Evan Conley Leads JSU to 5-4 Win over Belmont; Gamecocks Fall 9-4 in Finale
5/12/2002 9:35:00 PM | Baseball
JSU wins 2-of-3 vs Belmont
NASHVILLE - Evan Conley went 3-for-4 to lead Jacksonville State (21-30, 7-19 A-Sun) to a 5-4 win over Belmont (21-25, 9-17) in the first game of Sunday's Atlantic Sun Conference double-header as JSU won two-of-the vs the Bruins.
Belmont claimed a 9-4 win in the final game to avoid the three-game sweep by Jacksonville State.
In the first game, Belmont grabbed an early lead, taking advantage of a pair of Jacksonville State throwing errors to score one run in the bottom of the first.
But the Gamecocks rallied to take the lead in the fifth inning.
Joel Stapleton had a one-out single to right field followed by a single by B.J. Burns. Senior Heith Comer had a RBI single through the left side to score Stapleton. Matt Ruckdeschel and Conley followed with singles to load the bases and Travis Suereth had a two-RBI double down the left field line as the Gamecocks had six consecutive hits in the inning to build a 3-1 lead.
Belmont rallied to tie the game in their half of the inning as the Bruins stole three bases in the frame while JSU committed its third error of the game, allowing Belmont to knot the game at 3-3.
JSU scored a run in the sixth inning to retake the lead after Scott Smith scored on a fielder's choice, but Belmont's Dan Soukup's solo homerun in the bottom of the sixth tied the game at 4-4. Smith finished with two hits for the Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks took the lead for good as JSU claimed its sixth win of the season in their final at-bat in the seventh inning. Conley singled through the left side and moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Brian Haskins singled through the left side.
Bobby Wynns (2-3) tossed the final two innings to get the win for the Gamecocks, while Jonathan Decker (2-3) suffered the loss for Belmont.
In the second game, the Bruins snapped a season-high six game losing streak with a 9-4 win after Belmont chased JSU starter C.R. Palmer (3-3) after he lasted just 1 1/3 innings, surrendering six runs on five hits to get stuck with the loss.
The Bruins scored in each of the first four innings, including four runs in the second inning, to jump out to a 7-1 lead.
Cody Blackard (5-6) recorded a career-high eight strikeouts to earn the complete-game win for Belmont.
Andy Pettit went 4-for-4 with five RBI to lead Belmont, while Smith had a pair of hits and scored twice for the Gamecocks and Conley added two hits to lead JSU.
Jacksonville State returns to action on Tuesday in a make-up game at Tennessee Tech before playing its final three-game A-Sun series vs Campbell University this weekend at Rudy Abbott Field.
Belmont claimed a 9-4 win in the final game to avoid the three-game sweep by Jacksonville State.
In the first game, Belmont grabbed an early lead, taking advantage of a pair of Jacksonville State throwing errors to score one run in the bottom of the first.
But the Gamecocks rallied to take the lead in the fifth inning.
Joel Stapleton had a one-out single to right field followed by a single by B.J. Burns. Senior Heith Comer had a RBI single through the left side to score Stapleton. Matt Ruckdeschel and Conley followed with singles to load the bases and Travis Suereth had a two-RBI double down the left field line as the Gamecocks had six consecutive hits in the inning to build a 3-1 lead.
Belmont rallied to tie the game in their half of the inning as the Bruins stole three bases in the frame while JSU committed its third error of the game, allowing Belmont to knot the game at 3-3.
JSU scored a run in the sixth inning to retake the lead after Scott Smith scored on a fielder's choice, but Belmont's Dan Soukup's solo homerun in the bottom of the sixth tied the game at 4-4. Smith finished with two hits for the Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks took the lead for good as JSU claimed its sixth win of the season in their final at-bat in the seventh inning. Conley singled through the left side and moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Brian Haskins singled through the left side.
Bobby Wynns (2-3) tossed the final two innings to get the win for the Gamecocks, while Jonathan Decker (2-3) suffered the loss for Belmont.
In the second game, the Bruins snapped a season-high six game losing streak with a 9-4 win after Belmont chased JSU starter C.R. Palmer (3-3) after he lasted just 1 1/3 innings, surrendering six runs on five hits to get stuck with the loss.
The Bruins scored in each of the first four innings, including four runs in the second inning, to jump out to a 7-1 lead.
Cody Blackard (5-6) recorded a career-high eight strikeouts to earn the complete-game win for Belmont.
Andy Pettit went 4-for-4 with five RBI to lead Belmont, while Smith had a pair of hits and scored twice for the Gamecocks and Conley added two hits to lead JSU.
Jacksonville State returns to action on Tuesday in a make-up game at Tennessee Tech before playing its final three-game A-Sun series vs Campbell University this weekend at Rudy Abbott Field.
Sunday, May 17
Saturday, May 16
Wednesday, May 13
Sunday, May 10
