FINAL STATS

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Ben Waldrip tied a school record after hitting three home runs to lead Jacksonville State to a 17-2 win over Austin Peay in a battle of the top two teams in the Ohio Valley Conference on Saturday afternoon.
 
Waldrip finished the game 4-for-4 with seven RBI after slugging two three-run home runs and a solo homer to help Jax State score a season-high 17 runs on a season-high 21 hits. Kyle Bluestein, who bats fifth in the lineup just behind Waldrip, finished 5-for-5 at the plate.
 
Daniel Watts (4-5) scattered eight hits and had six strikeouts in six solid innings on the mound to earn the win, while Cody Ponder allowed just three hits over the final three innings to earn his third save of the year for the Gamecocks. APSU's Ryan Quick (4-2) got stuck with the loss after giving up 10 hits, six runs in four innings on the mound.
 
Austin Peay (26-16, 12-4 OVC) took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning on a RBI single by Cody Hudson, but the Gamecocks answered in the top of the third inning to take the lead for good.
 
Sam Eberle drove in a pair of runs on a one-out single to right field, before Waldrip slugged a three-run homer run over the right field fence for a 5-1 Gamecock lead.
 
Jax State (17-23, 11-6) extended the lead to 6-1 in the fifth inning after Waldrip led off with a solo home run, but the Govs answered in the home half of the inning on a RBI single by Jordan Hankins to make the score 6-2.
 
Jacksonville State then tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning after Waldrip hit another three-run home run to the deepest part of the park in centerfield as the Gamecocks built 9-2 lead. It was the third straight at-bat with a home run for Waldrip, who now has a team-high 14 homers on the season.
 
JSU added five more runs in the seventh inning, highlighted by a two-run home run by Scott Underwood, as the Gamecocks built a 14-2 lead. Jax State added three more runs in the ninth inning after Coty Blanchard, Carlos Somoza and Andrew Bishop each drove in a run for the final margin.
 
Waldrip became the fourth JSU player to slug three home runs in a single-game, joining current teammate Sam Eberle (2009), Charlie Curry (1999) and Larry Foster (1973). It was also JSU's largest margin of victory in an OVC game since a 17-0 shutout at Morehead State during the 2010 season.
 
Eberle and Underwood each added three hits to go along with Bluestein's five hits and Waldrip's four hits to lead the Gamecocks. Eberle also scored a career-high four runs in the game. It was the third 5-hit game for a Gamecock this season and second against an OVC opponent after Eberle also had five hits against Tennessee Tech.
 
The two teams will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday. Game time is set for 1 p.m. and the game can be heard on the JSU Radio Network with Mike Parris calling the action.