JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State baseball team swept the season series with in-state nemesis Troy on Wednesday night in grand fashion with a walk off grand slam by redshirt freshman
Nash Adams in the 11th inning at Rudy Abbott Field at
Jim Case Stadium.
Adams' blast broke a 5-5 deadlock and handed the Gamecocks a 9-5 win over the Trojans. Jax State topped Troy, 9-7, in late February at Troy's Riddle-Pace Field. It marks the first season sweep of Troy since 2015. JSU improved to 8-10 overall and will step put of Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend, hosting Big 10 opponent Purdue at Rudy Abbott Field at
Jim Case Stadium. Friday's series opener is set for 6 p.m.
Senior
Nic Gaddis opened the final frame with a hard single to third base, but after back-to-back fielders' choices, juniors
Andrew Naismith and
Chase Robinson walked to load the bases ahead of Adams, who stepped in as a pinch hitter. Adams, from Helena, Alabama, pelted Zach Moore's 0-1 pitch over the left field fence. Adams' game winner traveled 370 feet and came off the bat at 105 miles per hour. Jax State has now had walk off wins by way of the home run ball in two of the last four games and has won in the final at bat three times this season. The last time JSU had a walk off grand slam was back on April 10, 2010 against Murray State. Former Gamecock
Jake Sharrock delivered the game-winning grand slam in the ninth inning. The last Jax State grand slam was last season by now-sophomore
Isaac Alexander. Alexander's grand slam came in the OVC Baseball Tournament contest against Eastern Kentucky at Choccolocco Park.
The Gamecocks set up the extra inning affair with an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth. Junior
Alex Webb reached on a fielding error by the Trojan infield with one out in the inning. After
Tanner Anderson, who pinch ran for Webb took second on a wild pitch and a Gaddis walk, sophomore
Cole Frederick came through with an RBI single.
JSU posted another come-from-behind win as it erased a 5-3 deficit in the final two innings of regulation. Naismith had a pinch hot double to the gap in left center field, plating Frederick. JSU threatened for more runs, but Troy averted the big innings all night.
Junior
Tre Kirklin had one of this best outings in a Gamecock uniform as the Kennesaw, Georgia native led off the Jax State order with a solo home run in the first and mirrored his first at bat with his second solo home run of the evening in JSU's third inning. Kirklin scored three times and made a diving catch in the outfield late in the contest to preserve the tie. He scored on Webb's RBI single to left field in the fifth to slice Troy's lead to 4-3. Kirlin becomes the first Gamecock to lead off a game with a home run since Michael Bishop delivered a home run in the first at bat against SIU Edwardsville in 2014. Troy extended the lead to 5-3 with a sacrifice fly RBI by Chase Smartt.
Both clubs used many arms, but with a watchful eye as the Trojans open Sun Belt Conference action this weekend and the Boilermakers traveling to Jacksonville for weekend series. JSU senior
Cody Willingham made second career start on Wednesday and turned in a pair of scoreless innings. The Rainsville, Alabama right hander posted a pair of strikeouts in the seven batters that he faced. Freshman
Michael Gilliland, senior
Austin Brewster both made appearances out of the bullpen. Jax State went with junior
Alex London and freshman
Isaiah Magwood in the middle innings before sophomore
Jackson Tavel and sophomore
Christian Edwards rounded out the arms used in the contest. Edwards picked up his first win of the season as he tossed the final two frames and fanned three Trojans. Troy's Moore suffered the loss.
Tickets for the weekend series with Purdue are available online at JSUGamecockSports.com. All JSU students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free.
