NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jacksonville State dropped the opening game of the final regular season ASUN series with a 6-1 decision to Lipscomb on Thursday evening at Ken Dugan Field.
With the loss, the Gamecocks' opportunity to win the regular season crown came to an end. Lipscomb remained atop the league standings with two games left on the docket. Jax State dropped to 18-10 in ASUN play, while LU improved to 21-7 in league play. JSU will look to even the series on Friday with a 4 p.m. contest. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Gamecock Sports Network.
Lipscomb erased an early 1-0 deficit after Jax State put a two-out run on the board in the first inning. The Bisons scored single runs in the third and fourth on a pair of infield hits. LU expanded the lead in the sixth with a two-out solo home run. The Gamecocks had chances for big innings but could not come up with timely hits. JSU started the seventh with a leadoff walk from junior
Derrick Jackson, Jr. and a double from sophomore
Brennen Norton. LU starter Logan Van Treeck was able to wiggle out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a fly ball to end the seventh. A pair of back-to-back one-out singles from junior
Mason Maners and senior
T.J. Reeves in the eighth gave Jax State a chance to add runs, but the Bisons pitching was able to halt the threat. The Gamecocks out-hit LU 9-8 but stranded nine runners on the base paths.
LU added three insurance run in the eighth to put the game away. Van Treeck finished with seven innings of work, allowed six hits and the one run allowed in the first inning. He posted eight strikeouts in the outing. Hayden Frank collected his fourth save of the season.
Reeves, who was named one of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's National Player of the Week after 13 RBI last weekend against Central Arkansas, kept swinging a hot stick with the lone RBI in the first inning with a double, plating Maners in the first inning. Maners and Reeves combined for five of the nine hots with Maners having a three-hit night.
Norton added a multi-hit game with a pair of doubles, while freshman
Bear Madliak posted two hits in the setback.
