BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Jacksonville State baseball team dropped its first midweek contest of the season with a 7-6 decision to Samford on Tuesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The Bulldogs broke a 6-6 deadlock in the eighth with a leadoff solo home run by Stephen Klein to hand the home club the midweek win and snap a two-game winning streak by Jax State over the in-state rival. After starting the season with four road games, Jax State will not need its travel gear much over the next 16 games as it played 15-pf-the-next-16 on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. JSU's lengthy stay at its own facility begins this weekend with a three-game series with Missouri Valley Conference favorite Southern Illinois. The home opener on Friday is set for 3 p.m.
Similar to Sunday's finale at Georgia, Jax State took an early lead, but fell behind and have to dig itself out of a deficit. After junior
Mason Maners started the scoring for the Gamecocks with a solo home run in the first inning, Samford responded with three runs in the first plate appearance and added a run in the third inning to take a 4-1 lead.
After three consecutive innings of leading multiple runners on the bases, Jax State finally cashed in with its biggest run-producing inning of the season. A total of 10 Gamecocks went to the dish in the seventh and taking advantage of three Samford walks and a miscue by the Bulldogs in the frame. The inning in which JSU only had two hits in it was keyed by freshman
Caleb Johnson's two-out, two-run single to erase the SU lead. Jax State added the sixth run on a bases-loaded walk by
Diego Gines.
The two-run advantage did not last long as the Bulldogs equalized in its half of the inning.
Maners, playing near his hometown of Vestavia Hills, produced a three-hit night as he added a pair of hits to go with his first home run of the season in his first plate appearance of the night. Gines, a transfer from Indiana State and playing first base for JSU, had a multi-hit night.
Friday's home opener with the Salukis will be streamed on ESPN+, while Saturday's match up will only be carried on the Gamecock Sports Network due to JSU women's basketball inside Pete Mathews Coliseum at 4 p.m. Sunday's action will be streamed on ESPN+ and audio on the Gamecock Sports Network.
Season tickets and single game tickets are available online at JSUGamecockSports.com.
