JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State split a Saturday doubleheader with Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.

The Gamecocks blanked the Chippewas, 8-0, in the opener and dropped a tough 1-0 decision in the nightcap.  The two teams will continue their four-game series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. contest.  The series final is set for Monday at 3 p.m.

One of the highlights from the twinbill is the solid pitching from the Gamecocks' staff on the 18-inning day.  Jax State limited a CMU to one run on the day and it came 14 innings into the day as the Chippewas pushed the lone run of the second game across the plate in the sixth inning.  The four pitchers used by JSU on Saturday combined for 15 strikeouts and 13 total hits.  CMU's offense started the season last weekend hitting .304 as a team in its first four games at UNLV and scored 45 runs in the four games out west.

Redshirt junior Dylan Hathcock turned in a quality outing in the opener with 5.2 innings of work and scattering five hits.  The Tallassee, Alabama left hander finished with three strikeouts and a pair of walks.  Redshirt sophomore Trey Fortner finished the final 3.1 innings to earn his second save of the season.   Both Hathcock and Fortner benefited from great defense as the Gamecocks turned in four double plays.  JSU added another twin killing in the second game for the fifth of the day.  Jax State leads NCAA Division I Baseball through the first full week of the 2020 season in double plays turned.  JSU has posted 13 doubles plays in the first six games of the season.

JSU took the lead in the third inning with an infield RBI by junior Cole Frederick and a gifted run on a CMU error.  The Gamecocks expanded the lead in the fourth after stringing together four hits in the frame, highlighted by senior Tre Kirklin's two-run single.  Senior Chase Robinson had the first RBI if the inning with a single to right field. Kirklin was one of four Gamecocks to have multiple hits in the opener.  Frederick finished with a pair of hits, while senior Alex Webb and Alex Strachan also added two hits each. 

Jax State broke the game open with a three-run seventh inning.  Junior Isaac Alexander laced a two-RBI single to right field, followed by sophomore Brook Brannon's first career RBI.  Brannon had a single to the left side of the infield.

In game two, CMU's Jordan Patty handcuffed the Gamecocks for 7.2 innings and allowed just two hits in the outing.  Jax State's Isaiah Magwood matched Patty for five innings as the sophomore was touched for three hits and fanning four Chippewas.  Both teams combined for 28 fly ball outs, including 17 by JSU. 

CMU's sixth inning started with a walk issued by freshman Austin Downey.  After Zach Giles walked to start the frame, Griffin Lockwood-Powell had a base hit. A sacrifice bunt put the go-ahead run at third base.  Downey (1-1) induced a slow ground ball out, allowing the run to score.

Downey shook off the run in the sixth to finish the final four innings with six strikeouts and the one hit.

Webb extended his on-base streak that dates back to last season to nine games with a walk in the fourth and a one-out single in the ninth.  Sophomore Carson Crowe had the lone extra base hit of the night with a double in his first plate appearance. Junior Alex Carignan collected his first hit as a Gamecock with a lead off single in the fifth inning.

Sunday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ and aired on the Gamecock Sports Network.  Admission is free to all JSU students and all fans 18 years old and younger.