HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Interstat) — The Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans defeated the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 6-3 on Sunday, May 31, 2026, to win the Hattiesburg Regional and advance to the NCAA Super Regional.

Arkansas-Little Rock (39-26) used a balanced pitching effort and timely hitting to overcome a 48-win Jacksonville State squad (48-15) that entered the game with the superior record. The Trojans matched the Gamecocks with 10 hits apiece but capitalized on defensive miscues and scored five unearned runs overall.

Jacksonville State struck first in the top of the fourth inning. With the game scoreless, Matthew Cash singled and Greg LaChance singled to put runners at first and second. After a strikeout, Jaxon Pate infield singled to load the bases. Caleb Johnson then singled to center field, driving in Cash and LaChance to give the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead.

Arkansas-Little Rock answered in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Angel Cano doubled to left center, scoring Simpson from second to tie the game at 2-2. The score remained tied until the bottom of the fifth, when the Trojans took the lead for good.

After Jacksonville State starter Eli Pillsbury allowed a single to Nolan Freund and a single to Blake Simpson — the latter reaching on an error by Pate — the Gamecocks brought in reliever Jackson Sleeper. Nico Baumbach greeted Sleeper with an RBI single to left field, scoring Freund and giving the Trojans a 3-2 lead. Sleeper escaped further damage by striking out the next two batters.

Jacksonville State tied the game in the top of the seventh. Cooper Blauser singled, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Trojans catcher Trey Hill. Grayson Ashe then grounded out to third, scoring Blauser and knotting the score at 3-3.

The decisive moment came in the bottom of the eighth inning. With the score tied, Trojans shortstop Jerdy Lopez kept the inning alive with a two-out single. Lopez, who finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs, was a catalyst throughout the game. Earlier, he had tripled in the first inning and doubled in two runs in the second to get Arkansas-Little Rock on the board.

After Lopez’s single, reliever Maddox McDougall entered for Jacksonville State but threw a wild pitch that moved Lopez to second and advancing pinch-runner Cooper Chaplain to third. Kade Smith walked to load the bases. Freund then lined a single through the left side, driving in Chaplain and Lopez to give the Trojans a 5-3 lead. Following a pitching change, Blake Simpson struck out to end the inning, but the damage was done.

Arkansas-Little Rock’s bullpen held firm over the final two innings. Brody Bunting earned the win with 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing two hits and striking out three. Isaac Evaniew contributed 1 2/3 scoreless frames, and Bunting closed the game by retiring the final four batters he faced.

For Jacksonville State, Pillsbury took the loss after allowing three runs — two earned — on zero hits across 4 1/3 innings, walking three and striking out four. Jackson Sleeper and Josh Sibley each threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings, but the Gamecocks could not overcome the late rally.

Jacksonville State jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first when Pate singled, advanced on a wild pitch, and later scored on a hit-by-pitch and a double play groundout. The Gamecocks added two more in the fourth on Johnson’s two-run single, but the Trojans’ pitchers limited the damage.

Arkansas-Little Rock’s Lopez was the standout performer, collecting three hits and driving in two runs. He also scored once. Teammate Nico Baumbach added a run-scoring single in the fifth. For Jacksonville State, Johnson had two hits and two RBIs, while Pate and Cash each recorded two hits.

The win sends Arkansas-Little Rock to the NCAA Super Regional, where they will face an opponent to be determined. Jacksonville State ends its season at 48-15.