Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? Two home runs from senior Robert Taylor were not enough for the Trojans (8-24, 4-12) on Sunday afternoon, as South Alabama (20-16, 8-7) earned a Sun Belt Conference series win with a 4-3 victory at Gary Hogan Field.
Taylor hit a solo homer in the second and a two-run shot in the fourth (bringing his team-leading total to seven) to stake the Trojans to an early 3-0 lead. After managing just one hit over the first four innings, however, the South Alabama offense came to life in the fifth, scoring four runs by tallying five of their eight hits in the frame.
Sophomore Ashur Tolliver had little trouble with the Jaguars over the first four innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth after South Alabama opened the frame with consecutive singles by Bunky Kateon and Derek O'Reilly. With two men on base, Jake Overstreet put the Jaguars on the board with a two-run double to left.
Overstreet took third on the play, and came around to score the tying run when Ray Kruml laid down a bunt single. Kruml moved up to third off a stolen base (his 25th of the year) and a wild pitch, and then scored the go-ahead run on a two-out, RBI single to left by David Doss.
Neither team would score again, as the two squads combined for just three hits over the final four innings. UALR's best scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the sixth, when junior Eric Hanlon reached on a leadoff bunt single, and worked his way over to third off a sacrifice bunt and a long fly ball. With the tying run on third and two outs, however, South Alabama's Brandon Sage got Taylor to ground out to end the inning.
Sage improved to 3-1 by holding the Trojans to six hits and three runs, with seven strikeouts and no walks over 8.0 innings. Greg Johnson picked up his eighth save of the year by retiring the Trojans in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Tolliver wound up on the losing end, despite a solid outing in which he allowed seven hits and four runs, with five strikeouts and no walks over 7.0 innings pitched. All four runs and five of those hits came in the fifth, as Tolliver allowed just two hits to the Jaguars over the other six innings he pitched.
Taylor led all players with two runs scored and three RBI off a 2-for-4 performance, while O'Reilly and Ryan Bohanan paced the Jaguars with two hits a piece.
UALR returns to action Tuesday, when it welcomes Missouri State to Gary Hogan Field at 6 p.m.
