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JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State baseball team will look to complete a five-game homestand with its fourth consecutive win, hosting in-state nemesis Troy on Wednesday night at Rudy Abbott Field.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. in the first of two meetings with the Trojans this year.  JSU will visit Troy on April 12.  Admission is free to all JSU students and fans 18 and under.  The in-state duel will also be available on the OVC Digital Network.

The Gamecocks turned in a stellar weekend by sweeping Conference USA foe Western Kentucky at Rudy Abbott Field.  JSU collected a pair of walk-off wins on Friday and Saturday and completed the three-game sweep on Sunday with a 9-7 win.  The three wins pushed JSU's overall record to 6-4 heading into the midweek affair.  The Trojans (8-5) will be in Birmingham, Alabama on Tuesday evening against Samford before continuing on to Jacksonville on Wednesday.

Junior right hander Colton Campbell will get the start on the mound Wednesday against the Trojans.  Campbell was pretty successful against them last year in Troy.  The Rainsville, Alabama product flirted with a no-hitter against Troy before allowing a hit in the ninth.  Campbell and the Gamecocks will be looking for the fifth consecutive win over Trojans after sweeping the two-game series in 2014 and 2015.

Senior Paschal Petrongolo continues to lead Jax State at the plate with a .417 batting average and the team leader in RBI and home runs.  Through the first 10 games of the season, Petrongolo has driven in 18 runs, scored 10 runs and collected 15 hits.  He has four home runs and a trio of doubles.  Last weekend against the Hilltoppers, the Blackwood, New Jersey designated hitter belted a pair of home runs against WKU over the weekend, including a three-run home run to give JSU a 9-7 lead late Sunday to preserve the sweep.  He had a solo home run in the series opener on Friday.  Petrongolo reached base 10 times over the four-game week with five walks for the week, including three in Saturday's 8-7 win in extra innings.  He delivered an RBI in each of the four games.

Sophomores Clayton Daniel and Hayden White along with senior Gavin Golsan have bolstered the Gamecock line up with Petrongolo.  Daniel leads JSU in hits with 16 through the first 10 games.  The Guntersville, Alabama second baseman has reached base in all 10 games and has a streak of 32 consecutive games in which he has reached base dating back to last season.  Against WKU, Daniel was 6-of-14 with five RBI.  White pushed his season's mark to .324 over the weekend after three hits last weekend, including a pair of doubles.  His double in the 11^th inning on Saturday cleared the bases to equalize the Hilltoppers at 7-all.  He scored the game-winning run on Taylor Hawthorne's single.

Golsan, from Mountain Brook, Alabama, ranks first on the team in at bats with 47 and third on the club in hits with 14.  Once on base, Golsan is a threat on the base paths with seven swiped bases so far on the season.

The JSU pitching staff is starting to hit its stride as Ohio Valley Conference play starts this weekend in Edwardsville, Illinois.  Through the first 10 games, the Gamecocks have an earned run average of 5.30 and have allowed just 53 earned runs.  The staff has posted 61 strikeouts in 90.0 innings pitched.  JSU has received quality starts from its weekend rotation as senior Graham Officer pitched a career-high six innings last Friday versus WKU, while sophomore Jack Pierce pitched into the sixth inning on Saturday.  Jax State starters have done a solid job of setting the contest up for the bullpen.  The Gamecock bullpen has won three of the six games, including all three this past weekend.  The bullpen ERA stands at 3.65 and has allowed just five earned runs.

Redshirt sophomore lefty Justin Hoyt has settled in to the closers role this year, but also recorded a win in relief on Friday.  The Birmingham, Alabama native was credited with his second save of the season on Sunday after finishing the eighth and ninth innings.

After Wednesday's match up with Troy, the Gamecocks will be tested on the road with 10 of the thier next 15 games away from Rudy Abbott Field.  JSU will make its first of three trips to the 'Land of Lincoln' this year with a weekend series with the Cougars of Southern Illinois Edwardsville.  Friday's OVC opener is set for 6 p.m. at SIUE's Simmons Complex.  All three games will be available on the Gamecock Sports Network.