Matt Jackson got the win after allowing one run in five innings on the mound.- Courtesy: South Alabama
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
Matt Jackson worked five solid innings and Adam Heisler went 3-for-4 to lead the Red team to an 8-2 victory in the opener of the Red and Blue World Series Saturday at Stanky Field.
Jackson’s only blemish was the lone run he allowed in the first inning when Chris Davis doubled and came around to score on a wild pitch. After Davis’ double, Jackson retired 12 of the next 13 batters he faced. He struck out seven without issuing a walk.
Lance Baxter kept the Blue team close by allowing two runs in his five innings on the mound. Like Jackson, the only runs he allowed were in the first. Heisler led off with a single, then came around to score on an RBI-double from Derek O’Reilly. A sacrifice bunt by David Doss set up Zach Grichor’s sacrifice fly that put the Red team for good at 2-1.
Baxter bounced back nicely by retiring 10 of the next 11 batters he faced after surrendering the double to O’Reilly. The lone hit in that span was a Jake Overstreet triple with one out in the bottom of the fourth. The Red team failed to pad its lead when Overstreet was retired running home on Brad Hook’s fielder’s choice, and Hook was thrown out trying to advance to second on the same play.
Michael Raia relieved Jackson and worked the sixth and seventh for the Red team. He allowed one hit and struck out one in two shutout innings. Michael Logan relieved Baxter after five and allowed one run in one inning of work. After striking out Doss, Logan hit Zach Grichor with a pitch and walked Overstreet to set up Brad Hook’s RBI-single.
The Red team padded its lead with three runs in the seventh inning off of Shane LeBlanc. Heisler reached on a wild pitch after striking out and advanced to second on a wild pitch. O’Reilly and Overstreet added RBI-singles before Overstreet was thrown out by Brad Hammac trying to steal second base.
While LeBlanc struggled with his command and threw four wild pitches, he had a chance at history in the seventh. After striking out Zach Grichor, LeBlanc had three strikeouts with only two outs in the inning, but the inning ended when Overstreet was caught stealing.
Brad Hook walked and scored in the eighth before Clint Reynolds drilled a home run over the right field wall. Reynolds has never homered in his 39 regular season games played in two seasons at South Alabama.
Dustin Crenshaw worked the final two innings for the Red team. He worked around a pair of hits and an error in the eighth. Ryan Bohanan hit a towering homer to right leading off the ninth, but Crenshaw bounced back and retired the next three batters to end the game.
USA returns to action with Game Two of the Red and Blue World Series Sunday at 4 p.m. at Stanky Field. All games of the World Series are webcast for free at www.usajaguars.com as a promotion through Jaguar Nation.
Notes: Heisler was used as the Red team’s designated hitter due to an injured hamstring. Any ball he put in play was played live, but he did not run the bases. Umpires determined where he would have ended up on the play and inserted pinch runners Jacob Halverson and Jake Crain as pinch runners, but Heisler was not forced to come out of the lineup. Sean Laird, also nursing an injury, was able to run when he put the ball in play, but would have been replaced by a pinch runner had he reached base. Jackson’s seven strikeouts are the most by any USA pitcher in seven fall scrimmages this season. With five innings each, Jackson and Baxter both threw the most innings of any USA pitcher this fall.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
