CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Jacksonville State scored five runs late to expand a lead en route to picking up its first Ohio Valley Conference win of the season with an 8-2 decision over Austin Peay on Saturday night at Raymond C. Hand Park.
The Gamecocks move to 8-6 on the season and have put together back-to-back wins as they head in to Sunday's second gamed of the three-game OVC series against the Govs. APSU dropped to 9-5 and suffered its first conference loss of the season (3-1).
The story if the contest was the stellar outing by Jax State senior right hander
Zachary Fowler and the Gamecocks' clutch hitting with two outs late in the contest. Fowler tossed a season-high seven innings and silenced the league's top offense. The Daphne, Alabama-native allowed just four hits and did not run in to trouble until the Govs' half of the seventh. Fowler allowed just two hits until APSU put together back-to-back extra base hits to score its lone two runs. After a single to leadoff single to lead off the second by Garrett Copeland, Fowler retired the next 13 Govs. Copeland snapped that streak with a double in the seventh.
Fowler was handed a 1-0 lead after JSU plated the first run of the contest in the opening frame. Junior
Gavin Golsan led off with an infield single and was at third base after his ninth stolen base of the year and a throwing error on the APSU catcher. After two were down,
Ryan Sebra singled to the shortstop to score the run.
That was just the first of a few more times throughout the game where the Gamecocks sored with clutch hits. JSU pushed the lead out to 3-0 in the fifth after
Clayton Daniel scored on a wild pitch and another RBI by Sebra in the inning after a sacrifice fly.
After the Govs gained momentum and trimmed the lead down to 3-2 in the seventh, the Gamecocks responded with three runs in the eighth and added a pair in the ninth to preserve the win. After two quick outs in the JSU half of the eighth, a misplayed ball by the APSU third baseman off the bat of
Elliot McCummings started the run-scoring frame. A single by
Gavin Golsan and a key two-run hit by
Clayton Daniel highlighted the JSU eighth.
Sophomore
Joe McGuire finished off the final two innings and allowed just one APSU hit. He entered with a 6-2 lead in the eighth and then that lead was padded by a pair of runs in the ninth. McCummings drove in the final two runs with a double to left center.
Sebra led JSU at the plate with a 3-for-4 putting along with driving in a pair. He was one of five Gamecocks to post multiple hits in the game.
Game two between the Gamecocks and Govs is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. JSU will send senior
Tony Urban to the mound against APSU's Caleb Powell.
