TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Jacksonville State baseball team dropped a rare Monday contest at Alabama, falling 13-2 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but with rain scheduled to enter the region, the two clubs pushed up the in-state duel to Monday.

A seven-run second inning by the Crimson Tide broke open a 2-1 affair after the first inning.  UA strung together three hits, including a two-run single by Morgan McCullough and a double by Keith Holcombe that pushed two more runs across the plate.  Tyler Gentry added a pair of RBI on a single.

UA scored 12 of its 13 runs in the first four innings after Jax State plated the first run of the game in the opening frame.  After a single by sophomore Cole Frederick and a double by senior Nic Gaddis, junior transfer Taylor Craven lifted a fly ball to left field to score Frederick.

Frederick, returning to his hometown, added an RBI single in the third inning.  Junior Tre Kirklin scored after reaching on a double.  Frederick and Gaddis were the two Gamecocks with multiple hits in the contest.  Gaddis added a single in the eighth inning.

Both squads combined to use 13 pitchers in the contest as the five pitchers that Alabama sent to the mound limited Jax State to just five hits in the contest.  JSU's four of its five hits came off the first two Crimson Tide arms.  UA pitchers retired 11 straight Gamecocks from the third inning until sophomore Isaac Alexander was issued a walk to start the seventh.
Jax State gave newcomer Alex London his first start in a Gamecock uniform in his hometown.  London, who prepped at Northside High School and played at Shelton State prior to becoming a Gamecock, went 1.1 innings and was saddled with the loss.  JSU used senior Austin Brewster, redshirt sophomore Dylan Hathcock, freshmen Isaiah Magwood and Michael Gilliland along with senor Cody Willingham and sophomore Sean Rape in the contest.  JSU did not allow a Crimson Tide hit after the fourth inning, but issued nine walks in the outing.
Monday's contest was the first of a home-and-home season set between the Gamecocks and Crimson Tide.  UA will visit Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium for the first time since 2014 on Wednesday, April 24.

JSU's six-game road trip continues this weekend as it travels to the Sunshine State's Jacksonville for a three0-game series with the Dolphins of Jacksonville.  The series with JU is a return trip as the Dolphins visited Oxford, Alabama last season.

The JU series will get underway on Friday, February 22 at 5 p.m. CST.  Live audio of the game will be available at JSUGamecockSports.com.