MONTGOMERY – Jacksonville State's six-game winning streak came to a halt on Tuesday with a 4-2 loss at Alabama State at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
The Hornets (12-10) broke up a 2-2 deadlock with a two-out, two-run single to give them the lead in the eighth inning. The Gamecocks' offense was stymied all night long y ASU pitching with just four hits on the night.
Jax State answered ASU's run-scoring innings twice throughout the game, but could not make the final, answer in the ninth inning. After the Hornets plated the first run of the contest in the second inning, JSU had a leadoff double by
Caleb Johnson and scored on
Michael Dallas' RBI single. The contest turned into a battle of the pitching staffs until the Hornets took advantage of a two-out walk in the eighth inning. A two-out base hit, followed by a wild pitch pushed ASU's second run of the night across the plate.
The Gamecocks had the table set for a big inning in the top of the eighth. After reigning ASUN Player of the Week,
Javon Hernandez started the inning with a single, followed by a walk from
Mason Maners, sophomore
Brennen Norton delivered an RBI single through the right side. ASU would get out of the inning with a fly ball and Maners tagged out at the plate for the go-ahead run.
Junior Jake Peepers, the seventh pitcher used by Jax State, issued back-to-back walks that would eventual score on a two-strike, two-out single to left field. The Gamecocks were able to get a lot of work done on the mound with
Will Baker earning his second start of the season, followed by
Austin Cornelius,
Josh Sibley,
Sam Maynard,
Camden Lovrich,
Trey Fortner and Fagerstrom.
Maners extended his on-base streak to 33 consecutive games after a pair of walks in the contest. The streak ranks third in the nation entering JSU's trip to Bellarmine this weekend. Senior
T.J. Reeves reached for the 21st time, while
Will Fincher moved his on-base streak to 12 consecutive games.
The Gamecocks will look to continue the conference momentum this weekend in Louisville, Kentucky against the Knights. The series will begin on Friday afternoon with a 1 p.m. CST start, followed by a Saturday and Sunday afternoon start times.
