JACKSONVILLE – SIU Edwardsville completed the weekend sweep by taking both games on Sunday at Rudy Abbott Field as the Cougars claimed a 12-4 win in the opener and edged Jacksonville State in the night cap, 2-1.
The twinbill sweep moved SIUE to 3-8 on the season as it picked up its first three wins of the season in Jacksonville. The Gamecocks dropped to 6-6 overall and 0-3 after the first weekend of league action. The sweep by SIUE was the first since Jax State was swept at Tennessee Tech last season and the first time since 2009 that an OVC foe has come to Rudy Abbott Field to take all three contests since UT Martin swept JSU the last conference weekend of 2009.
After SIUE opened the altered weekend with an 8-4 win on Saturday, the Cougars continued that momentum in to Sunday's opening game as they would score eight runs in the first three plate appearances to take an 8-2 lead. SIUE, who had eight of its 18 hits for extra bases, scored a pair in the second and exploded for six in the third. After trailing 2-0, the Gamecocks responded with a pair of runs. JSU clawed back to an 8-4 deficit with lone runs in the third and fourth, but SIUE's Ryan Agnitsch came in relief to stymie the JSU bats the rest of the way. After JSU touched SIUE starter Jarrett Bednar for eight hits in the first three innings, Agnitsch allowed just one Gamecock hit the rest of the way and turned in four strike outs. He picked up his first win of the season in relief.
SIUE chased Jax State
Tony Urban after just two innings after scoring six runs on nine hits along with three runs off of freshman
Grant Chandler in relief of Urban. SIUE, who started the day batting .222, finished the doubleheader with 23 hits, 10 of which were for extra bases. Urban fell to 2-2 on the year.
In the second contest, it was much more of a pitchers duel as both teams combined for 11 hits. JSU sent freshman
Jake Walsh to the bump for his first start of his career and turned in five solid innings of work. The Cougars manufactured the first run of the contest in the second inning with an RBI from Skyler Geissinger.
JSU plated its lone run in the fourth after freshman
Taylor Hawthorne punched a single down the left field line to score
Ryan Sebra, who started the frame with a lead off single. Sebra finished the day 3-for-7 with a pair of runs driven in and scored two runs.
The contest went to the ninth at a 1-all deadlock and the Gamecocks' closer,
Travis Stout on the mound to preserve the situation, but a lead off double to left by Keaton Wright got the SIUE's wheels in motion to plate the eventual winning run. After a sacrifice bunt to push the runner to third, Dustin Woodcock lifted a deep fly ball to left field, scored the game-winning run. Woodcock went 1-for-3 in the second game, but was a thorn in JSU's side in the opener with a 2-for-5 outing at the dish.
JSU had the tying and go-ahead run on the base path after a walk by
Josh Bobo and single to right off the bat of
Hayden White, but SIUE's Zach Malach stuck out the final out for his second save in as many days.
The Gamecocks will play their first midweek contest of the year on Wednesday as in-state nemesis Troy visits Rudy Abbott Field on Wednesday, March 11. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
