JSU baseball: Gamecocks lose rubber match against No. 24 FGCU
Apr. 23—Jacksonville State's baseball team dropped the rubber match of its three-game series with No. 24 Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday, falling to the Eagles 12-5.
JSU's normal Sunday starter, Eli Zielinski, didn't pitch against FGCU. Instead, Colin Casey got the start, and he ran into trouble immediately, serving up a three-run home run to Joe Kinker in the first inning.
The Gamecocks fought back to take a 4-3 lead in the top of the third inning. Caleb Johnson's two-run single in the second got JSU on the board. Mason Maners' RBI single in the third tied the game, and the Gamecocks took the lead when Maners scored on a balk.
It was all FGCU from there. The Eagles knotted the score at 4-4 in the bottom half of the third and scored four more runs in the fourth to break the game open. FGCU added one run in the sixth and three more in the eighth.
Javon Hernandez drove in the JSU's final run with an RBI double in the ninth.
What to know
—Casey pitched the first two innings. He allowed three hits and one walk and struck out three. Reid Fagerstrom took the loss, allowing five earned runs on five hits and two walks over 1 1/3 innings.
—Bear Madliak went 3-for-5 from the leadoff spot with three singles.
—Hernandez finished 2-for-5 with a double, one run, one RBI and one stolen base.
—Johnson finished 2-for-3 with one run and two RBIs.
—Maners went 1-for-5 with one run, one RBI and one stolen base
—Both T.J. Reeves and Carson Crowe went 0-for-3 with one walk and one run scored.
—Brennen Norton finished 1-for-4.
Next up
JSU (18-20, 11-7 ASUN) will host UAB on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before hosting North Alabama for a three-game weekend series.
Assistant Sports Editor Jared Gravette: 256-235-3572. On Twitter: @Jared_Gravette.
