The Jacksonville State baseball team dropped the second game of pool play action of the 2022 ASUN Baseball Championship on Wednesday with a 7-4 loss to Eastern Kentucky at JetBlue Park in Fort Meyers, Florida.
The Gamecocks were looking to make it two wins in a 12-hour span after claiming an 8-4 decision over Jacksonville in the wee hours of Wednesday. With the loss and due to tiebreakers set by the league office, the setback ended JSU’s season with an overall record of 27-28. If the Dolphins were to win over North Florida and go on to win on Thursday over the Colonels, then the ASUN Pool B winner would be determined by the highest seed. JSU entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed. Seeds were based on RPI, which is a main consideration for a spot in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. Jax State ran off five consecutive wins to reach the postseason event in its return to the ASUN.
EKU, who had JSU’s number all season long, posted its seventh win of the season against the Gamecocks. The Colonels rallied from an early 1-0 deficit and staved off a late Gamecock charge in the ninth inning.
Junior Carson Crowe delivered the first run of the contest with an opposite field double with two outs in the opening at bat. The inability to get the ball in the strike zone hampered the Gamecocks throughout the contest as walks and a midgame error led to runs by EKU. The Colonels erased the JSU lead with a pair of runs in the second and third inning to build a three-run lead before JSU made it a lone run deficit in the fifth inning. Senior Alex Carignan put a ball in play with runners in scoring position that the EKU infield could not make an inning-ending play on, scoring sophomore Mason Maners and senior Cole Frederick.
Frederick concluded his Gamecock career by playing in 236 career games and finished third on JSU’s all-time career hits list with 281 and accumulated 985 career at bats. The Tuscaloosa, Alabama native and All-ASUN First Team selection capped off his lengthy Jax State career with another multi-hit game as he had a single and a double.
JSU made it interesting in the ninth against EKU closer Will Brian, one of the top closers in the ASUN. Frederick recorded a one-put single in his last plate appearance in the red and white, followed by junior T.J. Reeves reaching on EKU’s second miscue of the day. Senior Alex Carignan, a stalwart as a backstop, had an RBI single to bring the tying run to the plate before EKU halted the comeback.
Carignan, a member of the All-ASUN Academic Team, turned in a pair of hits in his final game. Senior Isaac Alexander, who had four hits and three RBI in JSU’s win over JU on Tuesday, had a single in his last outing as a Gamecock. Freshman Brennen Norton, one of two players from JSU to earn All-ASUN Freshman Team accolades had a pair of hits. He finished with eight hits against EKU pitching.
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