MARTIN, Tenn. – Todd Cunningham went 4-for-4 with a walk to lead Jacksonville State to an 11-9 win over UT Martin as the two teams split an Ohio Valley Conference opening series on Saturday. The Skyhawks hit five home runs and held off a late Gamecock rally to claim a 9-7 win in the opener.

Jax State improves to 12-11 and 1-1 in the OVC, while UT Martin is 12-10, 1-1 in the conference.

In the second game, the Skyhawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning when Trey Karlen led off with a solo home run, while Wes Patterson and Jordan Owen each had a RBI single.

The Gamecocks scored five in the third inning to take the lead, highlighted by a two-RBI double by Daniel Adamson, a RBI by Sam Eberle, a sacrifice fly by Steven Leach and Michael Flores scored on an error as JSU took a 5-3 lead.

UTM scored three more in the third inning to retake the lead on a RBI double by Brent Morris, a sacrifice fly by Ben Brewer and Morris scored on a wild pitch to give the Skyhawks a 6-5 lead.

Jax State took the lead for good in the fourth inning after Bert Smith had a RBI single to tie the game at 6-6. Andrew Edge walked with bases loaded to give the Gamecocks the lead, before Adamson had a sacrifice fly and Sam Eberle scored on a wild pitch to give JSU a 9-6 lead.

The Skyhawks added a run in the fourth, before Cunningham led off the fifth with a solo home run and Matt McLaughlin had a pinch-hit home run to give the Gamecocks a 11-7 lead.

UTM scored a run in the sixth and seventh for the final margin.

JSU's Tanner Freshour (2-1) earned the win after allowing just one hit in two innings on the mound and Alex Jones earned his fourth save after retiring the final six outs. UTM's Shawn Swaringen got stuck with the loss for the Skyhawks.

Smith finished with a pair of hits to go along with Cunningham's four hits, while Adamson led the team with three RBI.

In the opener, Tennessee-Martin hit four home runs in the second inning to jump out to a 5-1 lead, before extending the lead to 9-1 with two in the fourth, and one in the fifth and sixth.

The Gamecocks then scored four in the seventh, on a two-RBI double by Smith, while Jake Sharrock and Seguin each added a RBI single to cut the lead to 9-5.

Jax State added two more runs in the eighth inning on back-to-back solo home runs by Adamson and Edge, but could get no closer.

UTM's Coty Green (4-1) scattered six hits and had four strikeouts to earn the win, while Jordan Beistline (2-2) gave up five runs in 1 2/3 innings to suffer the loss for the Gamecocks.

Cunningham, Edge and Sharrock each had a pair of hits to lead JSU at the plate.

The two teams will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Skyhawk Field.