Mobile Courant

No. 5 Southern Miss scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to defeat the University of South Alabama baseball team 6-4 Tuesday at Stanky Field, presented by Accelerated Accounting.

South Alabama (24-19) held a 4-3 lead after eight innings following a four-run seventh inning, aided by a three-run double by Diego Altamirano. But Southern Miss (35-10) plated three runs in the top of the ninth on four hits to for a 6-4 come-from-behind win.

UP NEXT

South Alabama will return to action Friday when it opens a three-game Sun Belt Conference series with Arkansas State at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field.

GAME FACTS

- Charlie Fischer led off the top of the fifth with a ground-rule double to right field, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Brady Faust. Gabe Montenegro followed with an RBI triple down the right field line for a 1-0 Golden Eagle lead. The Jags escaped the inning when Erick Orbeta caught a foul ball down the right field line off the bat of Dustin Dickerson, and fired to catcher Diego Altamirano to put out Montenegro at the plate attempting to tag from third.

- Christopher Sargent reached on a fielding error by Brandon Auerbach on a grounder to third, and scored one batter later on a two-run home run to left-center field by Will McGillis for a 3-0 USM lead.

- Will Turner led off the bottom of the seventh with an infield single to second, moved to second on an infield single to third by Santi Montiel and scored on a two-out RBI single through the right side of the infield by Hunter Stokes to cut the USM lead to 3-1. Pinch-hitter Kasey Donaldson then reached on a hit by pitch to load the bases with two outs. Altamirano followed with a three-run double to left-center field for a 4-3 Jaguar lead.

- Montenegro singled up the middle with one out in the ninth inning, and advanced to third on a single to right-center field by Dustin Dickerson. Carson Paetow followed with a walk to load the bases with one out. Sargent then delivered a two-run single through the left side of the infield for a 5-4 Golden Eagle lead. Danny Lynch later delivered a two-out RBI single to left field to score the game's final runs.

NOTES

- Turner extended his on-base streak to 30 games with a leadoff infield single to second in the bottom of the seventh.  

- Altamirano extended his on-base streak to 28 games with a three-run double to left-center field in the bottom of the seventh.  

- Orbeta extended his on-base streak to 26 games with a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth.  

- Montiel extended his on-base streak to 15 games with an infield single to third in the bottom of the seventh.

- Altamirano went 2-for-4 with a double and a tied a career-high with three RBIs to lead the Jags at the plate. Stokes finished 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.

- Jaguar right-handed starter Walker Johnson allowed two earned runs on four hits with two strikeouts and three walks in 5 1/3 innings without factoring in the decision.

Head Coach Mark Calvi

- On the loss:

"I believe in Seth Carter, he's going to be good here and help us win games this year; I'm not waiting until next year. We've had to ask some guys to step up in some roles, and Seth is one of those guys. I'm going to go back to him. We believe in him and I would do the same thing – I would have left him out there, no doubt about it. He's going to be big for this program, and the only way you learn is going out there and faltering and learning through experiences and it was an experience tonight.

"I told the team to keep believing. I am super proud of this group, because there is never an ounce of quit in this team. We have some pieces, and I told them we're close. We're in every game and I believe in them, and they need to believe in it. There's no quit in this club; I saw that this (past) weekend. They keep coming out and working and practicing hard, lift in the weight room and go to class. They do pretty much everything right. I'm proud of this group. I'm judged on wins and losses, but I judge these guys on effort and their effort is there all the time."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Dugout Club - the baseball-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members enjoy all games from inside the Stadium Club with climate control, private restrooms, private concessions and access to listen to the radio broadcast. All donations to the Dugout Club go directly to support the South Alabama baseball program. For more information on how you can join visit JaguarAthleticFund.com.