BOX SCORE

NASHVILLE –  Andrew Bishop had a pair of hits, including a two-run home run, to lead Jacksonville State to a 9-1 win over Belmont in the opening game of a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series on Friday evening.
 
Zachary Fowler (5-5) had six strikeouts and scattered seven hits over six solid innings on the mound to earn the win, while Graham Officer picked up his third save after pitching the final three innings. Patrick McGrath (2-8) gave up nine runs on 10 hits to suffer the loss for Belmont.
 
The Gamecocks (25-19, 13-9 OVC) jumped out to an early lead after scoring four runs in the first inning, the fourth time JSU has scored 4-or more runs in the opening frame.
 
Bishop and Eddie Mora-Loera led off with back-to-back singles, and Griff Gordon followed with a triple to right center to score Bishop and Mora-Loera. Paschal Petrongolo followed with a double to left center to score Gordon and Petrongolo then scored on a Belmont error as the Gamecocks built a 4-0 lead.
 
Jax State extended the lead in the fourth inning after Ryan Sebra led off with a triple and Andrew Bishop followed with a two-run home run to right field to give JSU a 6-0 lead.
 
Belmont (18-26-1, 8-13-1) scored a run in the fifth inning after Drake Byrd scored on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 6-1, but the Gamecocks added three insurance runs in the eighth inning.
 
Mora-Loera led off with a walk and Gordon walked, before Petrongolo singled down the left field line to score Mora-Loera. Both runners moved up on Ryan Sebra's sacrifice bunt, and Gordon scored on an infield grounder, while Petrongolo scored on a wild pitch for the final margin.
 
Andrew Bishop, Petrongolo and Mora-Loera each had a pair of hits to lead the Gamecocks' 11-hit attack. Belmont was led by Alex Diamond, Jamie Ritchie and Byrd with two hits each.
 
The two teams will play the second game of the three-game series on Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m. at Rose Park, while the series finale is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. Both games can be heard on the JSU radio network and live stats are also available at JSUGamecockSports.com.