MOBILE, Ala. (4/13/24) – Arkansas State baseball (17-19, 4-10 SBC) held off a late comeback effort by South Alabama (19-16, 5-9 SBC) and claimed a 5-3 victory on Saturday afternoon at Stanky Field.
 
Collin Maloney made his ninth start of the season, surrendering one earned run on one hit and four walks while striking out four more over 2.2 innings pitched. Cross Jumper only had one hit on the day, but his two-run homer in the sixth inning made the difference for A-State.
 
Austen Jaslove gave the Red Wolves an early 1-0 advantage after singling up the middle during the second. In the next inning, Cason Tollett added another run after hitting a grounder to the same area for a single.
 
The Jaguars stranded four runners in the first two innings before loading the bases with two outs in the bottom frame. Lucas Ismaili scored after JG Bell reached on an HBP, but three more runners would be stranded as the Red Wolves held a narrow 2-1 lead.
 
Ismaili brought Duncan Mathews in after landing a single in right center, tying the game at 2-2 after four innings of play.
 
The action would pick back up in the sixth when Jumper sent the two-run blast to the flagpole behind left field. Allen Grier landed a pop-up in front of the mound two at-bats later, allowing Jumper to cross the plate and make the score 5-2 going into the sixth.
 
Kole Turner (2-2) and Blaine Harpenau put together strong relief performances on the mound, combining for two runs (Turner unearned) allowed on four hits and five walks over 5.2 innings pitched.
 
Harpenau's only run allowed came after his exit in the ninth inning, when Hudson Ross surrendered a bases-loaded walk to Nathan Wood. However, Ross would record a strikeout and force a groundout to secure the victory.
 
Turner earned the win and Ross (1) claimed the save while Danny Diaz (0-1) took the loss. The victory snaps a five-game losing streak and sets up a rubber match tomorrow afternoon.

NEXT UP
Arkansas State closes their series with South Alabama on Sunday, April 14 at Stanky Field. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+ and can be heard on 95.3/96.9 The Ticket Radio Network along with the A-State Red Wolves mobile app.
 
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