CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – It was another tough weekend on the road in the Ohio Valley Conference for Jacksonville State after being swept by league-frontrunner Southeast Missouri.

After dropping a tough 5-4 contest to the Redhawks on Friday in walk-off fashion, the Gamecocks fell twice on Saturday in an afternoon twinbill at Capaha Field.  SEMO overcame an early 2-0 deficit to post a 9-5 win in the opening game and belted three home runs that aided in a 6-3 victory to complete the sweep.  It's the first time JSU has been sweep by the Gamecocks in a three-game series since joining the OVC.  The Gamecocks fell to 19-19 overall and 7-11 against OVC competition.  SEMO (25-14) maintained its spot on top of the league standings at 16-5.

JSU got off to a great start in the opener with a run in each of the first two innings.  Junior Tyler Gamble, who had a nice weekend at the dish with four hits, drove in his fourth run of the weekend after lifting a fly ball to right, scoring Gavin Golsan.  The Gamecocks added a run off of SEMO's starter Travis Hayes in the second with another sacrifice fly off the bat of Taylor Hawthorne.

After allowing two early runs, Hayes settled in and allowed the Redhawks' offense to get going in the fourth.  The fourth inning started a string of four consecutive innings that SEMO put runs on the scoreboard.  SEMO, who hit six round trippers against Jax State pitching on the weekend, had its first of four on Saturday with Trevor Ezell's leadoff home run to right field.

After allowing just one run in the first four innings, JSU starter Jake Walsh ran in to trouble in the fifth as SEMO touched him for four runs on just two hits in the frame to take a 5-2 lead.  The two hits were a pair of doubles from Ryan Rippee and Branden Boggetto.  Boggetto drilled the game winner on Friday evening and finished the three-game series 6-for-15, including three home runs and a pair of doubles.

After adding two more runs in the six on Clayton Evan's two-run single, the Gamecocks mounted a rally in the seventh.  Senior Ryan Sebra extended his OVC hitting streak to 17 games with a leadoff homerun to left center.  It was Sebra's fifth of the year and second of the week after a three-run shot on Tuesday at Kennesaw State. His streak was halted in the second game of the doubleheader after not recording a hit.  JSU used the long ball again in the inning as freshman Hayden White delivered a two-run round tripper to cut the lead to 7-5.  It was the second time this season that JSU has produced a pair of home runs in an inning this year as the Gamecocks did it against Austin Peay on March 16.

SEMO answered JSU's rally by adding a pair of insurance runs in the home half of the seventh to close out the scoring.  Hayes, who blanked JSU last season in Jacksonville, picked up the win after throwing eight complete innings to move to 6-4.  Walsh suffered the loss and dropped to 1-2 on the season.

In the final game of the series, SEMO scored five of its six runs on home run balls, including a pair of two-out, two-run home runs in the first inning off of JSU's Colton Campbell.  Andy Lennington had the first two-run shot while Rippee had the second blow.  Boggetto collected his third home run of the weekend in the fifth to stake SEMO's Alex Winkelman to a 5-0 lead.

Winkelman was solid against JSU's lineup as he went 6.2 innings and struck out eight Gamecocks.  He did not allow a Jax State hit until the fifth as Golsan solved him with a single up the middle.  The Gamecocks started to touch Winkleman from the point as they scratched runs across the plate in the sixth and seventh.  Elliott McCummings double to right center plated Gamble, who reached on a double.  Daniel Clayton was credited with an RBI in the seventh with a sacrifice fly to right.

Petrongolo added JSU's final run of the day with a ninth inning solo home run.  It was his fourth of the year.

 After playing four of the last five games on the road, the Gamecocks return to Rudy Abbott Field for a two-game midweek set with in-state rival South Alabama.  Tuesday's game with the Jaguars is set for 6 p.m., followed by Wednesday's 3 p.m. contest.  JSU will host Belmont in OVC action next weekend on the JSU campus.  Admission is free for all JSU Students and all fans 18 and under.