JACKSONVILLE — The Jax State baseball team fell in a one-run contest against the Cincinnati Bearcats, 6-5, on Saturday afternoon at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.

The victory clinches the season-opening series for Cincinnati at 2-0, while Jax State falls to 0-2 to open the year.

Cincinnati would get on the board in the opening frame of the contest with an RBI-single through the right side to bring home the lead-off hitter. A second RBI-single through the right side in the top of the third would plate an unearned run to double the lead at 2-0.

In the home half of the third inning, the Gamecocks would manufacture some offense and tie the game up. First, Greg LaChance would knock a single through the right side of his own, scoring Caleb Johnson to cut the lead in half. Grayson Ashe would plate Trey King on an RBI-groundout to tie the game at 2-2.

The game was tied at 2-2 until the top of the sixth inning, when the Bearcats broke the tie with a solo homer to left field. Cincinnati would add three runs to the lead with a three-run shot in the top of the seventh, holding onto a 6-2 lead late.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Jaxon Pate was brought in to pinch hit, and provided a spark for the Red and White, doubling down the left field line and scoring Matthew Cash, Orlando Peña, and Brady Thomas to make it a one-run deficit.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Johnson and King opened the frame with back-to-back singles. Johnson would tag up on a fly out and King stole second to put both runners in scoring position, but a game-ending strikeout sealed the series for Cincinnati.

Logan Knight took the victory in the contest, while Jackson Sleeper was tagged with the loss.Adam Buczkowski took a save after coming in with the game-tying run on deck.

The Gamecocks and the Bearcats will conclude the series on Sunday afternoon at Jim Case Stadium. Due to anticipated inclement weather in the early part of Sunday, first pitch has been pushed back to 4 p.m.