JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – WKU Baseball defeated Jax State 4-2 to claim the first game of the series on Thursday night at Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. The Hilltoppers improve to 17-10 (2-2 CUSA) while the Gamecocks fall to 9-16 (0-4 CUSA).
WKU trailed 2-0 after three innings, but a three spot in the top of the sixth put the Hilltoppers in front. The WKU bullpen did the rest, holding the Gamecocks scoreless for the remainder of the game to earn a 4-2 series opener win.
"A win is a win, and it feels great," said head coach Marc Rardin. "I'm happy for the guys. Some guys stepped up. We still have stuff going on that we just need to keep getting better at. It feels like we keep taking two steps forward and two steps back and I'm like, 'hold on, were not going anywhere'. All were doing is taking two steps. There's never a third step forward. That's part of it, but we're good enough and our kids know that we still have a chance when we're not playing our baseball or we're not playing the best baseball."
Sophomore Jack Bennett earned the starting nod for the Hilltoppers and claimed his third win of the season, bringing his record to 3-2. The right-hander toed the rubber for 5.0 innings and fanned six batters while conceding two runs on three hits.
Junior Cristian Garcia notched the only three-hit outing while junior Brady Browning had two of his own. Sophomore Camden Ross drove in a pair of RBI while junior Joey Baran added another.
The Gamecocks rallied with two-outs in the bottom of the third to take a 2-0 lead.
It took a few innings, but WKU got on the board and took the lead in the top of the sixth, scoring three runs. Ross singled to the six-hole to score the first run before an error by Jax State tied the game. Baran drove in the go-ahead run with a single up the middle to make the score 3-2.
The Tops added an insurance run in the top of the ninth with Ross getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Junior Cal Higgins entered in the sixth frame and held the Gamecocks scoreless for 2.2 innings of relief work before senior Mason Burns closed it out in the ninth to earn his fifth save of the season.
UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers and Gamecocks will continue their series tomorrow night at Abbott Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT.
How to follow WKU Baseball: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Baseball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKU_Baseball on Twitter and @WKUBaseball on Instagram.
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