Jax State Wins OVC Series Against Morehead State on Friday

Friday, May 17

JACKSONVILLE

1 p.m.

Jacksonville State University

Morehead State

Chase Silvani had three hits to help the Gamecocks win the OVC series vs Morehead on Friday

5/17/2013 8:54:00 PM | Baseball

GAME ONE BOX | GAME TWO BOX

JACKSONVILLE – Chase Silvani had three hits to lead Jacksonville State to a 5-3 win over Morehead State in the opening game of Friday's Ohio Valley Conference double-header, before the Eagles exploded for a 22-3 win in the series finale.

In the opener, Taylor Shields (8-2) scattered four hits in 5 2/3 innings to pick up his team-high eighth win of the season, while Travis Stout extended his school-record with his 17th save of the season after recording the final three outs. Matt Anderson (1-7) suffered the loss after giving up all five runs to suffer the loss for the Eagles.

Jax State took an early lead after Silvani scored on Griff Gordon's infield grounder in the first inning, and the Gamecocks extended the lead in the fifth inning by plating three more runs.

Silvani and Adam Miller led off with back-to-back singles and Gordon walked to load the bases. Coty Blanchard followed with a RBI single down the right field line to score Silvani, and then Miller scored as Blanchard got in a run down to give JSU a 4-0 lead. Paschal Petronglo followed with another infield grounder to score Gordon as Jax State built a 5-0 lead.

Morehead State scored all three runs in the sixth inning on a RBI triple by Duran Elmore, while Kane Sweeney had a RBI double and later scored on a Gamecock double play to cut the lead to 4-3.

Jax State added an insurance run in the eighth inning on a RBI single by Gordon to push the lead to 5-3, before Stout came in to pitch the ninth inning and earn the save.

Silvani finished with three hits, while Blanchard and Lambert each added two hits. Gordon led the Gamecocks with a pair of RBI. Elmore led the Eagles with two hits.

In the second game, Morehead State pounded out 23 hits enroute to a 22-3 win over the Gamecocks in a rain-shortened seven-inning game to salvage the third game of the series.

Blake Smith (2-4) allowed just four hits through five solid innings on the mound, while Tony Urban (3-3) gave up seven runs on just four hits in two innings to suffer the loss for the Gamecocks.

Morehead State scored in five of the seven innings, including four in the first and six in the third to build a 10-1 lead. The Eagles added three more in the fifth , four in the sixth and five in the seventh, while JSU had a run in the third, fourth and fifth innings for the final margin.

Brandon Rawe, Chase Greenwell and Chris Robinson each had four hits, while Taylor Pickens had three hits, as Drew Williams and Bobby Burns had two hits each to lead the Eagles.

Eddie Mora-Loera, Andrew Bishop, Galvin Golsan, Stephen Bartlett and Petrongolo each had one hit to lead the Gamecocks.

Jacksonville State will be making its 10th straight appearance in the Ohio Valley Conference Championships, which begin next Wednesday at The Ballpark in Jackson, Tenn. The Gamecocks can be either the second, third or fourth seed in the tournament, depending on the outcome of the rest of Saturday's OVC games.