OXFORD – The Jacksonville State baseball team dropped a Saturday doubleheader to Belmont at Choccolocco Park to drop an Ohio Valley Conference series.

The Bruins (19-19, 13-8 OVC), erased a late deficits in both games to win a tight 3-2 contest in the opening game and capped off a comeback with eight runs in the final two plate appearances to claim a 10-5 series-clinching win.  The Gamecocks opened the series with a 9-4 win on Friday night.  JSU falls to 19-18 overall and 8-10 in OVC play.

A theme throughout the two games was JSU's struggles with coming up with key hits in the two games combined.  The Gamecocks combined to strand 23 base runners on the day, including 14 left on base in the nightcap.  Jax State's bats posted 25 hits on the day, while limiting the Bruins to 17 total hits in the 18 innings played.

In the opener, JSU scored its two runs on a two-run home run by junior Hayden White in the second inning.  The home run would be the only two runs BU starter Dylan King would allow in his six innings of work.  King scattered eight hits and collected 10 strike outs in the 26 batters he faced.  King would get a no decision on Saturday after the Bruins tied the contest in seventh on a solo home run by Clay Payne.  The Bruins posted the eventual game-winning run in the eighth on Matt Cogen's single.

Junior Colton Pate went seven innings in the contest and was touched for just two runs.  Pate tallied five strike outs and walked three Bruins.  Freshman Corley Woods was saddled with the loss after BU's unearned run in the eighth.

In game two, the Bruins took a 1-0 lead in the second after Hunter Holland sent a Joe McGuire pitch over the left field wall.  After stranding seven runners in the first three frames, including bases loaded situations in the first and second, the Gamecocks broke through with a three-run fourth.  Freshman Chase Robinson had the first RBI of the contest with a ground ball out, followed by senior A.J. Reynolds' two RBI single to right field.

With a 3-1 lead after four innings, BU inched closer with an RBI ground out by Chase Hadden in the fifth.  JSU got a little breathing room in the sixth with a two-out solo home run by freshman Andrew Naismith.

The Gamecocks went with closer Justin Hoyt in the seventh after the lead was expanded.  Hoyt worked a clean seventh, but ran into trouble in the eighth.  Hoyt issued a free pass to start the frame and was touched for a run-scoring double by Rafael Bournigal.  After another Bruin reached with a fielding miscue by JSU, Nick Egli gave Belmont the lead with a towering three-run home run just inside the left field foul pole.  Egli would cap off the comeback in the ninth with a grand slam to put the Bruins in control at 10-4.  He finished with three hits on the day and seven RBI in his final two plate appearances.  Hoyt suffered his first setback of the season, while Casey Queener worked a solid three innings to pick up the win in relief.

JSU tacked on the final run of the night with an RBI single by Josh Bobo.  Junior Trent Simpson had a solid day offensively with four hits, including a pair of doubles.

The Gamecocks will return to action on Tuesday, April 25 with their second visit to Tuscaloosa this season.  Earlier this season, JSU topped the Crimson Tide of Alabama, 2-1, in 10 innings at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.  JSU will look for a repeat performance against UA in the midweek.  The 6 p.m. game will be available on the Gamecock Sports Network along with it being streamed on the SEC Network +, the online platform of the SEC Network.