LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jacksonville State continued its hot start in the ASUN with a combined 23 runs on 29 hits in a Saturday sweep of Bellarmine at Tom Patterson Stadium on the University of Louisville campus.

The Gamecocks (12-11) broke open a 3-3 contest in the series opener en route to a 12-3 win over the Knights and followed that win with an 11-4 victory over BU in the nightcap. With the pair of wins, Jax State has won 10 consecutive conference games dating back to the last five wins of league play to end the 2022 season and a 5-0 start to the 2023 conference slate. Dating back to JSU's return to the ASUN last season, the Gamecocks have now won 9-of-the-12 weekend series in the league. The series will conclude on Sunday afternoon on the Bellarmine campus with a first pitch of 12 p.m. CST. JSU will be looking for its second consecutive sweep of the Knights (7-16, 2-3 ASUN). The game will be carried on the Gamecock Sports Network.

In the series opener, it was a back-and-forth contest through the first six innings as the Knights answered JSU's run in the first inning with a pair of home runs. The Gamecocks matched the Knights in the third inning before taking a 3-2 lead in the fifth. BU plated a run in the sixth to knot the game at 3-3. Jax State broke the deadlock nine runs over the final three innings. A four-run seventh was highlighted by a two-out, two-run double by senior Carson Crowe. Junior Mason Maners, connected on the fist of six home runs in the doubleheader for JSU with a two-run blast to right field. Jax State expanded the lead in the ninth with two more runs.

The offensive numbers were matches by sophomore AJ Causey, who tossed seven complete innings for the third consecutive outing. Causey worked his way out of trouble in three of the seven frames to limit BU to three runs. He established a new career mark for strikeouts with 12 on Saturday. His previous mark was 11 strikeouts against South Alabama on March 10. Junior Will Baker scattered two hits in the pair of innings he pitched to close out game one.

The first six in the Gamecocks' lineup combined for 12-of-the-14 hits in the first game, led by reigning ASUN Player of the Week, Javon Hernandez, who had three hits, a pair of walks and drive in a pair of runs.

Hernandez sparked the Gamecocks early in the second game with one of two home runs in the first plate appearance. The Danbury, Connecticut native went the opposite way for the two-run home run. Sophomore Brennen Norton connected his first of two home runs in the game after he finished an 11-pitch at bat with a two-run home run. The Cullman, Alabama third baseman drilled a solo blast in the fifth inning.

The four-run cushion would be all sophomore Tanner Jones would need as he nearly mimicked Causey's performance on the mound. The Thorsby, Alabama product tossed six innings and allowed four BU runs. He finished with seven strikeouts and just one walk. The walk was his first over the last 25.2 innings of work.

Jax State used the long ball on a blistery day at the home of the Louisville Cardinals with six on the day – five in the second game alone. Maners connected on his second two-run round tripper of the day in the third inning. Maners extended his on-base streak to 35 consecutive games by reaching base in both games on Saturday. Dating back to last season, the Vestavia Hills, Alabama native has hit safely in 14 consecutive ASUN games.

The Gamecocks welcomed junior Derrick Jackson, Jr. back from the injury list after suffering a hand injury in the final game of the opening weekend at Georgia. Jackson, Jr. turned in a career day with four hits, a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. He started with a single in the fourth, added an RBI double in the sixth and powered his second home run of the season in the eighth. He capped off the day with a single in the last plate appearance.

Hernandez added three hits for the second straight game, while freshman Bear Madliak and Norton finished with multiple hits.