JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State dropped the final game of the weekend series with Southern Mississippi, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon at Rudy Abbott Field at
Jim Case Stadium.
The Golden Eagles (6-5) claimed the series after winning 6-0 on Saturday and nursing a 3-0 lead for the final six innings. The Gamecocks dropped to 5-6 on the season and will now play the next eight games away from Jacksonville after playing 10-of-the-first-11 games on the home turf.
USM used a pair of home runs for its runs with a two-run home run by Will McGillis just inside the left field foul pole in the second inning and added a solo home run by Reed Trimble in the next inning. JSU starter
Colin Casey was saddled with the loss after 3.2 innings of work and a pair of earned runs.
Golden Eagle starter Ben Etheridge tossed the first four innings and scattered four hits. The Gamecocks were able to bunch two hits together against Etheridge in the fifth inning. Sophomore
Carson Crowe started the fifth with an opposite field double and scored on junior
Alex Carignan's singe back up the middle to chase Etheridge from the contest.
JSU had scoring chances in the sixth and in the ninth but could not come up with a clutch hit. Senior Jaylen Williams, who finished the weekend with five hits, had a single in the sixth, while junior
Isaac Alexander had a two-single ro centerfield. In the ninth, Carignan was issued a two-walk, followed by a pinch-hit single by
Tanner Snow gave the Gamecocks energy, but USM's Garrett Ramsey closed it down for his third save of the season.
The Gamecock bullpen kept USM from extending the lead. Senior
Kyle Luigs, Redshirt junior
Jackson Tavel and senior
Corley Woods combined to limit USM to five hits over the final six innings and posted five strikeouts.
The extended road trip will start on Wednesday, March 10 when the Gamecocks travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a rematch with the Crimson Tide. JSU dropped a 5-2 decision to UA in Jacksonville on March 23. The game will be available on SEC Network+, the online platform of the SEC Network. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. from Sewell-Thomas Stadium. JSU will head to Mobile, Alabama for a weekend series against the Jaguars of South Alabama. The series between the two in-state programs will start on Friday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m.
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