The loss dropped WKU to 18-19 and 3-10 in the Sun Belt, while South Alabama picked up its ninth straight win to improve to 31-15 and 11-5 in the league.
The Hilltoppers got a quick lead as Jordan Newton led off the second inning with his league-leading 11th home run of the season — and fifth in the last six games — to make it 1-0.
The Jaguars broke through against WKU starter Liam Shanahan in the fourth inning as Tyler Jones led off the frame with a double, Patrick Weaver then reached on an bunt single, but an arrent throw to first allowed Jones to score and tie the game. David Freese followed with a single, before Shanahan returned the next two hitters for the first two outs of the frame. However, Aaron George was able to single to plate both runners and give USA a 3-1 lead.
George was the spark of another three-run South Alabama inning in the sixth as his two-out, two-run homer made it a 6-1 game after David Doss had doubled home a run earlier in the inning. The Jaguars extended the advantage to six runs an inning later when a Jones sacrifice fly plated Joel Collins who had led off the inning with a double.
The Hilltoppers got a run back in the bottom of the seventh when Dennis Winn scored on a fielder’s choice groundout by Eric Scriven to make it 7-2. However, that would be all they could get as USA starter P.J. Walters went the distance to improve to 7-2 on the year.
Walters scattered seven hits and struck out 12 in his third complete-game effort of the season. Shanahan (3-5) also threw the first complete game of his Hilltopper career, but surrendered 12 hits to USA while striking out six.
Corteze Armstrong picked up two of WKU’s seven hits, while Matt Ransdell extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a third-inning single. Five Jaguars collected a pair of hits, with George collecting four RBI.
The Toppers and Jaguars continue their series Saturday at 3 p.m. (CDT). Prior to the game at 2:20 p.m., WKU will dedicate the left-field entrance to Nick Denes Field as the Michael Wilhite Memorial entrance.
