Box Score LITTLE ROCK ? South Alabama senior D.D. Hanks threw a three-hit, complete-game shutout on Friday night, racking up a career-high 14 strikeouts to lead the Jaguars (10-6, 1-0) to a 3-0 win over the UALR baseball team (10-4, 0-1).
Hanks improved to 4-0 on the year with his three-hit gem, racking up 14 strikeouts against just two walks over 9.0 scoreless frames. The 5-11 right-hander surrendered just three hits to the Trojans, two of which came in the bottom of the first.
Senior Adam Champion (2-1) was the tough-luck loser on Friday night, racking up seven strikeouts against just one walk over 9.0 innings of work. The Jaguars managed just six hits off the 6-7 lefty, but hit a pair of home runs en route to the 3-0 win in the Sun Belt Conference opener for the two teams. South Alabama's Tyler Vick broke a 0-0 tie with a solo homer in the fifth and Jake Overstreet followed with a two-run bomb in the sixth.
Champion and Hanks engaged in pitcher's duel at the start of the game, with both hurlers blanking the opposing team's offense for the first four frames before Vick led off the fifth inning with a solo shot to left.
The Jaguars had a chance to tack on another run in the fifth after putting runners on the corners with no outs, but came up empty handed after an interference call negated Brandon Brown scoring from third. Brown was sent back to third on Brent Tanner's grounder, and was then nailed at the plate (2-4-2) on a double steal to end the inning.
South Alabama extended its lead the next inning, as Overstreet followed up a leadoff single by Clint Reynolds with a two-run homer to right center to put the Jaguars ahead 3-0.
Hanks coasted over the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, retiring the Trojans in order each frame, and 11 in-a-row, before surrendering a single to senior Landis Wilson with one out on the board in the seventh. Junior Aaron Jarosh drew a walk to put two runners on with two outs, but Hanks buckled down and struck out the next batter he faced (his 11th of the game) to escape the jam.
Hanks closed out the game by retiring the Trojans in order in the eighth and ninth innings, recording a strikeout on three of the final six outs to bring his total to 14.
The two teams return to action Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
