JACKSONVILLE – Senior Andrew Naismith collected five hits to lead Jacksonville State to a series win over Gardner-Webb with a 15-6 Sunday rout on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.

The Gamecock (5-5) bounced back after the Runnin' Bulldogs (6-5) evened the non-conference set on Saturday.  Jax State opened the weekend with a 9-3 win on Friday.  JSU will close out its season-opening homestand on Tuesday, hosting the Owl of Kennesaw State on Tuesday night.  First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on JSU Faculty and Staff Night at the ballpark.  All JSU faculty and staff get in free with their JSU ID.  JSU students and all fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free as well.

Naismith capped off a stellar performance at the plate, going 5-for-6 with three doubles and driving in three runs on Sunday.  His lone at bat in the contest was a deep fly ball to the warning track in right field in JSU's eighth inning.  The Auburn, Alabama native had back-to-back doubles in his first two plate appearances, including a key double in Jax State's six-run second inning to break an early 2-2 deadlock.  His second RBI double of the contest came in the fifth inning.  The fifth hit came on an RBI single in a lengthy five-run seventh to break open the contest.  On the weekend, Naismith hit .688 (11-for-16), with four doubles and registering five RBI.  He scored five times and accumulated a slugging percentage of .938 and one strikeout the entire weekend.

He becomes the first Gamecock to record five hits or more in a single game since former JSU standout Nic Gaddis tallied six hits on March 3, 2018 against Florida International.  He matches Alex Webb's mark of three doubles in a game as Webb delivered three doubles last season against Belmont.  In all, eight different Gamecocks combined for the 14 hits in the win, including multiple hits by Webb and junior Isaac Alexander.  The Gamecocks finished with seven doubles in the outing.

Webb collected three RBI on single in the first and a double in the eighth.  Junior Cole Frederick recorded a pair of RBI on a single in the second frame.  Freshman Jack Henry Milligan, who made his JSU debut on Sunday, finished with an RBI double.  Senior Tre Kirklin, freshman Colton Lewis and redshirt sophomore Nash Adams all had hits in the game.

Sophomore Michael Gilliland turned in another quality start to earn his first win in a starting role.  The Boaz, Alabama lefthander went 5.0 innings to qualify for the win and scattered seven GWU hits.  Gilliland posted five of Jax State's 10 strikeouts as a pitching staff.  Junior Colin Casey was sharp for two innings with three strikeouts.  Freshman Austin Downey and redshirt junior Sean Rape tossed the final two innings.

Following Tuesday's outing with KSU, the Gamecocks will travel for the first time in 2020 on Wednesday.  The Gamecocks will wrap up the two-game season series with UAB in Birmingham.  The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Regions Field, home of the Birmingham Barons.

The Gamecocks will open Ohio Valley Conference play next weekend in Charleston, Illinois against the Panthers of Eastern Illinois, beginning on Friday, March 6.

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