JACKSONVILLE – The University of South Alabama claimed a Friday twinbill over the Jacksonville State baseball team on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.

The Jaguars posted a 7-0 win over the Gamecocks in the series opener and fended off a ninth inning rally by Jax State to claim the nightcap, 7-6. Jax State had the bases loaded in its final plate appearance, but USA was able to get out of the jam for the win.

The two in-state programs altered the weekend series due to the chilly cold front that is moving through the area on Saturday. JSU (4-9) and USA (10-3) will wrap up the final non-conference weekend on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. Tickets are available online at JSUGamecockSports.com. The game will also be streamed on ESPN+.

USA received a pitching gem from Mile Smith in the first game as he tallied seven hitless innings and collected five strikeouts in the win. Smith faced three batters over the minimum as JSU's only base runners in the first seven innings reached via a walk and a pair of hit by pitches. The seven shutout innings allowed the USA offense to gain control of the game after the visitors from Mobile broke a scoreless deadlock in the sixth with an RBI single from Santi Montiel. USA broke up the contest with a four-run seventh that was highlighted by Charles Middleton's first of three home runs in the doubleheader. Middleton had a three-run home run in the frame. He added a home runs in back-to-back plate appearances in the second and third inning of the second game.

JSU's lone hit of game one came off the bat of sophomore Derrick Jackson, Jr., who started the eighth inning with a single.

Jackson's hit sparked the Gamecocks in the early stages of the second game as they pushed across a run in the first inning of game two. Senior Cole Frederick led off the frame with a triple and scored on an RBI single from junior Carson Crowe.

USA continued to swing a hot stick with six runs over the next four innings to take a 6-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth. JSU put together a two-out rally with another extra base hit for Frederick, followed by a hit-by-pitch and a walk. Senior Alex Strachan delivered with a bases-clearing triple in left field to cut the deficit to a pair of runs.

Jax State made it a brand new ballgame with a two-run sixth inning with RBI from senior Isaac Alexander and Frederick. Sophomore Reid Fagerstrom, who made his first appearance out of the bullpen this season pitched a clean sixth and seventh before a two-out pinch hit single by Kasey Donaldson gave USA the one-run lead.

USA's Grant Wood earned his third save of the season after holding JSU in the ninth.