Saturday, May 24
Jackson, Tenn.
12 p.m.
Jacksonville State University
6
vs
2
Southeast Missouri
Gamecocks Advance to OVC Championship with 6-2 Win Over No. 1 SEMO
5/24/2014 4:54:00 PM | Baseball
JACKSON, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State pitching staff limited the best hitting team in the league to just five hits as the Gamecocks claimed a 6-2 win over No. 1 seed Southeast Missouri State to advance to the OVC Championship for the eighth time in the last 11 years.
Bradley Rualston (1-0) allowed just one hit in two innings of relief to earn the win, while Travis Stout recorded the final six outs to earn his 13th save of the season. Sophomore Graham Officer tossed the first five innings and allowed just four hits and two runs for the Gamecocks.
Southeast entered the game leading the Ohio Valley Conference with a .308 batting average and scoring an average of almost 10 runs per conference game. The Redhawks finished the game just 5-for-31 for a .161 batting average.
The Redhawks came out and scored two quick runs in the first inning off of Officer after Cole Bieser reached on a one-out single and Matt Tellor followed with a single to right field to put runners on the corner. Derek Gibson then had a RBI single down the right field line to score Bieser and Tellor laster scored on a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 SEMO lead.
The Gamecocks battled back to tie the game in the fourth inning after Griff Gordon reached on a walk and Paschal Petrongolo followed with a base hit to left field. Gordon scored on a sacrifice fly and Petrongolo later scored on a Andrew Bishop sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2.
Jax State took the lead in the sixth inning after Petrongolo led off with a double and later came in to score on Tyler Gamble's grounder down the left field line to give Jax State a 3-2 lead.
The Gamecocks added a run in the seventh inning after Michael Bishop scored on a SEMO failed picked attempt to first to push the lead to 4-2.
Jax State then added two more insurance runs in the eighth inning on Gavin Golsan's RBI double and Michael Bishop's sacrifice fly for the final margin.
For the second straight day, every player in the Gamecock lineup recorded a hit, as Mora-Loera and Petrongolo each had two hits to lead the Gamecocks' 11-hit attack.
Adam Polk allowed just six hits and one run to lead No. 3 Jacksonville State to a 7-1 win over No. 5 Morehead State to eliminate the Eagles from the 2014 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
It was the second win of the day for the Gamecocks, who improve to 33-25 and advance to the semi-final round of the OVC Championship.
Polk threw 96 pitches and allowed his only run in the top of the eighth inning to improve to 5-4 on the season. Luke Schneider (2-4) got stuck with the loss after giving up seven hits and four runs.
Jax State took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning after Eddie Mora-Loera reached on a one-out single and Griff Gordon followed with a triple, before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Paschal Petrongolo.
The Gamecocks added two more runs in the third after Mora-Loera reached on a one-out double and Gordon followed with a RBI single to centerfield to score Mora-Loera. Petrongolo followed with another single to right field to give JSU a 4-0 lead.
Jacksonville State added three insurance runs in the seventh inning after Mora-Loera dorve in a pair of runs with his second double of the day, and Gordon got his third hit of the day with a single to right field to score Gavin Golsan and give JSU a 7-0 lead.
Morehead State scored its only run in the eighth after Chris Robinson scored on Nick Newell's infield grounder for the final margin.
Mora-Loera and Gordon each had three hits, while Petrongolo had a pair of hits to lead the Gamecocks' 11-hit attack. Robby Spencer had two hits to lead Morehead State.
The Gamecocks will play at noon on Saturday against the loser of the Tennessee Tech-Southeast Missouri State game that will be played this evening.
Paschal Petrongolo and Tyler Gamble each had four hits, while Casey Antley tossed a complete-game to lead No. 3 Jacksonville State to a 13-2 win over Eastern Illinois to eliminate the Panthers at the 2014 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Tournament.
Antley tossed his first career nine-inning complete game after scattered nine hits and recording five strikeouts to earn the win. He threw 123 pitches to improve to 3-4 on the season as the Gamecocks improve to 32-25.
The Gamecocks jumped on EIU pitching quick after scoring three runs in the first inning after Michael Bishop scored on a Ryan Sebra's safety squeeze, and Tyler Gamble drove in two more runs with a single to give JSU a 3-0 lead.
Jax State then scored five runs in the second inning after Petrongolo and Gamble each hit a 2-run home run, while Andrew Bishop added a RBI single as the Gamecocks took an 8-0 lead.
The Panthers scored their only two runs in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 8-2, but Jax State scored four in the sixth inning after Sebra drove in a pair of runs, while Petrongolo and Andrew Bishop each drove in a run to give JSU a 12-2 lead.
Gordon scored the Gamecocks' final run on Joe McGuire's single in the seventh inning as the Gamecocks claimed their ninth win in the last 10 meetings between the two teams.
The Gamecocks finished with 21 hits, just one shy of the school's OVC Tournament record, led by four each from Petrongolo and Gamble as every player in the line-up recorded a hit. Sebra finished with three hits, while Gordon, Golsan and Stephen Bartlett each had two hits.
Tyler Schweigert led Eastern Illinois with two hits. Christian Slazinik got stuck with the loss on the mound for EIU after recording just two outs in the top of the first inning.
Andrew Bishop had three hits and drove in three runs as Jacksonville State rallied for a 7-5 win ninth inning win over SIU-Edwardsville after scoring three runs in the ninth inning to eliminate the Cougars from the 2014 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Tournament.
Jacksonville State improves to 31-25 on the season, while SIU-Edwardsville ends the season at 21-33. The Gamecocks will learn their opponent later this evening at the conclusion of Thursday's tournament games.
SIU-Edwardsville took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning to break the tie after Jacob Stewart scored on Denton Reed's two-out single up the middle, but the Gamecocks would rally for their seventh final at-bat win of the season.
Michael Bishop led off with a single to left field and moved to second on Eddie Mora-Loera's sacrifice bunt. Griff Gordon followed with a RBI single to center field to score Bishop and tie the game at 5-5. Ryan Sebra followed with a two-out single to center field to score Gordon and give Jax State a 6-5 lead.
Andrew Bishop then followed with a single to right field to score Sebra and give the Gamecocks a 7-5 lead, before Travis Stout retired the side in the bottom of the ninth inning to pick up his 12th save of the year.
Graham Officer (3-0) had one strikeout in just 1/3 inning of relief to pick up the win for the Gamecocks. Zach Malach gave up two runs in 2 2/3 innings to suffer the loss for the Cougars.
"I was really proud of the effort that our guys gave today," said JSU head coach Jim Case. "I thought it showed the character of our team and I was really proud of them for continuing to battle."
SIUE took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Zach Little scored on a sacrifice fly, but the Gamecocks took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning.
Andrew Bishop led off with a double and scored on Tyler Gamble's triple to left center to tie the game at 1-1, and then Gamble scored on an infield grounder to give JSU a 2-1 lead.
The Cougars answered in the home half of the fifth by scoring a pair of runs to take a 3-2 lead, before Jax State scored two more runs in the sixth inning.
Paschal Petrongolo doubled to right center and Sebra followed with a single, before Andrew Bishop doubled to right center to score both runs and give the Gamecocks a 4-3 lead.
SIU-Edwardsville tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning on a two-out RBI single by Nick Lombardo to make the score 4-4 until the Cougars took the lead in the eighth inning.
Michael Bishop, Andrew Bishop and Sebra each had three hits, while Gordon added two hits to lead the Gamecocks' 15-hit attack. Reed had three hits and Lombardo had two to lead the Cougars.
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