JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State dropped the opening game of the three-game series with SIU Edwardsville, 4-3, on Rudy Abbott Field at
Jim Case Stadium on Friday night.
The Gamecocks dropped the 22-22 overall and 12-10 in Ohio Valley Conference action in a tight race for the top-four spots for postseason action in the conference tournament. The Cougars, who claimed their first win over JSU since 2015, moved to 21-19 on the season and 11-11 against league foes. SIUE's win snapped a 13-game winning streak by the Gamecocks against the Cougars.
SIUE broke up 1-1 deadlock in the fifth inning with a pair of one-out RBI and added the eventual winning run in the sixth with an infield single RBI. The Cougars turned in a solid pitching performance by Noah Matheny with nine strikeouts in seven innings and allowed two of the three JSU runs.
Matheny worked out of a bases loaded first inning jam with two singles and a walk, he gained momentum for the next six innings of work. After his offense manufactured a run in the second inning, he issued a solo home run to Jax State's
Alex Carignan in the in the bottom half of the frame. Carignan was the lone Gamecock to have multiple hits against him with a single in his second plate appearance.
JSU starter
Isaiah Magwood matched his SIUE counterpart until running into trouble in the fifth and sixth innings. Magwood equaled his career-high in strikeouts with nine in 5.1 innings of work and touched for eight Cougar hits. Redshirt junior
Dylan Hathcock finished the final 3.2 innings and surrendered one SIUE hit to start the seventh inning.
The Gamecocks' offense mounted a comeback in the eighth with a two-out, two-run single by sophomore
Carson Crowe to get within a run. The tying run escaped Jax State in the eighth and the ninth with a one-out walk by pinch hitter
Derrick Jackson, Jr.
The two clubs will wrap up the series on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Tickets are available online at JSUGamecockSports.com. All JSU students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free. Both games will also be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Gamecock Sports Network.
