South Alabama lost to the University of Louisiana Monroe by a score of 9-6 on March 21 at Stanky Field.
The game was part of a weekend series between the two teams, with South Alabama now holding a record of 15-8 overall and 2-3 in Sun Belt Conference play. ULM improved its record to 14-10 overall and 3-1 in conference games.
ULM took an early lead, scoring runs in each of the first two innings and adding another in the fourth. South Alabama responded with an RBI single from Marc Stephens in the bottom of the fourth, bringing home Duncan Mathews. The Warhawks added two more runs in the fifth before Mathews drove in another run for South Alabama. In the sixth inning, South Alabama loaded the bases but managed only two runs, narrowing ULM’s lead. ULM scored three times in the seventh, while Blake Guerin hit a solo home run for South Alabama—the longest by a Jaguar this season at 443 feet. Paxton Bigby added another home run for South Alabama in the eighth inning.
South Alabama finished with six runs on seven hits and committed four errors. Guerin’s seventh home run and Bigby’s third brought the team’s total to 24 homers this season. Ryland Bozenhard took the loss after pitching four and two-thirds innings and allowing five runs, four earned. Bryant Quimby pitched two and one-third innings out of the bullpen, giving up two earned runs. Zach Stevens made his eighth appearance of the year, pitching two and two-thirds innings with one earned run allowed and four strikeouts.
Head coach Mark Calvi said after the game: “They played better than us today. Pitched better, played better defense, and hit better. We just got outplayed and committed four errors and you can’t win many games playing that way.
The good thing is, we have a third of the series left tomorrow. They are a good team and their record is what it is, and their batting average is what it is for a reason. They were tougher than us when it mattered and won the game today. We need to rebound tomorrow.”
The final game of the series is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m., with Daniel Gonzalez set to pitch for South Alabama against his former team.
