HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Jacksonville State softball team will hit the road for the first time in 2023 this weekend, when the Gamecocks travel to compete in the Southern Miss Golden Eagle Invite.
The Gamecocks (3-1) will play five games in the tournament hosted by Southern Miss, with all games being played at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. Jax State will open the weekend with a pair of games on Friday, starting at 12 p.m. against Tulsa and wrapping up with a 2:30 pm game against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
Jax State will play SIUE at 5 p.m. on Saturday before facing Alcorn State at 7:30 p.m., and the Gamecocks will conclude their weekend on Sunday against the host Golden Eagles at 2:30 p.m.
The Gamecocks are coming off an impressive opening weekend that saw them take three of their four games at the impromptu Jax State Season Opener at University Field. After an ominous forecast forced the originally scheduled tournament at Mercer in Macon, Ga., to be altered, Buffalo and Army traveled to Jacksonville to play on the artificial turf at JSU instead.
Jax State won its first three games before falling to Buffalo on Sunday to wrap up the weekend. The Gamecocks outscored its opponents 32-12 and hit .317 as a team while holding opposing batters to a .196 average.
Junior first baseman
Lindsey Richardson drove in seven runs in her 5-for-11 (.455) weekend, while senior
Holly Stewart went 4-for-7 (.571) with four RBIs. Junior
Emma Jones was 5-for-13 and stole four bases during the opening week, while senior
Lauren Hunt also had five hits.
The Gamecocks were stellar in the circle, led by the sophomore duo of
Sarah Currie and
Kat Carter. Currie tossed a two-hit shutout of Buffalo in the season opener, limiting the Bulls to just two singles, while striking out six. Carter allowed one earned run on four hits in a seven-inning complete game over Army and needed just 98 pitches to grab her first win of 2023.
The weekend will start a 15-game stretch away from home for the Gamecocks, who return to University Field on March 10 to host the JSU Gamecock Invite against Western Michigan and Samford.
