TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Jacksonville State needed extra innings but came away from its first midweek contest with a big 2-1, 10-inning win over in-state rival Alabama on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The win moves the Gamecocks to 5-2 on the season and snaps an 11-game skid to the Crimson Tide that dates back to the 2004 season. UA falls to 3-5 on the season and will host the Gamecocks again on April 25. JSU has now won two consecutive games against teams from the Southeastern Conference dating back to the win over Auburn during the 2015 campaign.
JSU pushed the winning run across the plate in the 10
th without getting a hit. Junior
Taylor Hawthorne led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a balk by UA's Deacon Medders.
Trent Simpson, who already had a pair of hits against UA pitching, attempted to sacrifice Hawthorne to third, but he battled at the plate to eventually walk. With one down in the frame, UA decided to intentionally walk junior
Hayden White for the second time in the game, but the first pitch from Medders went off the catcher's mitt, scoring Hawthorne from third base.
Junior
Justin Hoyt, who was inserted in to the game with two outs in the eighth, finished the final 2.1 innings to secure the win. Hoyt, one of five pitchers used in the contest, was touched for just one hit and collected a pair of strikeouts. The five JSU pitchers combined for seven strikeouts and held UA to six total hits. Junior
Colton Pate earned the start and settled in for two scoreless frames.
The Crimson Tide pushed its lone run of the contest across the dish in the fourth off of JSU redshirt freshman
Tyler Wilburn in the fourth. Cobie Vance had an RBI single to right field, scoring Chandler Avant. Avant had three of UA's six hits as he went 3-for-4 on the night.
JSU manufactured the game-tying run with a response in the fifth. Freshman
Chase Robinson, who has had a hit in every game this season, started the frame with a single to right field. Senior
Peyton Williams pushed Robinson to second on a sacrifice bunt. Junior
Nolan Greckel laced an RBI single to centerfield to equalize. The Gamecocks stranded 12 men on base, including a pair of bases-loaded situations in regulation.
JSU pitching retired eight straight Crimson Tide batters before Connor Short reached in the eight on a two-out fielding miscue. Avant had his third hit and the only extra base hit following the JSU error.
Jax State continues its season-opening 11-game road trip this weekend with a trip to the state of Texas for a three0game series with nationally-ranked Dallas Baptist. The Patriots enter the weekend series ranked No. 23 according to
Collegiate Baseball. The Gamecocks and DBU will begin the series on Friday at 6:30 p.m., followed by afternoon contests at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. respectively on Saturday and Sunday. DBU will provide live audio and video of the series free of charge. A link will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com.
