FINAL STATS

JACKSONVILLE – Chris Serritella went 5-for-6 with a pair of home runs to lead Southern Illinois to an 18-15 win over Jacksonville State as the Salukis claimed the series on Sunday at Rudy Abbott Field.

Aaron Snyder (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief and allowed just two hits to earn his first win of the season. Tanner Freshour (0-1) gave up four hits in 2 2/3 innings to suffer the loss for the Gamecocks.

Southern Illinois (2-3) jumped out to the early lead after scoring seven runs in the second inning, highlighted by a three-RBI double by Serritella as the Sulakis built a 7-0 lead.

Jax State (2-5) got on the board in the third inning after Andrew Edge led the inning off with a solo home run to cut the lead to 7-1, but SIU answered with a run in the fourth to push the lead to 8-1.

The Gamecocks scored two runs in the fourth inning after Daniel Adamson had a RBI double and Edge had a RBI single to close the gap to 8-3.

Jacksonville State battled back in the fifth inning to score five runs, highlighted by a three-run home run by Sam Eberle and Edge followed with a solo homer, as the Gamecocks tied the game at 8-8.

Southern Illinois answered in the sixth inning by plating six runs after Serritella hit his second homer of the day with a two-run shot and Blake Pinnon had a three-run home run as SIU took a 14-8 lead.

The Gamecocks cut the lead to 14-10 in the seventh after Edge drove in his fourth run of the day with a RBI double and later came around to score on a wild pitch, but SIU got three runs in the eighth inning.

Jax State scored two more in the eighth when Eberle and Edge each drove in a run to cut the lead to 17-12.

The Salukis added a run in the ninth and the Gamecocks scored three in the home half of the ninth for the final margin.

All nine players in the Gamecock lineup had a hit, led by Edge's career-high four hits, while Bert Smith, Blake Seguin, Steven Leach and Eberle each added two hits.

The two teams combined for 81 runs and 99 hits in the three-game series, including 17 doubles, four triples and nine home runs. Jax State finished the series with a .404 batting average and a .610 slugging average.

Jax State will host Troy on Tuesday night. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. at Rudy Abbott Field.