JACKSONVILLE – Jax State dispatched fifth-ranked Auburn for the second time this season, this time at home and to the tune of 4-1 to sweep the regular season series between the two for the first time in program history.
The game represents the second-most attended home game in program history, with 1,926 fans on hand to watch the Gamecocks take down Auburn.
Jax State improved to 41-11 on the year while Auburn fell to 35-16.
Jax State starter
Ryan Geraghty turned in the longest performance of his career, with 5.2 shutout innings of baseball. The junior scattered three hits across his outing, fanning three Tigers in the process, and came away with his second victory of the season.
Chase Horst earned the first save of his career with two innings of perfect baseball, inducing a double play to escape the eighth inning and fanning two batters to end the top of the ninth.
Auburn's starter, Griffin Graves, took his first loss of the season to fall to 2-1.
Jax State set the tone with an early run in the bottom of the first inning, with
Brady Thomas' two-out RBI-single, bringing
Jaxon Pate home for the early lead.
The Gamecocks got the big inning in the bottom of the fourth inning, plating three runs for the multi-run lead.
Trey Majette brought home
Grayson Ashe on a sac fly to take a 2-0 lead. Orlando Pena broughy Thomas home on a fielder's choice sacrifice bunt, followed by a bases-loaded walk by Pate, to set the Gamecocks up with a 4-0 lead after four frames.
Auburn would drive a run across the plate in the top of the seventh with Brandon McCraine's single that bounced off the pitcher's glove, but
Jud Files promptly ended the threat with two strikeouts and a groundout to strand two Tigers on base.
Auburn would again threaten in the top of the eighth inning with two runners and no one out, but Horst induced a fly out to right, then a double play (4-6-3) to stop the Tigers' rally before it could get going.
Horst forced the Tigers into a three-up, three-down inning in the top of the ninth, bookended with swinging strikeouts, to clinch the top-five victory for Jax State.
The Gamecocks will head to Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday to finish up the regular season with a Conference USA series at Dallas Baptist. As a reminder, Jax State's magic number is one, meaning a Jax State win or Liberty loss this weekend clinches the outright CUSA regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament next week.
