SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Jax State baseball rebounded after Friday's loss to Missouri State, topping the Bears by a score of 10-2 on Saturday afternoon at Route 66 Stadium.
The Gamecocks handed Missouri State their second loss at home in 2026, improving to 37-10 overall and 19-4 in CUSA play, while Mo State fell to 27-16 overall and 15-8 in CUSA play.
Beau Bryans improved to 6-0 with his third-straight quality start, pitching a career-high seven innings with only three hits, zero runs, and five strikeouts. Mo State starter Brock Lucas fell to 4-4 after giving up the three-run homer to break the scoreless tie.
Both sides stayed scoreless through the first four innings, with both pitchers keeping either offense at bay.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Gamecocks got two runners in scoring position after an
Ace Williamson sacrifice bunt. On the first pitch of his at-bat,
Jaxon Pate launched a ball to right field that kept carrying, landing outside the fence for his first collegiate home run, breaking the scoreless tie and putting Jax State up 3-0.
Orlando Pena brought
Cooper Blauser and
Grayson Ashe home in the top of the sixth with a two-run single up the middle to expand the lead to 5-0.
In the top of the seventh, Ashe and
Brady Thomas mashed back-to-back triples, the first Jax State game with two triples since last year's CUSA tournament opener against LA Tech. Blauser scored Thomas on an RBI-single to grow the lead to 8-0.
Trey King brought home Williamson for the ninth run of the day with an RBI-single down the right field line.
Mo State got on the board in the bottom of the eighth inning with two runs, the first from an RBI-double, followed by a sac fly to cut into the lead at 9-2.
Trey Majette brought the lead back up to eight runs at 10-2 with an RBI-single through the right side, scoring
Greg LaChance.
Blauser, King, Peña, and Thomas all had two hits each for the Gamecocks, with Peña tallying two RBI. Pate ended 1-3 with three RBI and three walks.
Jax State looks to win the series in Sunday's rubber match. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Jax State will pitch
Steven Cash, while Mo State's starter is still listed as TBD.
