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JACKSONVILLE – Andrew Bishop had a pair of hits and drove in four runs to lead Jacksonville State to a 9-2 win over Alabama State as the Gamecocks swept the season series against the Hornets on Wednesday at Rudy Abbott Field.
 
Left-hander Adam Polk (3-5) scattered three hits and had three strikeouts in five solid innings on the mound to earn the win as five Gamecock pitchers allowed just four hits in the game. Anthony Ricciardi (3-6) suffered the loss for Alabama State after giving up five runs in three innings.
 
Jax State (26-19) took an early lead after scoring three runs in the first inning as Adam Miller had a RBI single, while Paschal Petrongolo and Bishop both had sacrifice flies to give the Gamecocks a 3-0 lead.
 
Alabama State scored in the third inning as Branden Castro scored on a JSU error to cut the lead to 3-1, but the Gamecocks answered in the home half of the inning.
 
Miller led off with a single up the middle and Coty Blanchard drew a one-out walk before Bishop followed with a triple to right center to drive in both runs and give JSU a 5-1 lead. The Gamecocks added a run in the fourth on a RBI single by Griff Gordon, and another run in the fifth as Petrongolo scored a wild pitch to build a 7-1 advantage.
 
Jax State extended the lead to 9-1 in the seventh inning after Bishop had a RBI double and later came around to score on an Alabama State error. The Hornets scored an unearned run in the eighth inning for the final margin.
 
Miller finished with two hits and scored two runs to go with Bishop's two hits to lead the Gamecocks, while Richard Amion had two of ASU's four hits in the game. 
 
Blanchard extended his hitting streak to a season-long 13 games with a single in the eighth inning, and he currently has the longest active hitting streak in the Ohio Valley Conference.
 
Jacksonville State returns to action with a key three-game OVC series against Belmont this weekend.  The Bruins are currently third in the league, but just one-game behind the first-place Gamecocks. Friday's game is set for 6:30 p.m., at Rudy Abbott Field as Casey Antley (4-3, 5.43 ERA) is scheduled to get the start for JSU.  Saturday's game will begin at 2 p.m. and Sunday's series finale is slated for 1 p.m.