JACKSONVILLE – Redshirt junior Trey Fortner pitched five shutout innings and senior Cole Frederick delivered three hits to lead Jacksonville State past Samford, 9-2, for its fourth win in a row on Tuesday afternoon on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.

The Gamecocks improved to 8-10 on the season as the win streak dates back to the weekend sweep of Lipscomb in Nashville to start ASUN action. The Bulldogs dropped to 10-8 overall and will visit Central Florida this weekend. Jax State continues its spring break activity on Wednesday in Macon, Georgia against the Bears of Mercer. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Gamecock Sports Network.

Fortner, a veteran in the program was solid in his second start of the season as he held the Bulldogs to one hit in the outing and recording three strikeouts in 17 batters faced. The Jax State offense gave him a cushion to work with in the second inning with a three-run frame, highlighted by a two-run home run by senior Isaac Alexander. It was Alexander's first home run of the season and first since last season at UT Martin. He is currently riding a six-game hitting streak entering the Mercer game. Sophomore Mason Maners put the Gamecocks on the scoreboard with an RBI single.

Even though Frederick did not record an RBI, he finished with his third three-hit performance of the season with three singles and scored a run in the seventh. He pushed his hitting streak to six consecutive games. In JSU's four-game hitting streak, the Tuscaloosa, Alabama native is hitting .471 (8-17) with a pair of doubles, a home run at Lipscomb and a pair of RBI.

The Bulldogs took advantage of two free passes in the sixth inning to trim the deficit to a run at 3-2 on a two-out, two-RBI single from Stephen Klein.

JSU answered Samford's two runs with a pair in the home portion of the sixth inning. Junior catcher Brooks Bryan had an RBI single, followed by a double from sophomore Derrick Jackson, Jr.
The Gamecocks' bullpen was solid over the final four innings as the four pitchers used allowed four Bulldog hits, with two of those hits coming in the last at bat. Freshman Cole Turner covered three innings with three strikeouts, while junior Caleb Marsh collected two strikeouts in the final inning.

JSU broke open the close contest with a four-run seventh that included a Samford throwing error that opened the door for the big inning. Senior Alex Strachan's fielder's choice turned in two a pair of runs after an errant throw to the plate from the infield, followed by a double by Brennen Norton. Maners added his second RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to round out the scoring.

Following the Mercer contest, the Gamecocks return to their home turf on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium for an ASUN weekend series with in-state foe North Alabama. The series will get started on Friday, March 25 at 6 p.m. The series continues on Saturday at 6 p.m. and wraps up on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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