JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State softball team will open its 2009 home schedule on Tuesday, when it hosts Auburn at 5 p.m. at University Field. Admission is free for all fans.

The Gamecocks (3-1) will welcome the Tigers (4-1) of the Southeastern Conference to University Field for the fifth time, with Auburn having won three of the previous meetings in Jacksonville. The Tigers hold a 9-1 advantage in the all-time series and have won the last six meetings.

Jacksonville State enters the game after winning three of its four games at the South Alabama Jaguar Invitational over the weekend. The Gamecocks turned to their pitching staff for much of the weekend, and sophomore Ashley Eliasson had an impressive tournament.

The Vallejo, Calif., native tossed eight innings over the tourney, earning a complete-game win over Memphis on Friday and a save against Northwestern State on Saturday. She posted a 0.88 earned run average in her two games and was rewarded by the Ohio Valley Conference on Monday, when it named her the league's Pitcher of the Week. She struck out 13 batters in the tournament, 12 in her seven-innings against Memphis, while walking just one. The honor marks the second in Eliasson's career after she was named the league's top pitcher for the week leading up to April 28, 2008.

The game will be the first of two in-state home games for the Gamecocks in the next two days. They will host Samford at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Admission is free for all JSU home games in 2009.