JACKSONVILLE – Junior Josh Bobo matched a Jacksonville State single game home run record and tied the program's Division I record for RBI to power JSU to its 12^th straight Ohio Valley Conference win with a 22-7 rout of Murray State on Saturday afternoon at Rudy Abbott Field.

With the win, JSU moved to 11-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play and pushed the overall record to 21-9.  The Racers dropped to 15-19 on the season and 5-9 against the OVC.  Jax State has now won nine of the last 12 series dating back to the series against Belmont last season.  JSU will be looking for its fourth OVC sweep this season as the two clubs close out the weekend set on Sunday at 1 p.m.  Admission is free for JSU students and all fans ages 18 and under. The Game will be available on the Gamecock Sports Network.  The win also strengthened JSU's hold on first place after Austin Peay handed Southeast Missouri its second consecutive loss in the league on Saturday.  

Bobo belted three home runs against the Racers and drove in eight runs on the afternoon.  His final stat line was impressive with a 5-for-6 day at the plate and scored five times.  He becomes the fifth Gamecock all time to record three home runs in a contest and the first since former JSU standout Ben Waldrip accomplished the feat on April 28, 2012.  The Attalla, Alabama third baseman is the fourth player in JSU's Division I tenure to have three home runs in a game.  Bobo joins his former high school coach at Etowah High School as Larry Foster was the first Gamecock to hit three round trippers in a game back in 1973 against UAB.  He became the fourth Gamecock to register eight home runs on the Division I level and the first since Scott Smith against Eastern Kentucky and versus Alabama that season.  Jeff Tidwell (1998) and Roby Brooks (1997) also had eight RBI in a single game.

It marks Bobo's second multi-home run contest this season as he turned in two home runs against Samford on March 29.  He now has six home runs on the season and ties senior Tyler Gamble for the most on the club in 2016.  Bobo's first home run erased a 3-1 Racer lead in the second with a three-run blast to centerfield.  He led off the seventh inning with a solo shot to the exact same spot and then finished his home run barrage with a two-run shot in his first of two at bats in the eighth.  He singled in his eighth RBI in Jax State's nine-run eighth that put the game out of reach.  Bobo also had had an RBI double in the JSU's five-run third that erased MSU's 6-4 lead.

Bobo was one of five Gamecocks to have multiple hits in the Saturday contest as JSU recorded a season-best 23 hits off of five different MSU pitchers.  Jax State touched Racer starter John Lollar for 10 hits and scored nine runs off of the righthander, who entered the game with a 3-0 mark. 

Sophomore Clayton Daniel's day was overshadowed by Bobo's big day as Daniel matched Bobo with five singles on the day and drove in two runs.  Senior Gavin Golsan continued his solid approach at the plate with a 4-for-4 day and reached base seven times with three walks.  Golsan plated a pair and scored four times.  Sophomore catcher Hayden White finished with three hits, while A.J. Reynolds added a pair of hits. 

It wasn't just an offensive showcase for JSU as the pitching staff had another quality outing.  Sophomore Jack Pierce struggled in the first inning after allowing three runs on four hits to fall behind 3-0.  Pierce was touched for three more runs in the third as MSU took a 6-4 lead heading into the home half of the frame.  The offense had a five-run outburst to give reliever Michael McCreless 9-6 lead to work with.  After MSU touched Pierce for eight hits, McCreless and Dalton Etheridge, who finished the last two innings, allowed just four Racer hits over the final six innings.  McCreless picked up the win after going 4.0 innings and just three hits.  Etheridge was touched for one hit and a run in the final two innings.