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Indian Rally Falls Short as South Alabama Holds On For 8-7 Victory

MOBILE, Ala. (3-30-2008) - Down 8-4 going into the eighth inning, the Arkansas State Indians rallied to cut the four-run South Alabama lead to a single run, but the Jaguars held on for an 8-7 Sun Belt Conference victory over the Indians Sunday afternoon at Stanky Field. With the win, South Alabama earned the series sweep over the Tribe, the first sweep suffered by ASU since the Indians dropped three straight to Troy in April 2007.

Arkansas State cut the 8-4 South Alabama lead in half in the eighth when senior shortstop Ryan Hudgins slugged a two-run home run over the left field wall to pull the Indians within two runs at 8-6. The Indians got the tying run to the plate later in the frame when freshman first baseman Drew Benes followed Hudgins home run with a single to right field, but junior third baseman Guy Brown grounded into a double play to end the threat.

The Indians scored again in the ninth when junior catcher Lawson Hipps reached and advanced to third on a Jaguar error to lead off the inning. Hipps crossed the plate on a single down the left field line from freshman designated hitter Murray Watts to cut the Jaguar lead to a single run at 8-7. Junior closer Greg Johnson retired the next two batters before junior center fielder Derrick Coleman reached base with a single, but senior A.J. Prickel - in to run for Watts, got caught in a rundown on the play to end the game.

"The close ones are always tough, but I was proud of the guys for battling back late in the game," said ASU Head Coach Keith Kessinger. "The last play was a strange one. It tipped off the first baseman's glove. A.J. is a really good baserunner, and my guess is that he thought the ball went down the right field line and he was just being aggressive. It was a tough way to lose because we liked our chances with Brandon (Eller) coming up to the plate."

South Alabama improved to 16-11 overall and 5-4 in SBC play, while ASU slipped to 14-13 overall and 5-7 in conference action.

The Indians went ahead early in Sunday's finale, plating two runs in their first at-bat. After leading off the game with a walk, Coleman moved to third on a double from junior second baseman Brandon Eller. Both scored when Benes singled up the middle for the 2-0 ASU lead. With the hit, Benes raised his team-leading RBI total to 29 on the season.

South Alabama wasted no time in matching the Indians' effort, getting a two-out, two-run home run from senior second baseman Ryne Jernigan to knot the score at 2-2 at the end of two.

Coleman answered Jernigan's shot with his fourth home run of the year, driving in senior right fielder Aaron Ferguson in the third to put the Tribe on top 4-2.

South Alabama countered with six unanswered runs in its next three at-bats to take an 8-4 lead.

The Jaguars got their third run home in the bottom of the third when junior first baseman Ryan Bohanan grounded out with the bases loaded to send in a run, then got a solo home run in the fourth from freshman third baseman Jake Overstreet to tie the game at 4-4.

An Indian error with two outs in the fifth allowed sophomore right fielder Sean Laird to score from first on a base hit by Bohanan, and Bohanan scored from second on a single from senior shortstop Bunky Kateon for the 6-4 Jaguar lead. A triple from senior designated hitter Russell Harben brought Kateon home, and a bunt single from freshman third baseman Jake Overstreet scored Harben to stretch the South Alabama advantage to 8-4.

South Alabama's Miles Ethridge (2-0) earned the win on the mound for the Jaguars, giving up two runs on three hits, with one walk and four strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work. Senior Joel Boeschen (2-2) took the loss for ASU. Boeschen worked five innings on the day, giving up eight runs on 10 hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Coleman, Eller and Benes all had two hits for ASU, with Coleman driving in two runs. Jernigan was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI's to lead South Alabama.

The Indians return to Jonesboro for a pair of midweek games before hitting the road again next weekend for a Sun Belt Conference series at Troy. The Tribe will play host to Tennessee-Martin April 1 and Southern Illinois April 2. Both of the midweek games at Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field are scheduled to get underway at 6:30 p.m., while the Friday series opener at Troy is set for 6 p.m.
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Players Mentioned

Guy Brown

#3 Guy Brown

2B
6' 0"
Junior
R/R
Derrick Coleman

#5 Derrick Coleman

OF
5' 10"
Junior
S/R
Brandon Eller

#27 Brandon Eller

RHP
6' 0"
Junior
R/R
Lawson Hipps

#16 Lawson Hipps

C
6' 0"
Junior
L/R
Murray Watts

#19 Murray Watts

1B
6' 7"
Freshman
L/R

Players Mentioned

Guy Brown

#3 Guy Brown

6' 0"
Junior
R/R
2B
Derrick Coleman

#5 Derrick Coleman

5' 10"
Junior
S/R
OF
Brandon Eller

#27 Brandon Eller

6' 0"
Junior
R/R
RHP
Lawson Hipps

#16 Lawson Hipps

6' 0"
Junior
L/R
C
Murray Watts

#19 Murray Watts

6' 7"
Freshman
L/R
1B
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