FINAL STATS
 
JACKSONVILLE – Evan Frazier and Zephan Guyear each drove in three runs to lead Tennessee Tech to a 7-6 win over Jacksonville State on Friday as the two teams have now each won a game in the three-game Ohio Valley Conference series.
 
Matthew Shepherd (3-2) scattered five hits in 5 1/3 innings on the mound to earn the win, while David Hess recorded the final out of the game to earn his first save of the year. JSU's Daniel Watts (2-4) gave up four runs and got stuck with the loss after throwing seven innings.
 
Tennessee Tech (13-16, 5-3 OVC) took an early 3-0 lead after scoring a run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Guyear, and then added two more after Guyear hit his second home run of the series with a two-run shot in the fifth inning.
 
Jax State battled back in the sixth inning after Coty Blanchard led off with a double and scored on a RBI single by Scott Underwood. Ben Waldrip and Erik Underwood each walked to load the bases, before Kyle Stone drew a bases loaded walk to score Underwood and cut the lead to 3-2.
 
Tech then plated four runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by a three-run home run by Frazier to extend the lead to 7-2, but JSU chipped away over the final two innings.
 
Sam Eberle scored in the bottom of the eighth inning on an infield grounder, and the Gamecocks added three more runs in the ninth inning after Kyle Bluestein led off with a solo homerun and Stone and Kyle Lambert each drew bases loaded walks before Hess recorded the final out.
 
Eberle and Stone led the Gamecocks with a pair of hits each, while Guyear also had two hits to lead Tennessee Tech.  Bluestein extended his hitting streak to a team-best 12 games, while Eberle has now hit in nine straight games for the Gamecocks.
 
The two teams will play the rubber game of the three-game series on Saturday. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at Rudy Abbott Field and the game can be heard on the JSU Sports Network.