The 63rd season of Jacksonville State baseball begins with a three-game series at Northwestern State this weekend with senior Aaron Elias earning the start on Friday.
 
“We are excited to open the season,” said JSU head coach Jim Case. “We've played each other so much during practice, we are certainly ready to get the season started and play someone in a different color uniform.”
 
Case, who begins his 11th season leading the Gamecocks in 2012, returns 25 of 30 letterwinners from a year ago including eight position starters and five pitchers. Five of the Gamecocks returning players were named to the Preseason All-OVC team, including senior closer Todd Hornsby, who was named Preseason OVC Pitcher of the Year and is also a preseason All-American. The five preseason All-OVC picks is the most of any other school in the conference.
 
Elias, a native of Covina, Calif., will be taking the mound for the Gamecocks in the season opener on Friday. The preseason All-OVC starting pitcher posted a 7-3 record last year with a 3.78 earned run average and 71 strikeouts.
 
Saturday's projected starter is left-hander Daniel Watts (1-5, 10.59 ERA) and junior Cody Ponder (1-0, 4.70 ERA) will be making his first career start on Sunday for the Gamecocks.

Hornsby, a native of Clay, Ala., was a First Team All-OVC selection after a record-breaking junior season that saw him set JSU's and the Ohio Valley Conference's single-season record for saves with 15. He is also listed on the National Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
 
“We have a lot of returning players,” added Case. “We are fortunate that we didn't have to replace a lot from last year. We feel like we can put a pretty competitive team on the field. It's just a matter of how we come together and how we play as a team.”
 
The Gamecocks offense is led by seniors Sam Eberle (.356, 88 hits, 54 RBI), outfielder Kyle Bluestein (.346, 55 hits, 7 home runs, 38 RBI), and Erik Underwood (.354, 75 hits, 28 RBI). A duo of sophomores in Coty Blanchard (.335, 78 hits, 16 doubles, 32 RBI) and Andrew Bishop (.234, 41 hits, 22 runs) will also help solidify the Gamecock lineup.
 
Jacksonville State, which has advanced to the championship round of the OVC Tournament seven of the eight years competing in the league, won 36 games last year to reach the 30-win plateau for the ninth-straight season which is the longest such stretch in school history.

“I think we are very athletic and we have some guys that can play different positions on the field,” added Case. “It's going to be nice to be able to move some guys around on the field to keep us competitive.”
 
Jax State, which is the winningest team in the Ohio Valley Conference since joining the league in 2004, is picked to finish second in the OVC this year, just behind Austin Peay.
 
Friday's game begins at 6:30 p.m., Saturday's game is set for 7 p.m., while Sunday's game with begin at 1 p.m. Live stats for all three games are available at JSUGamecockSports.com