JACKSONVILLE – Junior Austin Cornelius tossed eight complete innings and the Jacksonville State offense manufactured runs throughout Sunday's series-clinching, 6-1, win over Big 10 foe Iowa on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.

The win secures Jax State's second series of the season. The Gamecocks rallied for a 5-4 win in the resumption of Friday's opener on Saturday before the Hawk.eyes evened the series, 20-1, on Saturday evening. The series win over Iowa is the first series win for the Jax State program against a club from a Power 5 conference in the program's Division I era.

Cornelius turned in a career outing on Sunday with his 8.0 shutout innings. The Hoover, Alabama righthander silenced a potent Hawkeye lineup with three early hits, including two of the three coming in the first inning. After a lead off single by Iowa's Gable Mitchell to start the third inning, Cornelius retired the next 16 Hawkeyes until a lead off walk to start the ninth inning. He was efficient with 99 pitches in eight-plus innings, recording three strikeouts and walking a pair. Cornelieus induced eight ground outs and six fly balls outs over the span of 16 straight retired Iowa hitters.

Jax State's offense gave Cornelius a lead to work with early with a two-out RBI single from freshman Gabe Young. Sophomore Caleb Johnson kick-started the frame with a double to the gap in right field. The double was just one of the two highlights on the day for Johnson, who reached base for the 19th straight game dating back to the last five games of the 2023 season. The Phenix City, Alabama shortstop punctuated the offense in the fourth inning with a two-run home run to centerfield. It was his fifth of the season and his fourth multi-RBI game in the first 14 games of the season.

Junior Logan Walters registered his second RBI of the weekend with a double to right field. Junior Brennen Norton capped off a four-hit weekend with a two-out, two-run single in the fourth inning.

Iowa's lone run came in the ninth inning after a lead off walk scored on the second walk of the inning. Senior Sam Maynard limited the Hawkeyes to the one run with the bases loaded with three fly ball outs. It was Maynard's second save of the weekend and of the season.

Jax State will have a packed week following the Iowa series with the addition of a home midweek contest with in-state foe UAB on Wednesday evening. The Gamecocks travel to Alabama State on Tuesday and visit Carbondale, Illinois next weekend with a series against Southern Illinois. Tuesday's match up in Montgomery is set for 6 p.m.

Wednesday's game with the Blazers is set for 6 p.m. on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. Tickets are available online at JaxStateSports.com. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. It will be the first game Eli Gold will provide the play-by-play coverage on the ESPN online platform this season for Jax State.