State to a manageable three runs. Wes Engle and Pasquale Mazzoccoli were also solid down the stretch in the bottom of the eighth inning to put Texas State in position to win late.
Offensively, Luke Sherley busted out with his first career home run, finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. In addition, Granger Studdard was 2-for-4 while Jared Huber went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI to score Texas State’s first run of the day.
After Michigan State scored a run in the third inning on an RBI double, the Bobcats responded in the fifth inning. With one out, Nick Perez was able to get on base thanks to an error, then back-to-back singles through the left side for Sherley and Huber brought in Perez to tie the game, 1-1.
In the top of the sixth, the Bobcats had a chance to score more after back-to-back singles from Cory Geisler and Studdard to start the inning. Unfortunately, Michigan State and pitcher Cam Vieaux would retire three straight to keep the game tied, 1-1. Before that, Vieaux went on a streak to retire 12 consecutive batters from the second out of the first inning to the first out of the fifth. The Spartan offense struck in the bottom of the sixth inning. After a single, MSU stole second, and two batters later a single to right centerfield plated the runner from second base to put Michigan State up, 2-1.
Huber caught the first steal attempt of the day, but Michigan State wasn’t deterred and stayed with the aggressive base-running philosophy eventually making pay off.
Unshaken, the Bobcats bounced back in the top of the seventh. Sherley hit his first career dinger, a solo shot, to lead off the inning and tie the game, 2-2. It was just the second home run given up by Michigan State so far this season.
The Spartans continued the back-and-forth game with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to regain the lead, 3-2. A one-out triple for Royce Ando led to a run. With two outs, pinch hitter Chad Roskelly came up with a double to score Ando and put MSU up again.
The Bobcats tried to answer in the top of the eighth. Studdard singled and pinch hitter Ryan Newman earned a walk to put two men on base for Texas State. Unfortunately, a fly out and a strikeout looking ended the opportunity for the Bobcats to tie or pull ahead.
In the bottom of the eighth, Michigan State threatened, putting two men on base with one out, but the Bobcat coaching staff played the inning to perfection. Texas State intentionally walked one batter to load the bases but force a lefty/lefty matchup with freshman Engle. Engle came up big with the strikeout he needed for the second out of the inning. Senior Mazzoccoli came in for the next batter, forcing a pop out to end the inning.
Needing one run ini the ninth, Texas State came up short. Dylan Paul, in a pinch hitting role, took a free base on a hit by pinch. Paul has been good for the Bobcats as a pinch hitter, putting together a .500 on-base percentage. The pinch runner to replace Paul, though, was thrown out trying to steal second. On the next pitch, after a six-pitch at-bat, Michigan State pitcher Dakote Mekkes won the battle with a strikeout to end the game.
Texas State will continue action at the Kleberg College Classic with a 2 p.m. game against UCF on Saturday followed by a 3 p.m. game on Sunday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Bulldogs Take Series Opener from Mavs
RUSTON, La. – The UT Arlington Mavericks committed four errors, leading to six unearned runs, as the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs picked up an 8-3 win in the opener of a three-game series on Friday at J.C. Love Field.
The Mavs (3-3) committed all four of their miscues between the fifth and seventh innings with every run in that span being of the unearned variety. The Bulldogs (4-1) compounded things with a program-record 11 stolen bases on the night, in addition to 10 hits.
That spoiled an otherwise solid start from UTA pitcher Joel Kuhnel, who took the loss, despite allowing four runs – two earned – in 5.2 innings with five strikeouts. Bulldog lefty Phillip Diehl picked up his second win of the season, fanning seven hitters in his 6.0 innings of work while allowing just a single run.
Caleb Koedyker picked up a pair of RBI and Colton Turner hit his first career home run, but despite 11 hits as a team the Mavs finished the evening just 1-for-11 in two-out situations and left nine runners on base.
After the Mavs stranded a pair of runners in the top of the second, the Bulldogs plated a pair of runs of their own in the bottom half to go ahead 2-0. Taylor Love and Sean Ullrich started the rally with consecutive singles to open the inning, then after Kuhnel retired the next two hitters, Chandler Hall plated Love with a sure single to right field. The ‘Dogs then got their second run by executing a double steal as Ullrich crossed home plate from third as Hall swiped second.
UTA had a golden chance to score in the top of the fourth after Christian Hollie and Turner drew consecutive walks to open the inning, but a double-play and fly out by the next two UTA hitters got Diehl out of the inning without any damage done.
