South Alabama lost the final game of its baseball series against Charleston on Sunday, falling 7-6 after a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Jaguars had won the first two games of the series but could not secure a sweep.
Charleston took its first lead in the third inning when Daniel Gonzalez, South Alabama’s starting pitcher, allowed two runs on a wild pitch and a single from Dylan Johnson. Gonzalez pitched five innings, giving up two earned runs and five hits.
South Alabama responded with four runs in the fifth inning, all coming with two outs. Marc Stephens singled to bring home Ethan Melton and Brennon Wright. An error by Charleston’s center fielder allowed Stephens to score, and Paxton Bigby added an RBI single to make it 4-2.
In the seventh inning, Stewart Puckett hit his second home run of the series for South Alabama, but Charleston answered with an RBI single in their half of the frame. Blake Guerin scored on a balk by Charleston pitcher Kaden Myers in the eighth before Charleston tied it at 6-6 heading into the ninth.
Dylan Johnson doubled for Charleston to start their last at-bat. Braeden Smith then hit a walk-off homer off Andrew Floyd to win it for Charleston.
Brennon Wright led South Alabama’s offense with three hits and extended his hitting streak to four games over the weekend. Five Jaguars had two-hit games during Sunday’s loss. Ethan Melton recorded a double and scored once while Mike Young extended his hitting streak to five games.
Charleston reliever Kayden Myers earned his first win of the season while Andrew Floyd was charged with his first loss.
“Our guys competed really hard. Went on the road, really good energy, really good baseball. We got beat today, but super proud of the body of work,” said head coach Mark Calvi.
South Alabama will finish its five-game road trip at Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday, February 24 with a scheduled start time of 6:00 p.m.
For more updates about University South Alabama baseball, fans can follow @SouthAlabamaBSB on Twitter or visit USAJaguars.com for official coverage.
