JACKSONVILLE – A three-run ninth inning by Alabama was the difference in Jacksonville State's 6-3 setback to the Crimson Tide on Wednesday night in from of a capacity crowd at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.

In two nights at the first-year facility, nearly 4,000 (3,915) witnessed the Gamecocks face nationally ranked Auburn on Tuesday and Alabama on Wednesday.  Wednesday drew 2,033 in attendance, which is the first 2,000-plus attended game since UA's last visit to Jax State in 2014.  JSU dropped to 21-19 overall and will now turn its attention to a key Ohio Valley Conference weekend series with Morehead State.  The Eagles were the preseason pick to win the conference after claiming the 2018 OVC Tournament crown in Oxford, Alabama last season.  The Gamecocks enter the weekend with a share of first place with the Bruins of Belmont and a league mark of 12-6.  MSU comes to campus at 27-15 on the season and 11-7 against OVC competition. 

Tickets for the series are available online at JSUGamecockSports.com.  All fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free.  Sunday will be kids day on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.  All kids 12 years old and younger will be able to run the bases following the series finale with the MSU.
 
UA broke a 3-3 deadlock with a pair of hits and aided by two defensive miscues and a leadoff walk by JSU in the inning.  UA's Colby Robinson started the inning with a walk and later gave the Crimson Tide the lead after scoring on a wild pitch.  Morgan McCullough added an RBI single, followed by a run scored on an errant throw by JSU. 

JSU took an early lead with an RBI by redshirt freshman Nash Adams in the third inning.  The Gamecocks manufactured the run after sophomore Alex Strachan opened the inning with a double.  UA responded with a run in its half of the fourth before the Gamecocks pushed a pair of two-out runs across the plate.  Freshman Carson Crowe, a native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama registered an RBI single.  An error by the Crimson Tide infield kept the inning alive and another run for the Gamecocks.  Junior Chase Robinson scored on the lay after reaching via a hit by pitch.

After JSU had four hits in the first four frames, Alabama's Kyle Cameron tossed four complete innings without issuing a Gamecock hit.  Jax State's Isaac Alexander collected JSU's fifth hit of the night in the ninth.  Cameron retired all nine Gamecocks that he faced en route to picking up the win.  Sophomore Christian Edwards, who was one of seven pitchers who saw action on Wednesday suffered the loss.

Senior Nic Gaddis led JSU with a pair of hits in the loss.  Gaddis now 17 multi-hit games this season.

All three games will be available on ESPN+ and will be aired on the Gamecock Sports Network.  The series will start with a pair of 6 p.m. outings on Friday and Saturday.  The final contest of the weekend is set for 1 p.m.