Stephen F. Austin
South Alabama
'Jacks Drop Series Finale To South Alabama
3/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 4, 2012
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NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin baseball team dropped their first home game of the season, losing 5-2, in the non-conference finale against South Alabama Sunday afternoon at Jaycees Field.
Chase Greening (0-2) took the loss after striking out a career-high eight batters through six and two-thirds innings pitched in his third start for SFA (4-8). Greening allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits through 29 batters faced. The Lufkin native had just three strikeouts through his first two starts entering Sunday's game.
After two silent innings from both teams, USA (3-8) struck first, taking advantage of a pair of hits to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. Kevin Knapp led off the inning for the Jaguars with an infield single shortstop Hunter Dozier. After a sac bunt from Graham Odom, single from Nolan Earley and walk to Nick Zaharion loaded the bases, a ground ball to second baseman Freddy Villalobos proved to be enough to plate Knapp. However one batter later Earley would be picked off by catcher Jarid Scarafiotti to end the USA threat.
SFA would respond in the bottom of the third, mirroring the Jaguars, by taking advantage of a pair of Lumberjack hits to tie the game up at one apiece. Bryce Cummings led off for SFA with a single through the right side. Cummings would advance to third, after a single to right field from Rene' Moreda and sac bunt from Rory Myers. With two on, SFA evened things up one batter later capitalizing on a sac fly from Dozier to score Cummings.
Greening would retire nine of the next 10 Jaguars he would face across the next three innings before USA retook the lead in the top of the seventh. With two outs and one on via a throwing error, catcher Brent Mitchell belted a double into the left center gap, to score Neil Hudson from first. Two batters later, with the bases loaded, Cameron Gann walked Earley to put the Jaguars up 3-1.
The two run lead proved to be enough for the Jaguars as SFA would add one more in the bottom of the eighth off of a single from Scarafiotti to score Myers, before surrendering two more runs to USA in the top of the ninth to drop the 5-2 decision.
Six different Lumberjacks recorded a hit in the loss, highlighted by Ricardo Sanchez's double to left field in the bottom of the second.
The `Jacks will travel to Grambling, on Tuesday, for the second meeting against the Tigers as part of a home-and-home series. The return trip kicks off an eight-game road stretch that includes the conference-opener at Sam Houston, conference series at Texas State and midweek trip to Austin to take on the No. 16 Texas Longhorns, before returning home for the conference home-opener against Texas-San Antonio March23-25.
-SFA-
