SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Jax State fell 10-2 to the Missouri State Bears in a Conference USA series opener on Friday night at Route 66 Stadium.
It took 46 games for the Gamecocks to get to 10 losses, as the Gamecocks now stand at 36-10 and 18-4 in the league standings. Mo State moved up to 27-15 overall and 15-7 in league play.
With the loss, Eli Pillsbury was tagged with his first loss of the season to fall to 6-1, while Mo State starter Jason Schaff improved to 3-2 on the season.
Ryan Geraghty came in relief in the third inning and put up seven strikeouts in five innings, a new career-high. His previous career-high in strikeouts was six against Auburn a few weeks ago.
Mo State took to the board first with a single run in the bottom of the first inning, a solo homer to left field.
An RBI-double by the Bears in the bottom of the second doubled the lead to 2-0.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Bears scored eight runs against the Gamecocks, the most the team has allowed in an inning this season. Six of the eight runs were scored from two three-run homers.
In the top of the fifth inning, Trey Majette came in to pinch hit, knocking the first triple of his career to straight-away center field. Caleb Johnson brought him home on a groundout to get the Gamecocks on the board.
In the top of the seventh frame, Cooper Blauser lifted a sac fly to right field to score Ace Williamson, tacking on a second run for the Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks will return to Route 66 Stadium on Saturday afternoon, looking to tie the series. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m., with ESPN+ broadcasting the game and Mike Parris bringing fans the game on the Gamecock Radio Network.
