BOX SCORE I PLAY-BY-PLAY

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team fell to Jacksonville State, 13-6, on Sunday afternoon at Rudy Abbott Field in the finale of this weekend’s Ohio Valley Conference series. With the loss, EKU concludes its OVC regular season with a record of 20-31 (11-13 OVC).

Junior left-hander Greg Terry (3-1) got the starting nod for EKU and went just five innings, allowing six runs on eight hits to pick up his first loss of the season. Right-hander Jordan Beistline (5-1) earned the win for JSU (30-21, 11-9 OVC), working 5.1 innings and surrendering four runs on just four hits.

Junior Jacob Daniel led EKU offensively, going 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI, all of which came on a bases-clearing triple in the top of the sixth. Kyle Bluestein paced the JSU offense by going 4-for-5 with three runs scored, five RBI and his sixth home run of the season in the bottom of the third.

After JSU jumped out to a 5-0 lead, EKU rallied in the top of the sixth to pull within one run of the Gamecocks. Freshman Steve Ferraro started the rally when he drew a leadoff walk and then went to second on an infield hit by junior Richie Rodriguez. After junior #A.J. Jamison# singled through the right side to load the bases, Daniel delivered a bases-clearing triple into right center that made it 5-3. The next batter, freshman Bryan Soloman, then lofted a sacrifice fly to center that plated Daniel and pulled EKU to within one.

In the home half of that inning, however, Michael Bishop crushed a three-run homer to left that sparked a four-run frame for the Gamecocks and extended their lead back to five. JSU would not trail by more than four runs the rest of the game.

EKU plays its home finale on Tuesday, May 17, when it hosts Dayton at Turkey Hughes Field at 3:00 p.m. The Colonels then close out the regular season with a non-conference series at SIU Edwardsville next weekend.

The Colonels will keep a keen eye on the OVC scoreboard during that series, as the rest of the conference finishes up league play. The most likely scenario in which EKU, which still sits in sixth place in the conference standings, will qualify for the OVC Tournament involves UT Martin, which was swept at Tennessee Tech this weekend, dropping at least two games at home against Austin Peay next weekend.