MACON, Ga. – The Jacksonville State softball team will open its 2019 season on Friday in the Mercer Invitational, where the Gamecocks will face Army and Rutgers on Opening Day.
 
The Gamecocks will begin play at 10 a.m. CT against Army before facing Rutgers at 12:15 p.m. They will play the same two teams on Saturday morning before wrapping up the weekend against the host Bears on Sunday at 12:15 p.m. CT. All games will be played at Sikes Field on Mercer's campus.
 
The opening weekend will get the Gamecocks started towards eyeing another Ohio Valley Conference title. JSU has won the last three OVC Tournament titles and two of the last three regular season championships. Since joining the league in 2004, they have won at least one trophy in 10 of the 15 years for a total of six regular season crowns and seven tournament titles.
 
Head coach Jana McGinnis begins her 26^thseason as the head coach of the Gamecocks and holds an 883-482 career record. She is once again joined by longtime assistants Mark Wisener and Julie Boland, joining them with UCLA as the only Division I programs where all full-time coaches are graduates of that school.
 
JSU is picked to finish second in the OVC in 2019 behind defending regular-season champion Eastern Kentucky. Austin Peay, who finished second last year, was picked to finish third.
 
The Gamecocks went 35-25 in 2018, including a 16-6 record in league play. They rolled through the OVC Tournament at Oxford's Choccolocco Park for the third-straight year, beating EKU via the mercy rule in the championship to advance to the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. JSU then advanced to the championship game of the regional after eliminating Auburn and Kennesaw State before falling to eventual national champion Florida State.
 
JSU made its OVC-best eighth NCAA Regional appearance in 2018 and has made all eight of those in the last 11 years. It was the ninth NCAA appearance in program history.
 
The 2019 Gamecocks return three All-OVC performers from a year ago, led by senior Taylor Beshears. The Trussville, Ala., native led the team with a .363 average, 11 home runs and 42 RBI in her first season after transferring from Wallace State Community College She hit .417 in league play. 
 
Beshears was a First Team All-OVC pick in 2018 alongside utility player Alexus Jimmerson, who returns for her junior campaign after hitting almost .300 at the plate and posting an 8-6 record in the circle. In OVC games, the Jackson, Tenn., native hit .310 and was 4-3 with a 1.93 ERA.
 
Senior Faith Sims is back in her second year as the Gamecocks ace in the circle after earning second-team all-conference honors as a junior. The Cordova, Ala., native, was led the OVC in wins in 2018 with 23 but really shined in league play. Against OVC foes, she was 9-1 with three saves and a 1.76 ERA.
 
Ten newcomers join the program for 2019, a class that features one transfer and nine freshmen. Sophomore pitcher Reagan Watkins joins the Gamecocks from Southern Miss and will have three years of eligibility remaining with JSU.