FINAL STATS

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Aaron Elias recorded a career-high eight strikeouts to lead Jacksonville State to a 9-1 win over Bucknell on Saturday in the Gamecocks' final game of the Russ Matt Central Florida games.

The Gamecocks improve to 14-5 on the season and has won 11 of their last 13 games. Bucknell drops to 8-10 on the season.

Elias pitched seven strong innings, scattering eight hits and allowing just one run with no walks and eight strikeouts to earn his third win of the season. Ben Haynes pitched the final two innings for JSU, recording five strikeouts in the last six outs. Dylan Seeley (1-3) allowed four runs in six innings to suffer the loss for the Bisons.

Bucknell scored its only run in the first inning on a RBI single by Scott Reed to give the Bisons the early lead. Reed finished with two hits, while Robb Scott also had two for the Bison.

Jax State took the lead in the sixth inning after back-to-back singles by Michael Bishop and Coty Blanchard and Erik Underwood walked to load the bases. Sam Eberle followed with a double down the left field line to score two runs and give JSU a 2-1 lead.

Ben Waldrip followed with a RBI double to the right field corner that scored two more runs as the Gamecocks built a 4-1 lead.

Jacksonville State added five more runs in ninth inning to seal the win. Blanchard scored the first run of the inning after stealing both third and home after Jake Sharrock got in a run down between first and second.

Eberle followed with his second double of the game to score Sharrock, before Waldrip followed with a RBI single to score Eberle and give the Gamecocks a 7-1 lead. Kyle Bluestein knocked in two more runs with a single to left center field for the final margin.

Eberle and Blanchard each finished with three hits to extend hitting streaks. Eberle has hit in nine straight, while Blanchard has hit safely in eight straight games. Blanchard also has reached base in all 17 games that he has played this season. Waldrip also added two hits as the Gamecocks finished with 11 hits in the game.

Jacksonville State returns home on Tuesday to host Auburn. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. at Rudy Abbott Field and advance tickets are available by calling the JSU Athletic Ticket Office at 256-782-8499.