JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State's campus did not have power during the afternoon for repairs due to the storms that came through Calhoun County on Thursday, but the Gamecocks powered their way to an 8-3 Ohio Valley Conference series-opening win over Tennessee Tech on Friday night on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.

JSU's (9-11, 2-2 OVC) offense was powered by three home runs in the contest, including a grand slam by junior Alex Strachan to break open a two-run game in the seventh. Sophomore Carson Crowe started the home run barrage with a solo home run in the second to extend JSU's lead top 2-0, followed by junior Isaac Alexander's first home run of the season with a blast to over the left field fence. The grand slam by Strachan, who now has 17 career home runs, was the second of the season. The last Gamecock to connect on a grand slam was Alex Webb against Austin Peay in May, 2019.

The Gamecocks jumped on the scoreboard early with an RBI by Webb in the first inning. Junior Cole Frederick was one of three JSU hitters to record a hit off Tech starter Tyler Sylvester. Sylvester suffered the loss after being touched for seven of JSU's nine hits.

For the fourth Friday in a row, junior Christian Edwards was dominant on the mound. Edwards, who tossed seven hitless innings last Friday at Murray State, added two more innings to that streak before the Golden Eagles were able to solve him with their first hit in the third inning. Edwards went the first 6.2 innings, scattered three TTU (9-7, 4-3) hits and allowed one run in the outing. He finished with seven strikeouts in 26 batters faced.

Senior transfer Kyle Luigs nursed the two-run lead for 1.1 innings before Strachan's round tripper gave the Gamecocks some breathing room. Senior Corley Woods pitched s clean final inning.

Jax State's five-run seventh started with a one-out single by Tre Kirklin and three walks by Frederick, Webb and Jaylyn Williams by TTU reliever Alex Hursey. Webb and Williams had great at bats to get Strachan to the plate. Strachan was the lone Gamecock to have multiple hits as he had a single in his first plate appearance.

The two clubs will wrap up the OVC weekend with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ and aired on the Gamecock Sports Network. Tickets are available online at JSUGamecockSports.com. Free admission for JSU students and fans 18 years old and younger.

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