MOBILE, Ala. – With the start of fall practice now a week in the past, it’s time for the first edition of the USA Fall Baseball Report.

First, some ground rules. It’s important to note that even though statistics from scrimmages will be used in the report, they are unofficial.

If you’ve never been to a fall scrimmage, there are a few things that might surprise you.  These scrimmages are organized, but they are not as structured as regular games. Players not participating in that day’s game act as umpires, pitchers can sometimes pitch for both teams in the same game, and if a player needs to get his running in, he does so on the warning track – even during play. That’s just for starters.

When a batter draws a walk, his team sends a runner down to first base to simulate a regular game, but that batter stays at the plate and starts a new at bat – most of the time. The same often goes for a batter who is hit by a pitch, but that is not always the case. Clint Reynolds was hitting leadoff for the Red team in Saturday’s scrimmage, and he headed down to first base when he was plunked in his first trip to the plate.

Pitchers work a predetermined number of innings or pitches. James Dunning pitched for the Red team in the seventh and eighth in Saturday’s scrimmage, but, he was the only pitcher who still needed to get work in after eight innings, so he switched teams and pitched the top of the ninth for the Gray team. No pitcher will throw more than three innings in a scrimmage.

Fall scrimmages are about working on situational hitting, baserunning, fielding, and developing pitches. They’re a chance for the newcomers to get their feet wet, for the team to build chemistry, and for coaches to see just what they will be working with in the coming season. While they may not seem serious, you wouldn’t want to be caught not knowing the score, number of outs in the inning, and count on the current batter.

“They’re an opportunity for the team to build some chemistry, but most of all, they’re a chance for us as coaches to see what we’re going to have to work with in the upcoming season,” assistant coach Seth Von Behren said. “We know what we have as far as talent, but we don’t know where everyone fits in yet.”

USA’s first scrimmage of the fall was Friday at 3 p.m. Brandon Sage was the first to toe the rubber, and he pitched very well, allowing just one base runner while striking out three in 3.0 innings of work.

Miles Ethridge wasn’t far behind. He allowed one run on two hits with four strikeouts over his 3.0 innings. Michael Logan struggled early in his three innings, but he bounced back to retire six of the last seven batters he faced. He struck out four without allowing a walk.

Canadian freshman Brent Mitchell went 3-for-3 with a double and a run scored, while senior outfielder Chris Davis recorded three singles in his three trips to the plate. Davis followed his singles by stealing second base and coming around to score all three times. Newcomer Zach Grichor went 2-for-3 and drove in four runs, while senior Ryan Bohanan went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.

Additionally, freshmen Matt Drake and Michael Meredith, and returners Stuart Barton and Jake Overstreet each hit safely in Friday’s game.

In Saturday’s action, the Gray team broke out the bats early, plating eight runs in the second and six more in the third. In another twist of fall baseball, head coach Steve Kittrell reset the score to 0-0 in the middle of the third inning to better simulate a regular season game.

Despite the early offense, there was some solid pitching in Saturday’s scrimmage. Newcomer Matt Jackson struck out the side in his first inning of work. He allowed two hits and walked one while striking out three on his way through three innings of shutout ball.

“He’s just a really hard worker,” Von Behren said. “We’re going to need him to pitch well because we’re going to need a lot of strong arms with the schedule the way it is (five games in most weeks). We’re going to need at least nine or 10 pitchers to step up.”

James Dunning allowed one hit in two scoreless innings for the Red team, then switched over to the Gray team to work the top of the ninth. Between both teams, he struck out four without issuing a walk or allowing an earned run in 3.0 innings of work.

Bohanan followed up his 2-for-3 on Friday with a 5-for-6 on Saturday. He hit a towering solo homer to right-center to lead off the second inning, then recorded a single later in the same frame. He followed that with a single in the third and a double in the fifth, giving him hits in six consecutive plate appearances. He scored four times and drove in two runs.

Freshman Brad Hook, sophomore Nathaniel Lami, and senior Derek O'Reilly contributed three hits apiece. Newcomers Adam Heisler and Zach Grichor added two hits and 3 RBI each, while sophomore Jake Overstreet had two hits and scored a pair of runs. Reynolds also got in on the action with a triple and a stolen base.

“Adam Heisler and Chris Davis are going to be huge for us,” Von Behren said. “Heisler’s going to have to work on his defense, but if he can improve there, he’s got a good chance of only being here one year. Their ability to get on base is going to be really important in determining how successful the offense will be.”

Senior catcher David Doss singled and scored twice before being relieved by Brad Hammac so that Doss could get ready to pitch. He switched teams and struck out one while allowing one hit in a scoreless inning.

Hammac, Davis, Brad Montgomery, Drake, Brandon Brown, Jake Crain and Barton each added hits in Saturday’s scrimmage.

Pitching prevailed in Sunday’s action, as senior Lance Baxter was impressive in his three innings of work. He struck out the final five batters he faced on his way to allowing one run on three hits while striking out six and walking none.

Jake LeBlanc, who allowed an unearned run in three innings of work, and Greg Johnson, who struck out two in a scoreless frame, combined with Baxter to allow two runs in seven innings of work for the Gray team.

Not to be outdone by the Gray team, a pair of freshmen matched the veterans. Phillip Byrd allowed two early runs, but settled down and finished with four strikeouts in his three innings of work. Eric Walters, the brother of former Jag and St. Louis Cardinals farmhand P.J. Walters, allowed three hits in three shutout innings for the Red team.

Between both teams, pitchers worked 13.0 innings and allowed four runs, three of which were earned, and struck out 15 without issuing a walk.

Despite the solid pitching, Drake managed to go 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI to make him 5-for-10 on the weekend, and freshman Blake McCool added an RBI triple. O’Reilly added two hits, joining Drake as the only Jags with multi-hit games in Sunday’s scrimmage.

With the first three scrimmages out of the way, USA heads back out to the field for practice Tuesday. Von Behren said the Jags are hoping to be able to get all of their scrimmages in on the weekends, with the next scrimmage set for Friday afternoon. Don't forget the Red and Blue World Series starts at Stanky Field, Saturday, Oct. 4 at 11 a.m.

David Kaye, South Alabama baseball’s media relations contact, will be bringing a weekly report every Monday throughout the fall practice period. He can be contacted via e-mail at: DKaye@usouthal.edu 

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).