South Alabama lost its first series opener of the season on Apr. 2, falling to No. 14 Coastal Carolina with a final score of 12-2 in Conway, South Carolina.
The loss is significant as it marks a shift for the Jaguars, who had previously won all their opening games in series play this season. Defensive errors by South Alabama in the first inning allowed Coastal Carolina to take an early lead, which they maintained throughout the game.
Coastal Carolina scored three runs in the first inning following mistakes by South Alabama’s defense and added another run with an RBI single in the second inning. The third inning saw four more runs cross home plate for Coastal, while Jaguar starting pitcher Mitchell Heer allowed five earned runs over three innings—his shortest outing of the season.
Head coach Mark Calvi addressed his team after the game, saying: “I told the guys Coastal is exactly what we thought they were. They are a solid baseball team with not a lot of weaknesses, and you have to play good baseball. We misplayed some balls early, walked some guys and didn’t get a leadoff out.” Calvi continued: “Good thing is only a third of the series is done and we get to come back and do it again tomorrow. I have all the trust in the world in this team. I told them I know you’re embarrassed and so am I, and you don’t need to be anything else but the best version of yourself. We’re a very capable team but if you play like that it’ll happen again. Need to land and be ready to go tomorrow.”
Robert Miranda hit his first home run of the season for South Alabama—a two-run shot scoring Nick Richardson—in the seventh inning after Richardson drew a walk.
The teams will continue their series on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m., with Ryland Bozenhard scheduled as starting pitcher for South Alabama.
