Live Audio | Live Stats (Game 1) | Live Stats Game 2) | Live Stats (Game 3)JACKSONVILLE - The Jacksonville State baseball team will open the home portion of the Ohio Valley Conference schedule this weekend with a key three-game series with Austin Peay.
The Gamecocks and Governors will start the weekend with a 6 p.m. Friday evening contest at Rudy Abbott Field, followed by Saturday and Sunday contests beginning at 1 p.m. respectively. Admission is free to all JSU students and fans 18 years old and under.
Both JSU and APSU opened the conference slate with weekend sweeps last week as JSU took all three games on the road at SIU Edwardsville, while the Govs swept Eastern Illinois in Clarksville. Both teams enter the weekend riding a four-game winning streak after JSU topped Oral Roberts on Tuesday and APSU ousting Northern Illinois, 14-1, on Wednesday.
Jax State will look to keep the hot sticks going against a stout pitching APSU pitching staff. The Gamecocks start the weekend batting .296 as a team with five players batting over the .300 mark, led by senior rightfielder
Elliot McCummings' .372 mark. Sophomore
Clayton Daniel leads the club in hits with 23 and has driven in 15 runs. JSU batted a league-leading .367 during the SIUE series as both sophomore catcher
Hayden White and McCummings went 6-for-11 (.545). In addition, senior first baseman
Tyler Gamble had two home runs – part of 13 extra-base hits by the Gamecocks in Edwardsville.
A key to JSU's 10-5 start has been the ability to drive in runs with two outs and overcome early deficits. In the first 15 games, the club has produced 44 runs with two outs in the frame. The timely hitting has helped the Gamecocks to three walk-off wins this season and overcame a ninth-inning last Friday with a four-run frame – all done with two outs.
JSU's pitching staff has been able to keep the offense within striking distance and let the bullpen close out the games. In the 10 wins, the bullpen has win eight of those 10 wins and has turned five saves on the season. Jax State will stick to the first two in the weekend rotation with senior
Graham Officer getting the start in the opener, followed by sophomore
Jack Pierce in Saturday's contest. Pierce had a career outing last weekend against SIUE with seven strikeouts in seven innings of work.
All three games will be available on the Gamecock Sports Network.
