JSU baseball: Season-best crowd watches Gamecocks battle No. 19 AU before falling

JACKSONVILLE — A season-high crowd came out to Jim Case Stadium to watch Jacksonville State host No. 19 Auburn, and even though the Gamecocks didn't win, that doesn't mean they didn't appreciate seeing so many people sitting in seats and standing on the concourse.

After the 8-4 loss Tuesday, JSU second baseman Cole Frederick fielded an interview question from The Star about how the Gamecocks played. But, he wanted to take a moment first to discuss the crowd, which was announced at 1,673.

"I want to thank everybody for coming out," Frederick said. "We had a huge crowd. That's always fun playing in front of all these people."

That's the fourth time this year JSU has topped 1,000 at home, including Kentucky in the season opener (1,566), Kentucky in the second game (1,028) and a Sunday game against Eastern Kentucky (1,221).

JSU won at Auburn 5-2 earlier this season, with a sellout crowd of 4,096 showing up at Plainsman Park. Seating capacity at Jim Case Stadium is 1,100, but there is a concourse that allows standing room from the first-base dugout to the left-field bullpen.

"With most of the places we go, conference-wise, you're not getting this many people, so it's good to see," said Frederick, who went 2-for-5. "Everybody loves playing in front of a large crowd. Lot of noise, cheering for your guys. It helps everybody's performance. I was really glad with the turnout we had tonight."

The home crowd saw the JSU hitters put on a good show. Carson Crowe hit a pair of solo home runs as the Gamecocks pounded out 10 hits and drew five walks. T.J. Reeves hit a blast to center field that appeared to be a sure two-run homer, but Auburn center fielder Kason Howell caught it about two feet above the fence for an out.

Frederick ripped a ground-rule double that would've scored Mason Maners from first base if the ball hadn't bounced over the fence. Maners was left stranded at the end of the inning.

"From a team standpoint, our effort was certainly there," said Case, the JSU head coach. "It was a really good effort. We gave ourselves many opportunities. Weren't able to cash in some of the opportunities, and I give credit to Auburn's pitching. When they had to, they stepped up."

Because this was a mid-week game, JSU didn't use anybody out of the three-man rotation who work the three-game weekend conference series. Tanner Jones, an occasional starter on the weekend, started and pitched one shutout inning. That's as long as Case planned to let him pitch.

"I thought it would be good for him to be on the mound starting in front of a crowd like we were going to have," Case said, adding that the crowd was "absolutely fantastic."

"I thought that was going to be beneficial. If you're going to throw one inning, I didn't want it to be the seventh or third. I thought the best way to put money in the bank for the future was for him to start that game, and he handled himself A-OK."

Dylan Hathcock worked 2⅓ innings, followed by an inning from Trey Fortner, 2⅔ innings from Caleb Marsh and two shutout innings from Austin Cornelius, which was his longest and most effective outing of the year.

What to know

—In the last three games, Crowe has gone 5-for-9 with a double, three homers, eight RBIs and a walk. He was 1-for-26 before that.

—Reeves went 2-for-5, and his batting average is up to a team-leading .370.

—Maners was 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and a stolen base. He also reached when he was hit by a pitch. His average is up to .323.

—Auburn first baseman Sonny DiChiara, a Samford transfer, went 1-for-2 with three walks. He leads the country in batting average (.448) and on-base percentage (.601).

Who said

—Frederick on JSU's hitting: "We hit some balls hard. We had four runs, but I thought we could've had a lot more. They robbed a home run. We were squaring it up, and I think confidence-wise, we're good hitting-wise. These last three games we've been hitting it pretty well. That'll be big for us going through the rest of the season."

—Frederick as he left his postgame interview, giving some kudos to Crowe, his roommate: "Shoutout to Carson Crowe. Roommate, roommate. Two big hits."

—Case on Cornelius' game: "Any time a guy gets an opportunity and takes advantage, you've got to be happy. He shows up here every day. He works hard pretty much knowing he's not going to be in there. It's so easy if you show up at the park and you know your name is going to be there. What's tough is when you don't know but you've got to stay prepared."

Next up

—JSU (18-20) will turn around quickly and host Mercer at 6 p.m. Wednesday.