South Alabama lost to Georgia Southern in the opening game of their series on April 10, falling 5-3 after a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning at J.I. Clements Stadium.
The result marks South Alabama’s third consecutive loss and their first Friday defeat of the season. The Jaguars had previously been undefeated on Fridays with an 8-0 record.
Stewart Puckett gave South Alabama an early lead with his sixth home run of the season in the first inning. He extended his hitting streak to nine games, which is a season high for him. Ethan Melton contributed by drawing a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning, bringing in another run for South Alabama. Marc Stephens had three singles and was hit by a pitch, scoring once during his perfect night at the plate.
Mitchell Heer delivered a strong performance as starting pitcher for South Alabama, setting a career-high with 7.2 innings pitched while allowing six hits, two earned runs, no walks, and recording eight strikeouts. Heer left the game in the eighth inning before reliever Jaxon Shineflew recorded the final out of that frame.
Georgia Southern tied up the game with a two-run homer in the fourth and ultimately secured victory with a three-run walk-off homer in their last at-bat.
Looking ahead, South Alabama will continue its series against Georgia Southern on Saturday, April 11. Right-hander Ryland Bozenhard is scheduled to start for South Alabama while left-hander Carter DeGondea is set to pitch for Georgia Southern.
