JACKSONVILLE — Jax State dominated New Mexico State with a 10-0 run-rule victory on Sunday at Jim Case Stadium to secure the CUSA series between the two squads.
Steven Cash went the distance in the victory, pitching seven clean innings and scattering only four hits across those frames. Batters only hit .174 against Cash in his outing. It was the second complete game of his career.
Jax State improved to 36-9 with the win and secured its sixth CUSA series in seven weekends, improving to 18-3 in league play. New Mexico State falls to 18-24 and 8-13 in CUSA play.
Jax State led 3-0 after the first inning of play, starting when Grayson Ashe was hit by pitch with the bases-loaded, followed by a wild pitch that scored Caleb Johnson, then Luke Williams with an RBI-groundout to take the three-run lead.
In the bottom of the second, Jaxon Pate scored Ace Williamson with an RBI-groundout, making it 4-0 after two.
The first RBI hit of the day belongs to Trey King, who singled through the right side to plate Ashe in the bottom of the third inning, giving the Gamecocks a 5-0 lead.
Johnson unleashed his second triple of the season in the bottom of the fourth, scoring Pate and Williamson to balloon the lead to seven runs. An RBI-groundout by Cooper Blauser would return Johnson home, to end the frame at 8-0 Gamecocks.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Brady Thomas launched his fifth home run of the year to right field, bringing the Gamecocks to 9-0, just one run away from the run-rule victory.
Pate brought home the game-ending run in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI-single to left-center field, plating King and ending the game as a 10-0 Jax State victory.
After Friday's win, the Aggies were shut out in back-to-back games, with Jax State outscoring the Aggies 14-0 in those games.
Pate, Johnson, and King all had multiple hits for the Gamecocks, with Pate and Johnson both tallying two RBI.
Jax State will be on the road for the following four games, taking on Samford in Birmingham on Tuesday before heading to Missouri State for the first meeting with the Bears in a CUSA weekend series.
