HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Jacksonville State erased an early 3-0 Southern Mississippi lead to claim a 5-3 win over USM in the final game of the weekend series at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

After seven tough games combined against Kentucky, Alabama and Southern Miss., the Gamecocks secured the first win of the season. USM (5-2) dropped its second game of the campaign.

Senior Cole Frederick's two RBI double in the seventh gave Jax State a lead that it would not relinquish in the final three plate appearances by USM. JSU's seventh inning started with a single by sophomore Kody Putnam, followed by a Derrick Jackson, Jr. walk. Senior Isaac Alexander drilled a two-strike pitch to the gap in right for an RBI double. Alexander's hot was the second of the day for him and joined junior T.J. Reeves with multiple hits in the contest.

Reeves gave JSU some late-inning insurance with an RBI single to right field in the ninth. He has now reached base in all seven games as a Gamecock and has a pair of multi-hit games this season.

It was one bad frame for Gamecock starter Camden Lovrich against the Golden Eagle order. Rodrigo Montenegro had a bases-clearing two-out double in the second inning. Lovrich shook off the second frame and completed five innings of work, scattering five hits and recording a strikeout in his second outing. Sophomore Jake Peppers was the first arm out of the pen and entered into a tough situation in the sixth. With the bases full of Golden Eagles, Peppers got out of the inning with a runners interference call and a pair of pop ups on the infield. Keeping USM from extending a 3-1 was key for JSU.

Peppers collected the win, while freshman AJ Causey earned his first save as a Gamecock.

The Gamecocks put their first run on the board in the top half of the sixth after an RBI double from senior Alex Carignan, who was in the lineup for the first time since February 18.

Causey closed out the final 1.2 innings of work and thwarted a pair of USM rallies in the eighth and ninth. After USM put runners on the corners with one down in the eighth, Causey induced an inning-ending double play. After a USM hit-by-pitch to start the ninth, Causey got another double play from his defense.

The Gamecocks will be idle until Saturday, March 5 as they host Siena in a doubleheader at 3 p.m. on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. JSU and Siena will close out the two-day, three-game series on Sunday, March 6 at 1 p.m. Tickets are available at JSUGamecockSports.com and all JSU students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free.