JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State rallied for its third walk-off win of the season in the completion of Friday's contest to begin the action on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium on Saturday.

Freshman Hudson Walburn belted his second home run of his young Gamecock career in the ninth to hand Jax State a 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Hawkeyes, who carried a 4-0 lead into the Saturday's portion of the series opener between the two clubs after continuous rain on Friday suspended the game until Saturday.

The Hawkeyes took an early lead in the contest with a pair of runs in the second and third innings before extending the lead to four runs with a pair in the fifth inning before play was halted. Jax State, who was held to one hit through the first five innings, started to peck away at the deficit. Sophomore Will Fincher collected his first RBI of the season with a run-scoring single in the sixth inning. Sophomore Bear Madliak delivered an RBI single in the eighth inning to slice Iowa's lead in half.
Jax State's bullpen turned in another stellar performance in the game as the seven combined arms in relief kept the Hawkeyes' lead within reach and gave the offense opportunities throughout the game. The trio of arms used on Saturday allowed just two hits over the final 4.5 innings. Senior Sam Maynard picked up the win in relief after a quick ninth to set the stage for the final at bat heroics.

Freshman Gabe Young greeted the fourth Iowa pitcher of the game with a leadoff single. Junior Drew Collins reached via catchers inference before Wallburn capped off the comeback with a towering three-run blast just inside the foul pole.
Iowa bounced-back in a big way in the second game of the series on Saturday with a 20-1 decision to force Sunday's series-deciding match up.

Junior Brennen Norton led the Gamecocks on Saturday with three hits combined in the two games, including a key double in the first game. Fincher posted a pair of hits on the day, while Junior Logan Walters added a pair of hits in the second game. Madliak recorded a pair of hits and was solid behind the plate by throwing a pair of Hawkeyes out on the bases and picked off a runner at third base. Madliak enters Sunday's action as the NCAA Division I leader in throwing runners out on the bases with 12 on the season.

Sunday's series wrap up will get started at 1 p.m. Sunday's are kids days at The Jim as kids are allowed to run the bases following each Sunday home game. Tickets are available online at Jax StateSports.com. All Jax State students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free. The final game between the two squads will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Gamecock Sports Network.