JSU baseball: Gamecocks split pair with Belmont after tough fifth inning ruins chance for sweep

Mark Edwards, The Anniston Star, Ala.
·4 min read

Apr. 11—JACKSONVILLE — Jacksonville State came within one bad inning of getting a sweep Saturday against visiting Belmont.

The Gamecocks won the opener 8-4 but lost the second game 5-3. It's tough outcome for JSU, which is slogging along at 14-15 overall and 6-5 in the OVC but is in fourth place and trails first-place Morehead State (15-12, 6-3) by only two games.

Head coach Jim Case said he thought the effort and energy were great Saturday — "for the most part, I couldn't ask for better."

But, at some point, Case is hoping his team can break out and get it going — "we run, then we stub our toe, we run and we stub our toe."

"It's like I told the guys," he said. "It's one thing to say, 'I believe in this thing. I believe we're going to turn it around.' Sometimes it's hard to believe that. Right now, we're finding out, 'Do you really believe that?' We'll see tomorrow. Today, I couldn't ask for a better effort."

JSU and Belmont (13-15, 7-7) will wrap up the series with a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.

"It was good to see us fight back (in the second game)," senior catcher Alex Webb said, "but I'm interested to see how we respond tomorrow. Hopefully, we come out with a lot of energy and jump on them early."

The second game boiled down to one inning — maybe even one call that the home plate umpire appeared to miss.

With the score tied in the top of the fifth with bases loaded, two outs and a full count on clean-up hitter Jarvis Logan, JSU's Dylan Hathcock threw a curve ball that appeared to cross the strike zone.

Instead, it was a ball. The next batter, Brodey Heaton, hit a ball off the handle that landed near second base and brought home two more runs. After that, JSU struggled to rally. Alex Strachan slugged a two-run homer in the sixth inning but that ended the Gamecocks' scoring.

Asked to comment about the controversial call in the fifth inning, Case said, "I can't do that."

That inning had its issues for JSU even without the call. With a runner on first and no outs, Belmont's Austin Ehren popped up a bunt, but Hathcock dropped it, as he already was looking to throw to first base to double off the runner. Carson Shacklett followed by reaching on a perfect bunt down the third-base line, which loaded the bases.

What to know

—JSU won the first game with the help of a five-run fourth inning. The Gamecocks trailed 2-1, but Javier Ramirez singled home Carson Crowe, and Cole Frederick doubled to score two runs. Belmont threw away Zeth Malcom's bunt to allow another run to score, and Malcom eventually scored on a wild pitch.

—Christian Edwards (4-1) got the win in the opener by pitching six innings and allowing three runs. He struck out four and gave up seven hits and no walks. Corley Woods got his fifth save by getting the last six outs. He pitched to six batters and didn't allow anybody to reach.

—Frederick was 2-for-8 with two RBIs, and so was Strachan. Crowe was 3-for-4 in the first game and 0-for-4 in the second. Nash Adams was 2-for-7.

—Belmont put on a shift for JSU's Jaylen Williams, by putting the second baseman on the left side of the base. Williams was 1-for-6 with two walks on the day.

Who said

—Webb on how Edwards pitched: "He did a really good job. He's kind of coming into his own after not starting for us (the last two years). He's kind of learning the starter's ropes as he goes. He did a really good job of bearing down and getting us into the seventh. That was huge for us, saving the bullpen for us."

—Case on Hathcock, who started and worked 4 2/3 innings in Game 2: "Hathcock, I'm proud of him. He showed something and competed like crazy. He came within one pitch of getting out of the inning. He just didn't get it."

Next up

—After JSU and Belmont play Sunday at 1 p.m., the Gamecocks will host Kennesaw State on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Senior Editor Mark Edwards: 256-235-3570. On Twitter: @MarkSportsStar.