South Alabama upends No. 28-ranked SLU

MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama jumped out in front with an unearned run in the first inning Tuesday and never looked back, defeating No. 28-ranked Southeastern Louisiana, 6-1, at Stanky Field.

The Jaguars (12-9) added a pair of runs in both the third and fourth innings off Southeastern (16-7) starting pitcher Corey Gaconi.

Center fielder Travis Swaggerty led off the third with a double to left. He scored on Dylan Hardy’s single to center field. Hardy advanced to second base on a wild pitch and moved to third on an error by Lion first baseman Kyle Schimpf.

With runners on the corners, South Alabama third baseman Brendan Donovan grounded into a fielder’s choice that allowed Hardy to score.

In the fourth, shortstop Will Luft delivered a two-out single up the middle. Swaggerty followed with a monstrous home run to right-center field.

The Lions picked up their run in the sixth.

Trenon Trosclair, a senior from Eunice, Louisiana, drew a walk from Jaguar starting pitcher Andy Arguelles to open up the inning. Shortstop Brennan Breaud followed with a single to chase Arguelles from the game.

Second baseman Cody Grosse greeted reliever Zach Greene with a groundout to first base, advancing both runners into scoring position. Trosclair later scored on a wild pitch, making the score 5-1 in favor of the Jaguars.

South Alabama tacked on an insurance run in the seventh.

Arguelles (1-0) earned the win, allowing one run on three hits and a pair of walks in five innings. The left-hander struck out one. Greene earned his second save, working the final four innings.

Gaconi (1-1) suffered the loss, allowing five runs – four earned – in 4.2 innings of work. He surrendered five hits and one walk, striking out three. Evan Hileman, Payton Robinson and Gage Pickett combined to finish out the game for the Lions.
Breaud (1-for-4), Schimpf (1-for-2) and Daniel Wasinger (1-for-3) led Southeastern at the plate.

The Lions travel to Jackson, Mississippi, for a 6 p.m. game Wednesday. Neither Southeastern nor Jackson State has announced a starting pitcher for the contest.

There is no local radio coverage for Wednesday’s contest. Fans can keep up with all the action through live statistics or by following @SLUathletics on Twitter. A links to live stats is available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

DIAMOND CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the baseball program are encouraged to join Diamond Club. All membership fees and donations to the Diamond Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program.

For membership information, contact the Lion Athletics Association at (985) 549-5091.

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South Alabama 6, Southeastern 1
(Mar 20, 2018 at Mobile, Ala.)
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Southeastern……….. 000 001 000 – 1 3 3 (16-7)
South Alabama……. 102 200 10X – 6 6 0 (12-9)
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Pitchers: Southeastern – Gaconi, Corey; Hileman, Evan (5); Robinson, Payton (7); Pickett, Gage (8) and Wasinger, Daniel. South Alabama – Arguelles, Andy; Greene, Zach (6) and Perkins, Carter; Aberouette, Felix.

Win-Arguelles, Andy (1-0) Save-Greene, Zach (2) Loss-Gaconi, Corey (1-1) T-2:17 A-1688
HR USA – Swaggerty, Travis (5).
Arguelles faced 2 batters in the 6th.