CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Alex Strachan, Nash Adams and Chase Robinson helped engineer a late Jacksonville State rally, but Southeast Missouri held on for a 9-8 win on Saturday to even the Ohio Valley Conference series at Capaha Field.

Sunday's rubber game is set for 1 p.m.  JSU was looking to claim its third conference series of the season after posting a 4-3 win over the Redhawks on Friday evening.  The loss drops JSU to 15-15 overall and 7-4 in OVC play.  SEMO improved to 15-16 on the season and 5-9 in the league. 

Strachan and Robinson had three hits each and combined for a pair of RBI.  JSU's RBI leader on Saturday was  Adams, who had three RBI on a pair of hits.  Strachan matched a career-high with his three hits and his third hit of the day gave the Gamecocks the tying run on base to start the ninth inning.  SEMO's Logan Winder closed the contest with three straight strikeouts as pinch runner Grant Atkins took second base on a wild pitch during the final three Gamecock hitters.

Trailing 9-3 entering the eighth, Strachan led off the inning with a solo home run to ignite the five-run rally.  Adams connected on the second home run of the frame with a one-out two-run blast, scoring Tre Kirklin, who reached with a walk.  Senior Nic Gaddis and sophomore Isaac Alexander turned in back-to-back doubles with two outs ahead of Robinson's two RBI single.  As a team, JSU out-hit SEMO, 15-11 as five different Gamecocks had multiple hits.  Gaddis, Alexander joined Nash with two hits each.

The Gamecocks started scoring early with a run in the first inning with Cole Frederick's triple to the gap in left centerfield.  The two clubs matched each other in the first two innings as SEMO answered JSU's run in the first.  Jax State plated two runs in the second with an RBI single by Devin Brown and Adams' RBI double.

SEMO took the lead with a run the third and Daniel Bergtholdt shouldered his club on the mound as he would hold the Gamecocks scoreless until the five-run eighth.  Bergtholdt, who entered in the second inning, went the next 5.2 innings and allowed just two hits until JSU chased him after five hits in the eighth.  He posted seven strikeouts in relief of Noah Niznik.

While Bergtholdt was limiting JSU at the plate, the Redhawk offense kept expanding the lead with runs in six of the eight innings.  A two-run fourth and a pair of runs in the sixth opened the JSU deficit to 8-3.  Jax State starter Trey Fortner suffered the loss in 3.2 innings of work.  Senior Cody Willingham, sophomore Colin Casey, freshman Michael Gilliland and junior Corley Woods all saw action out of the bullpen.

Sunday's series finale will be available on the Gamecock Sports Network.