JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State combined for 23 runs in a Saturday twinbill to complete a weekend sweep of Valparaiso on Rudy Abbott Field at
Jim Case Stadium.
The Gamecocks started the day with a 10-2 win and continued to feast on Valpo pitching in the nightcap with a 13-3 victory. Jax State (4-3) opened the weekend with a walk-off, 5-4, win on Friday. JSU turned in 26 hits in two twinbill and put together one big offensive inning in each of the two games. The Gamecocks broke open the first game of the day with a four-run eighth inning and erased a one-run deficit in the second game with a seven-run third inning.
A trio of Gamecocks had three or more hits in the doubleheader, led by senior
Alex Webb's five hits in eight at bats on the day. Webb posted three RBI and scored four times. Junior
Isaac Alexander finished with a three-hit day and a pair of RBI, while junior
Cole Frederick added three hits, including a triple that sparked JSU's seven-run third inning. JSU had nine different hitters have multiple hits on the day.
Junior catcher
Alex Carignan highlighted the nightcap with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, including a bases-clearing double in the big third inning. Carignan had a single to right fied for his fourth RBI of the game. Senior
Tre Kirklin extended his hitting streak to 15 games dating back to the last eight games of 2020 with a double just inside the third base bag in the first game and collected his second home run of the season and fifth within the 15-game hitting streak to lead off the fifth inning for JSU.
Junior
Javier Ramirez also had a solid weekend with a pair of RBI hits and reached base five times via a walk.
Jax State didn't need that amount of offensive firepower as the pitching staff turned in two solid outings, led by the pair of starters in junior
Dylan Hathcock in the opener and junior
Colin Casey in the series finale. Both turned in career performances as Hathcock fanned a career high seven Valpo hitters in six innings of work and did not issue a walk. Hathcock (1-0) scattered three hits and did not give up a run. Casey tossed a solid five innings, striking out five and four hits and an unearned run in the second inning. His five innings of work was a career high and his strikeout total matched her first start of the season last Sunday against Tennessee Tech. As a staff, Jax State pitchers posted 17 strikeouts and limited Valpo to a .228 batting average on the weekend.
The Gamecocks hit the road for the first time this season with back-to-back in-state road trips to Auburn and Birmingham on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. JSU will face the Tigers of Auburn on Tuesday, March 2 at 4 p.m. at Plainsman Park. Jax State will renew its rivalry with Samford in the first of two meetings in the 2021 on Wednesday on the Samford campus. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. The JSU-AU game will be available on the SEC Network+, while the Gamecocks and Bulldogs battle will be streamed on ESPN+.
JSU returns home next weekend against Southern Mississippi in a three-game series on Rudy Abbott Field at
Jim Case Stadium. The series with the Golden Eagles will get underway on Friday, March 5 at 6 p.m.
For more information on the JSU baseball team, follow the Gamecocks on Twitter (@JSUGamecocksBB) and Instagram (@JSUGamecocksBB). For more on all Gamecocks sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of JSU Athletics on Twitter (@JSUGamecocks), Facebook (Facebook.com/JSUGamecocks) and Instagram (@JSUGamecocks).
