JoshRussell_BB_052217
Elisabetta Zengaro
2
West Alabama UWA 20-26
6
Winner Delta State DSU 39-8
West Alabama UWA
20-26
2
Final
6
Delta State DSU
39-8
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
West Alabama UWA 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 7 1
Delta State DSU 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 X 6 9 0

W: Lott , Jason (3-1) L: Layton Dill (1-5)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Fred Sington

Four-Run Eighth Lifts Statemen Past UWA, 6-2

CLEVELAND, Miss.  Jason Popovich's RBI single started a four-run eighth inning to propel No. 3/10 Delta State University (39-8) to a 6-2 win over the University of West Alabama (20-26) in game four of the 2018 Gulf South Conference Baseball Championship on Sunday at Harvey Stadium-Ferriss Field.  

Score: #3/10 Delta State 6 | West Alabama 2
Start: 8:38 p.m. | TOG: 3:15
Date/Time: Sun., May 6, 2018
Location: Cleveland, Miss. | Harvey Stadium-Ferriss Field
Records: Statesmen 39-8 | Tigers 20-26
Series: The Statesmen lead the series 93-42 and are 43-23 under Mike Kinnison

HOW IT HAPPENED
•    Gavin Rogers drew a one-out walk and Jonathan Thibodeau doubled down the right field line to score Rogers and give West Alabama a 1-0 lead in the fourth. 
•    The Tigers added a run in the fifth to build the lead to 2-0 lead. Joel Murphy got on base on an infield single and was bunted to second by Austin Moffett. Murphy later scored when Ben Dalke single to centerfield.
•    The Statesmen tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth. Nick Morgan singled and scored on a Josh Russell double down the right field line. Russell moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch to even the score.
•    Delta State broke the tie with a four-run eighth inning to take a 6-2 advantage into the ninth. Russell led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a Justin Nussbaum sac-bunt. Jason Popovich singled up the middle to plate Russell and give the Statesmen their first lead of the night. Emil Ellis walked and Brian Lane was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A Zack Shannon single to right scored Ellis and Popovich while Lane scored on an RBI groundout by Matt Majeur.

ON THE MOUND
•    Statesmen starter Seth Birdsong struck out 10 batters while yielding two runs on six hits with three walks in seven innings of work.
•    UWA starter JT Salter had 11 strikeouts and gave up two runs on four hits and walked seven.
•    Jason Lott (3-1) yielded one hit in with four strikeouts in two shutout innings pitched to earn the win in relief of Birdsong.
•    Layton Dill (1-5) gave up two runs on four this with two strikeouts in 1.1 innings of work to take the loss for UWA.

NOTABLES
  • Birdsong struck out a career-high 10 Tigers. The Brownsville, Tenn., native previous career-high of eight came against Christian Brothers (4.2.17) last season.
  • Russell finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI to lead the Statesmen.
  • Shannon had a two-run single and Popovich, Lane, Casey, Majeur and Morgan each single.
  • Shannon's two RBIs moved him into a tie for seventh with Michael Niemann (2008-2011) with 172 career RBIs
  • The Statesmen struck out a season-high 12 times eclipsing the old mark of 10 done four times previously.
 UP NEXT
Delta State takes on North Alabama in game seven of the 2018 Gulf South Conference Baseball Championship at 5 p.m. on Monday.
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