Army 8, South Alabama 5

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Posted 7:33AM on Sunday, June 5, 2005

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Jason Meloy's bases-clearing double climaxed an eight-run third inning Saturday as Army won its first NCAA regional tournament game with an 8-5 win over South Alabama, knocking the Jaguars out of the double-elimination event. Army (39-13) meets Auburn (33-25) Sunday afternoon in an elimination game with the winner advancing to a Sunday night game against top-seed Florida State, which defeated Auburn 4-3 Saturday night. Senior captain Schuyler Williamson said the signature tournament victory was important to not only the players, but soldiers around the world. ``They have Internet over in Iraq,'' said Williamson, who drove in two runs, stole a pair of bases and threw out one attempted base stealer. ``When we play, we play for them ... our family and friends ... it's so much bigger than us.'' Meloy's double into the left field corner came after an error by South Alabama shortstop Guillermo Martinez led to five unearned runs in the decisive inning. Meloy, who started the outburst with a single, scored for the second time in the third inning on a Kyle Scogin's single that completed the uprising. ``You always know that you've got to stay away from the big inning,'' South Alabama coach Steve Kittrell said. ``You're never happy to lose or anything like that. ``I think our team will remember it because these guys are dedicated young men that will be fighting for our country,'' Kittrell said. ``If we have to lose to anybody, I'm glad it's Army.'' But South Alabama (35-27) didn't fade after dropping behind 8-0. The Jaguars chopped the deficit in half with a four-run sixth that chased Army starter Justin Kashner. Joel Collins' two-run single plated two Jaguar runs while Jeff Morris and Quendon Montgomery also had RBI singles. The Jaguars picked up their final run in the eighth when Josh Stapleton, who had walked, scored on a two-out error by Army's Jeremy Stache. Kashner (10-3) went the first 5.3 innings and picked up the win with strong relief help from Monte Jones, Dan Pluff and Milan Dinga, who recorded his eighth save of the season. ``I don't think the general public really knows how good this Army team is,'' Kittrell said. South Alabama's Tommie Major (4-2) took the defeat. Morris had three hits for South Alabama while David Freese and Montgomery had two apiece. Meloy, who didn't practice early in the week because of a black eye suffered during practice last Sunday, and Williamson each had two hits for Army. ``One of the goals we had was to make an impact in regionals,'' Army coach Joe Sottolano said. ``Today was a big monkey off our back.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)