JACKSONVILLE, ALA – Jacksonville State took the season opening series from Memphis in dramatic fashion Sunday. Down 9-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Gamecocks rallied to a 13-9 victory in 11 innings.
“We’ve got to firgure out how to finish games,” Memphis coach Matt Riser said after the game. “If we could finished games, we would be 3-0, but instead we are 1-2.”
This game featured Jackson Sleeper of the Gamecocks and Caden Robinson of the Tigers getting the nod as starting pitchers for their respective teams. Both players started out strong, as the first two innings were scoreless.
JSU began scoring in the third inning after Derrick Jackson Jr. hit a long home run to give the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead. The exit velocity on his long ball was 111 mph.
Memphis responded immediately. Catcher Brennan DuBose driving in an RBI single in the top of the fourth to cut the lead down to a single run. Alex Fernandes would then go on to hit a 3-run homer to grant Memphis a 4-2 lead. Jacob Compton then hit a solo home run right after Fernandes, pushing the lead up to three runs.
Later, Riley Davis would record his first RBI as a member of the Tigers. His hit would bring home Austin Baskin.
The score stayed the same all the way until the eighth inning. In this frame, Memphis started with a single and a walk.
A balk by Jacksonville State brought home Memphis’ seventh run. The bases were then loaded and JSU issued back-to-back walks for runs eight and nine. JSU finally got out of the eighth with a 6-4-3 double play.
In the home half of the eighth, Jacksonville State finally dialed up the offense. Freshman Hudson Walburn hit a three-run shot to cut the lead to 9-5. They would then hit a two-run double, shrinking the lead to just 2.
In the ninth, Memphis went down in order. Caleb Johnson of JSU hit a two-RBI double to tie the game at 9 runs each.
After an intentional walk and a hit by pitch, the Gamecocks once again had the bases loaded. Memphis got out of the jam and moved onto extra innings for the second time this series.
Alex Fernandes started out the 10th by recording a double, leaving the go-ahead run-in scoring position for Memphis. Memphis was unable to cash this run in, leaving the game tied after top half of the 10th.
In the bottom of the 10th, JSU had hot bats. They had the bases loaded for the third time in the game. Caleb Johnson would go on to hit a walk off grand slam to get the Gamecocks a victory of 13-9.
Memphis travels to play UA, Little Rock on the road Tuesday at 3 p.m. This game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Photo by Brock Busick/University of Memphis Baseball
The Tigerpen 
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