HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Interstat) — Arkansas-Little Rock defeated Jacksonville State 8-6 on Saturday at Pete Taylor Park in a playoff game, overcoming a late rally by the Gamecocks.

The Trojans seized control early, scoring three runs in the first inning on an RBI single by Blake Simpson, an RBI single by Nico Baumbach and a run-scoring groundout by Ty Rhoades. Nolan Freund added a run-scoring double in the second inning for an 4-0 lead.

Jacksonville State answered with two runs in the bottom of the second, including a solo homer by Brady Thomas and an RBI double by Matthew Cash. Thomas later drove in another run in the fourth, making it 4-3.

Arkansas-Little Rock stretched its lead in the sixth on a run-scoring groundout by Freund and an RBI triple by Simpson. Baumbach’s two-run double in the eighth made it 8-3. The Gamecocks scored three times in the bottom of the eighth on RBI singles by Trey King and Cash and a sacrifice fly by Jaxon Pate but fell short.

The Trojans, now 38-26, outhit Jacksonville State 14-8. The Gamecocks dropped to 47-14.