Gamecocks Sweep EKU in OVC Baseball on Saturday

Saturday, May 11

Richmond, Ky.

11 a.m.

Jacksonville State University

Eastern Kentucky

Travis Stout set the school record with his 16th save of the season on Saturday

5/11/2013 1:26:00 PM | Baseball

GAME ONE BOX | GAME TWO BOX

RICHMOND, Ky. – Travis Stout set the school record with his 16th save and Michael Bishop had a career-high four hits as Jacksonville State swept a key Ohio Valley Conference double-header at Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. JSU won the opener 9-4, and held on for a 10-9 win in the second game.

Jacksonville State improves to 29-22 and 20-6 in the OVC, while Eastern Kentucky drops to 17-30 and 13-12 in the league. The Gamecocks remain tied with Belmont, who also improved to 20-6 in the league on Saturday with a 5-4 win over Murray State.

In the opener, Casey Antley (5-4) scattered five hits and had seven strikeouts to earn the win for the Gamecocks. Brent Cobb (5-6) gave up seven hits and four runs to suffer the loss for the Colonels.

The Gamecocks jumped out to an early lead after scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. Bishop led off with a single and Griff Gordon followed with a one-out single to left field. Coty Blanchard then doubled to right field to score Bishop. Paschal Petrongolo followed with an infield single to score Gordon and Andrew Bishop then singled up the middle to score Blanchard as JSU took a 3-0 lead.

Jax State extended the lead in the fifth inning after Michael Bishop reached with his second double of the game and came around to score on an EKU error to give JSU a 4-0 lead.

Jacksonville State blew the game open in the seventh inning after scoring five runs on five hits to build a 9-0 lead. Michael Bishop, Blanchard, Petrongolo and Eddie Mora-Loera each drove in a run during the inning, while Michael scored on a wild pitch as JSU batted around and have five hits.

The Colonels got on the board in the eighth when Luke Wurzelbacher and Austin Grisham each drove in a run to cut the lead to 9-2. EKU added two more runs in the ninth as Bryan Solomon had a two-RBI double for the final margin.

Michael Bishop led the Gamecocks with four hits, while Eddie Mora-Loera had three hits and Blanchard had a two doubles. Sean Hagen led the Colonels with a pair of hits, while Solomon had two RBIs in the opener.

In the second game, Taylor Shields (7-2) scattered seven hits and gave up three earned runs to earn the win, while Stout pitched his way in the Gamecock record book by recording the final five outs to pick up his 16th save of the season, passing the record of 15 set by Todd Hornsby in 2011.

JSU improves to 9-1 in 1-run games against OVC opponents and has now won nine straight series against Eastern Kentucky. As a matter of fact, JSU has won seven of the last eight meetings between the two teams.

The Gamecocks jumped out the an early lead after scoring four runs in the first two innings, and two more in the third to build a 10-0 lead.

In the first, Michael Bishop and Mora-Loera each drove in a run, while Blanchard doubled in two more runs for a 4-0 lead. In the second inning, Gordon and Blanchard each drove in a run, while Mora-Loera doubled in two more runs as the Gamecocks took an 8-0 lead.

Jax State extended the lead in the third after Michael Bishop had his fourth double of the day to drive in a run and Miller tacked on a run to give JSU a 10-0 lead to chase EKU starter Ben Gullo from the game.

The Colonels cut into the lead in the sixth by scoring four runs, highlighted by a three-run home run by Bryan Solomon, and then scored five more runs in the seventh as Shaun Ball hit a three-run homer. Doug Teegarden and Sean Hagen each drove in a run during the seventh inning, but EKU could get no closer.

Blanchard finished with three hits and three RBI, while Mora-Loera, Gordon and Michael Bishop each had two hits to lead the Gamecocks. Kyle Nowlin and Alex Hughes led the Colonels with three hits each, while Hagen and Ball finished with two hits.

Jacksonville State will be looking for the series sweep on Sunday as left-hander Tony Urban (3-1, 4.13 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for Jax State. Game time is set for noon and live stats are available at JSUGamecockSports.com.