Siena Baseball dropped its first two games at the South Alabama Invitational Saturday, falling 7-5 to UT Martin and 6-1 against the host Jaguars in Mobile.
Game One: UT Martin 7, Siena 5
UT Martin (4-3) scored four unanswered runs punctuated by a three-run go-ahead fifth inning to rally past Siena (0-6) in the opener. Sean Dixson homered as part of a three-hit day and scored the go-ahead run for the Skyhawks.
The Saints scored twice in each of the first two innings to jump out to a quick 4-1 advantage.
Zach Durfee delivered an RBI double and scored on a sacrifice fly from
Alex Milone in the first, while
Carson Dunkel and
Ryan McGee produced run-scoring singles in the second.
After UT Martin cut its deficit to one, Siena added an insurance run on Durfee's second RBI double of the contest in the fourth.
But the Skyhawks sent eight batters to the plate and pounded out four hits during the decisive fifth inning. Dixson opened the scoring on an RBI single and then came across on a wild pitch for what proved to be the winning run.
Jack Culumovic had three hits while Ryan Insco tossed four innings of one-hit shutout relief to earn the win for UT Martin.
Durfee was on base three times highlighted by his pair of doubles, while Dunkel and
Ryan McGee added a pair of hits apiece.
Game Two: South Alabama 6, Siena 1
JoJo Booker and Jase Dalton combined on a three-hitter with 16 strikeouts as host South Alabama (3-5) won the nightcap. Booker struck out 10 over five innings to earn the win, while Dalton retired all 12 batters he faced including six via strikeout to secure the save.
Siena once again struck first blood, scratching across a run when McGee scored on a wild pitch in the first.
But the Jaguars knotted the score in the fourth and scored three go-ahead runs in the fifth. Reid Powers, who finished with a game-high three hits, provided the big blow with a two-run single during the decisive frame.
Ben Seiler tossed six workmanlike innings scattering six hits and four runs for the Saints, while McGee accounted for two of the three hits.
Siena wraps up play at the South Alabama Invitational with a pair of games Sunday against Indiana (12 PM ET/11 AM CT) and the host Jaguars (4 PM ET/3 PM CT).
