JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State baseball team collected its sixth consecutive win and its second straight Ohio Valley Conference series with an 8-5 Saturday win over Austin Peay at Rudy Abbott Field.

After winning 6-1 on Friday evening, the Gamecocks (12-5) remained perfect in league play at 5-0 and off to their best start in OVC play since 2007.  JSU will seek its second conference weekend sweep on Sunday with the series finale at 1 p.m.  Dating back to last season, JSU has won 13 of its last 16 conference games and has claimed five of the last six OVC series.  APSU will look to salvage a win in Jacksonville on Sunday after falling to 9-7 overall and 3-2 against OVC foes.

The Gamecocks pounded out 12 hits off of APSU pitching and scored in five of the eight plate appearances.  JSU's run-producing were keyed by having the leadoff man reach in each of those five innings.  For the second straight day JSU's starting pitching turned in another quality start.  After posting seven solid innings last weekend at SIU Edwardsville, sophomore left hander Jack Pierce went 5.1 innings against APSU kept the Govs from having a big inning.  The Pelham, Alabama native was credited with his second win of the season.  Freshman Garrett Farmer and redshirt sophomore Justin Hoyt finished the contest out of the bullpen.

APSU used the long ball early to take a 2-0 lead off of Pierce as Ridge Smith connected on his second home run of the season with a two-run shot to left field.  The Gamecocks answered with an unearned run in the bottom half of the frame after sophomore Hayden White reached on a throwing error by the Govs.  The miscue was the second of the inning for APSU and allowed JSU to get on the board.

JSU's bats came alive in the second after sophomore Taylor Hawthorne led off the inning with a double down the right field line and scored on Peyton William's triple to right center.  Sophomore Clayton Daniel produced a single to left to give JSU a 3-2 lead and an advantage that would hold up the rest of the way.  With two outs in the inning, senior Tyler Gamble delivered an RBI double to extend the lead to 4-2.

APSU needed the long day again in the fourth as it cut the two-run deficit to 4-3 with a solo home run with outs in the inning off the bat of Kyle Blackburn.  The Govs, who added two more runs in the contest in the fifth and eighth, have scored four of their six runs on the weekend on home runs.

The two clubs seemed to trade runs in game as JSU pushed the lead out to 6-3 in the fourth.  Williams started the inning with a single and pushed to second on a sacrifice bunt by Gavin Golsan.  JSU took advantage of APSU miscues all day as Williams moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch on Daniel's ball four offering.  With Daniel in scoring position with two outs after Paschal Petrongolo grounded out to the first baseman, Gamble was clutch again with a single up the middle.  For the weekend, the Alabaster, Alabama native has four RBI on three hits, including a pair of doubles.  Gamble extended his hitting streak to 13 games and has posted three multiple RBI contests this season.

Hawthorne registered an RBI in the fifth with a double down the left field line to give JSU a 7-4 lead.  The Prattville, Alabama shortstop was involved on JSU's final scoring play of the game as he swiped second base and resulted in an errant throw by the catcher, scoring Josh Bobo, who led off the inning with a base hit and moved to third on Hawthorne's third hit of the game.  He finished the Saturday afternoon affair 3-for-4 with an RBI.

Hawthorne was one of five Gamecocks to have multiple hits in the game as Daniel, Gamble, Bobo and Williams all had two hits each.
The Gamecocks will go with junior righthander Colton Campbell in Sunday's series finale.  Campbell has been used as a midweek starter, but will get the nod in the conference game.

Admission is free to all JSU students and all fans 18 years and younger.  The game will be carried on the Gamecock Sports Network.