South Alabama won the opening game of its Sun Belt Conference baseball series against Louisiana with a 3-2 victory on March 13 in Lafayette, Louisiana. Outfielder Mike Young led the Jaguars’ offense, recording three hits including a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning.
The win marks South Alabama’s first conference victory of the season and improves their record to 13-5 overall. The close contest saw both teams trading leads, with Young also contributing an RBI single and a triple earlier in the game. Pitcher Mitchell Heer started for South Alabama despite an ankle injury and delivered 6.1 innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out five batters.
Head coach Mark Calvi praised his players after the game. “Mitchell Heer was nasty. Just bulldogged his way through, got us into the seventh, got us deep, did a hell of a job tonight, and couldn’t be more proud of him. Shineflew was fantastic as well,” Calvi said. He added: “These guys are going to bunt, run, and the innings not over until it’s over. You have to keep playing and you have got to handle your baseball. With that said, give these guys credit the way they calmed down. Mitch had a lot to do with that.” Calvi also commented on Louisiana’s strength: “I can tell you they’ve got really good arms. You can see their numbers. They beat LSU, they beat Kansas State. Two of three from DBU. They’re a good club, but so are we.”
Relief pitcher Jaxon Shineflew entered in the seventh inning and closed out the game with 2.2 scoreless innings while extending his scoreless streak to 16.2 innings.
The series continues Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m., with Ryland Bozenhard scheduled to pitch for South Alabama and Andrew Hermann set as probable starter for Louisiana.
