JACKSONVILLE — Jax State baseball fell 7-6 to the Samford Bulldogs in a midweek non-conference game on Tuesday evening at Jim Case Stadium.

Jax State falls to 17-4 on the season, while Samford improves to 8-11.

John Malone was tabbed with the victory and improved to 1-1, while Skyler Hutto took his first loss of the year and fell to 2-1. Zak Spurrier saw his save total increase to three.

The Bulldogs jumped on starter Brady Thomas early, taking a one run lead in the top of the second inning on a solo homer. In the top of the third, the Bulldogs launched another homer, this time a two-run shot, to take a 3-0 lead after the first three frames.

Jax State used a five-run bottom of the fourth inning to take an early lead, first taking to the board with a two-run double from Caleb Johnson, scoring Sam Richardson and Trey King. Jaxon Pate's two-run single earned Jax State the lead, plating Ace Williamson and Johnson. Cooper Blauser's fly ball to right field dropped right before the right fielder to score Pate, making it a 5-3 lead after four.

The Bulldogs ended the top of the fifth by cutting into the lead, scoring a run just seconds before the batter was called out for returning to the safety base and getting tagged to end the inning.

A wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth scored Pate to bring the lead back up to two runs at 6-4.

In the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs scored a run on an RBI-single to make it a one run game again at 6-5. In the top of the eighth, a two-run homer put the Bulldogs ahead at 7-6, what would be the eventual final.

The Gamecocks will have bounce back oppotunity tomorrow when the team travels to Madison to take on Alabama A&M at Toyota Field. The game will begin at 3 p.m.,the new start time being announced shortly after Tuesday's game.