CHARLESTON, Ill – Jacksonville State claimed an Ohio Valley Conference road weekend series in dominating fashion with a 7-0 win over Eastern Illinois on Sunday at Coaches Stadium.
The Gamecocks notched their first conference series and moved to 3-3 in league play after the first two weekends of the OVC slate. JSU improved to 12-6 overall and will head to Kennesaw, Georgia on Wednesday for a midweek match up with the Owls of Kennesaw State. First pitch versus the Owls is set for 4 p.m. CST. EIU fell to 8-10 on the season and 1-2 in OVC action.
The Sunday blanking was the second of the weekend for Jax State as it opened the road set with an 11-0 decision on Friday. EIU rebounded to win Saturday's contest, 9-5. It's the first time JSU has posted a pair of shutout wins in a conference series since it did the same to EIU in 2008. The Gamecocks have now blanked the opposition five times this season, including the last two Sunday contests.
The dominance started on the mound with junior Derrick Adams, a preseason All-OVC pick, returned to his sophomore form on the mound. Adams quieted EIU for 7.2 innings and collected eight strikeouts on the day. The Decatur, Alabama native faced two over the minimum and did not allow a walk in the outing. EIU did not get a runner on second base in the contest and only touched Adams for four singles.
While Adams was silencing EIU on the mound, the Gamecocks put together quality situational plate appearances. JSU jumped on EIU starter Tyler Jones with an RBI ground out by senior Trent Simpson. Senior Clayton Daniel, who turned in a 3-for-4 day at the plate, sored after the first hit of the day in the opening frame. JSU pushed the second run of the day without a hit as senior Nolan Greckel scored on a wild pitch.
Senior Hayden White, making his first start at catcher this season, delivered an RBI single to right field, pushing freshman Isaac Alexander home in the sixth for the third run of the day. Alexander reached with a one-out double. Alexander finished the day as one of four Gamecocks with multiple hits. JSU posted 11 hits off of five different EIU pitchers.
Jax State added insurance runs late in the contest with a two-run eighth and ninth. Freshman Alex Stratchan drove in a run with a ground out the right side of the infield, followed by redshirt freshman Grant Atkins with his first career hit and RBI.
Senior Taylor Hawthorne, who also had two hits on the day, had added an RBI in the ninth. With his pair of hits, the Prattville, Alabama product has reached base in 39 of the last 40 games dating back to last season. He snapped his consecutive streak on Saturday at EIU.
Simpson got the final four outs of the contest with a strikeout to his credit. In the series, JSU pitching fanned 27 Panthers and walked just seven.
Following Wednesday's contest at KSU, the Gamecocks return to Choccolocco Park next weekend, hosting the Dolphins of Jacksonville in a non-conference set, beginning on Friday.
