NEW ORLEANS ?South Alabama put up five runs in the eighth inning to rally with a 10-7 win over the University of New Orleans on Sunday at Maestri Field.
The Jaguars took the lead on a Privateer error, and Ryan Bohanan ripped a two-run single to put it away as USA avoided the three-game weekend sweep.
Ryan O'Shea (0-1) gave up four hits and four runs in 1 2/3 innings to take the loss. The UNO bullpen combined to give up seven runs in three innings of work.
David Doss went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI for the Jaguars (12-10, 2-4 Sun Belt Conference). Ray Kruml went 3-for-6 with three RBIs, including a two-run double in the decisive eighth. Bohanan finished with three RBIs.
The UNO offense did most of its damage in the sixth, scoring five runs on a pair of home runs by Josh Vander Hey and Nick Schwaner. But the Privateers (12-8, 3-5) managed just six hits overall, with five coming in the sixth and ninth innings.
“We came into the game with a rested bullpen, and you expect to win most of those games when we hand them the lead,” said UNO head coach Tom Walter. “It just didn't work out that way today.”
Six different Privateers tallied a hit.
UNO seemed primed for the weekend sweep after taking a 6-2 lead in the sixth. Vander Hey hit an opposite-field three-run home run before Schwaner crushed a two-run shot to right.
But the Jaguars fought back with two bases-loaded RBI walks in the sixth and seventh to cut the margin to 6-4. After UNO reliever Jake Henderson got in a jam in the eighth, Walter brought in his closer, O'Shea, but Kruml tied the game with a two-run double to center field.
Clint Toomey followed with an infield single, and Johnny Giavotella did a nice job of keeping the ball in the infield. But the junior second baseman tried to catch Kruml aggressively rounding third, and the ball got away from T.J. Baxter ? allowing Kruml to score the go-ahead run.
Bohanan then made it 9-6 with a single to center, and the Jaguars added an insurance run in the ninth. UNO tried to rally with a run in the ninth, but a double play for the second consecutive inning ended the threat.
“With the wind blowing in, you have to keep the ball out of the air,” Walter said. “Unfortunately when you do that, double plays can happen. It's a frustrating loss, but we will move forward.”
Travis Johnson (1-0) got the win in relief for USA, while Greg Johnson worked the final two innings to claim his fourth save.
UNO pitchers combined for 10 walks.
The Privateers will host Jackson State at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Maestri Field.
