Jacksonville State baseball: Grand slam by Logan Thomason leads Eastern Kentucky to 10-5 win
JACKSONVILLE — Riding high off a victory over Auburn, Jacksonville State baseball could not build on its four-game winning streak.
Eastern Kentucky handed the Gamecocks their first ASUN Conference loss of the season, 10-5, at Jim Case Stadium on Friday.
A grand slam in the top of the fourth inning by the Colonels' Logan Thomason pushed the lead to five runs.
Jacksonville State (12-12, 6-1) is now tied with Eastern Kentucky (19-8, 6-1) atop the West Division standings. The Colonels have won six straight, including a 6-3 win over Kentucky on Tuesday.
The 10 runs were the most allowed by JSU since a 14-6 loss to Troy on March 9.
Thomason also added an RBI infield single in the sixth inning and Ron Franklin had a two-run double in the seventh.
Isaac Alexander hit a solo home run, Carson Crowe was 3-for-4 with an RBI and Alex Carignan was 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Gamecocks.
"Tonight was a night I thought everything went their way," JSU coach Jim Case said. "That happens sometimes."
JSU opened the season with six straight losses, including an opening-weekend sweep at the hand of Kentucky. Following a 4-10 start, it had won eight of its last 10 coming into Friday's contest.
Jacksonville State and Eastern Kentucky will play two more games in the series, with the winner of the series likely coming out with the lead in the division.
"The Saturday game is usually important, no matter what," Case said. "Now it becomes even bigger. Because we have to find a way to get back in the series to give ourselves a chance."
TJ Reeves led the team with a .366 batting average, four home runs, 17 RBIs and six stolen bases coming into Friday. Alex Strachan and Carson Crowe each have added four home runs as well.
The Gamecocks have seven remaining ASUN series and play host to both Auburn (April 26) and Alabama (May 10) ahead of the conference tournament scheduled for May 25-28 in Fort Meyers, Florida.
Contact Ehsan Kassim at 256-300-5313 or ekassim@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: College baseball: Eastern Kentucky ends Jacksonville State's winning streak