An inning later the Mavs scratched the scoring column on a sacrifice fly from Koedyker to score Jerame Littell after three consecutive singles loaded the bases with one out. But that one-run deficit did not last long as the Bulldogs scored twice in the bottom half of the inning, aided by a balk and a throwing error for the Mavs to up the lead to 4-1 after five frames.
Louisiana Tech put two more up in the bottom of the sixth with a rally that started when Hall with two outs on the second Maverick error of the night. After a walk to Bryce Stark and a double steal, Gladu lined a single to left field to give the ‘Dogs a 6-1 advantage.
Koedyker picked up his second RBI of the night on an RBI groundout in the top of the seventh, scoring Williams, and Turner slammed a solo home run to lead off the eighth; however, a pair of errors in the bottom of the seventh aided in two more Louisiana Tech runs to negate the effort.
The Mavs will resume their series with the Bulldogs on Saturday. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. with sophomore Jake Wilcox scheduled to get his second start of the season.
Troy Defeats Southeastern Louisiana, Improves to 6-0
Story to Follow
Hill Tosses Complete Game as Jags Defeat Bulldogs
ATHENS, Ga. – Kevin Hill struck out a season-high 12 batters in a complete-game effort to lead the University of South Alabama baseball team to a 3-1 win over Georgia on the opening day of the Bulldog Invitational at Foley Field.
Hill (2-0) allowed one run on three hits in nine innings to earn his second win of the season and seventh career complete game. The right-hander retired the first 16 Bulldog batters he faced, and did not allow a hit until a one-out single by UGA second baseman LJ Talley in the bottom of the sixth inning.
"The one thing I liked about Kevin was that he was good, but it wasn't like he was more amped up because of the opponent," head coach Mark Calvi said. "I think he went at it a little bit harder when they gave up a run, and I was a little concerned that he was going to get outside of himself and what he was doing. But he was really good; it was typical Kevin Hill."
South Alabama (5-0) jumped out to a one-run lead in the top of the first inning on a two-out RBI single by Danny Martinez. Travis Swaggerty led off the game with a single back up the middle, and moved to second when Tanner Halstead reached on a hit by pitch from UGA starter Robert Tyler. Danny Martinez worked the count full against UGA starter Robert Tyler before dropping a single into shallow left-center field to score Travis Swaggerty with the game's first run and extend his hitting streak to five games.
The Jags held a one-run advantage until they pushed a second run across in the top of the seventh. Jared Barnes led off the inning with a double off the left field wall. Martinez followed with a walk before a wild pitch from UGA left-handed reliever Bo Tucker moved both runners into scoring position. Ben Gann then drew a walk to load the bases before Drew LaBounty reached on a bunt single on a suicide squeeze to score Barnes and double the Jaguar lead to 2-0.
"I have to give (assistant) Coach (Alan) Luckie credit with the squeeze call," Calvi said. "I have the utmost amount of confidence in our coaches. Coach Luckie and I talk before the game, between innings and during timeouts in the game. That was his call to put down the squeeze. We had the right guy up; Drew (LaBounty) has done a great job handling the bat and we're fortunate it worked out for us. Coach Luckie made the right call, and the guys executed it; it couldn't have worked out any better."
UGA (3-2) answered with its lone run of the contest in the bottom of the seventh on a leadoff solo home run to right-center field by Keegan McGovern to cut the USA lead in half.
USA then answered with a run in the top of the ninth inning to push its advantage back to two. Martinez led off the inning with a double to the right-center gap off of UGA right-hander Sam Vaughn, and Gann followed with a single back up the middle to put runners at the corners with no outs. Brendan Donovan followed with a walk from UGA right-handed reliever Shane Tucker to load the bases for LaBounty, who singled through the left side of the infield to score Martinez with the final run of the game.
LaBounty went 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Martinez finished 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI and a run scored to lead the Jags at the plate.
Tyler (0-1) allowed one run on two hits and struck out eight in six innings in the loss for the Bulldogs.
"We're happy with the win today and proud of how the players responded," Calvi said. "They faced a guy (Tyler) who was throwing hard out there. He was up to 95-96 with better offspeed stuff than advertised. He was really good, but our guys hung in there tough. The team approached it like it was just another game, which is what I appreciated about the whole thing."
South Alabama will return to action Saturday when it squares off with Western Kentucky (3-1) at 11 a.m. (CT) at Foley Field on day two of the Bulldog Invitational.