CHARLESTON, Ill. – Jacksonville State dropped the final game of the opening Ohio Valley Conference weekend of the season with a 5-4, 11-inning decision to Eastern Illinois on Sunday afternoon at Coaches Stadium.
The Gamecocks, who won the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, 6-4, fell to the Panthers 4-0 in the nightcap to force Sunday's rubber game of the series. JSU falls to 6-8 overall and 1-2 in league action, while EIU moved to 6-6 in the season and 2-1 in OVC play. Jax State returns to action on Tuesday, March 10 against Kennesaw State on the KSU campus. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. CST.
EIU erased a 4-1 deficit and scored four unearned runs in the extra-inning contest. The Panthers plated the winning run on a throwing error on the Gamecock infield with two outs in the inning. A leadoff single for EIU put the wheels in motion, followed by a sacrifice bunt to put the winning run in scoring position. Jax State finished with four errors on the day.
The Panthers were gifted runs in the sixth on an errant throw and tied the contest in the seventh with a pair of unearned runs. A mis-fielded ground ball opened the door for the two runs to cross the plate. Neither team could put together a run-scoring frame from the seventh to EIU's last at bat. JSU had runners in scoring position with two outs in the 10th before Jason DeCicco recorded the final out of the inning. Combined, the two clubs stranded 28 runners on the base paths.
The Gamecocks fell behind 1-0 after EIU posted the first run of the game in the third inning. JSU starter
Michael Gilliland limited the damage in the inning after EIU loaded the bases for the second time in the first three innings.
Jax State put together a pair of two-out rallies in the fourth and sixth inning. Junior
Javier Ramirez and senior
Tre Kirklin had RBI singles in the fourth, while Junior Cole Frederik registered an RBI triple, followed by an RBI by senior
Alex Webb.
Senior
Chase Robinson led the Gamecock line up with three hits, followed by a multi-hit game by Webb.
Redshirt sophomore
Trey Fortner suffered the loss (0-1) after tossing the final 3.2 innings.
Tuesday's rematch with the Owls of KSU will be available on the Gamecock Sports Network. JSU's next home game will be Friday, March 13 against in-state foe Samford. The Gamecocks, who will step out of conference play next weekend, will face the Bulldogs on Saturday in Hoover, Alabama at the Hoover Met before wrapping up the weekend on Sunday on the SU campus.
