JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State is set for its final preseason tournament on the road as the Gamecocks travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for the 2023 Tennessee Classic.
JSU (10-4) meets a stacked field at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium including the host Lady Vols (11-1), Appalachian State (9-3) and former Ohio Valley Conference foe, Belmont (9-3). Weather permitting; JSU will play five games total rotating through teams each day. The tournament schedule was altered earlier on Friday to allow for the most games to get played if conditions cooperate.
The Gamecocks continue to open the schedule against Belmont in the first game of the weekend, but that start time has now been pushed back to 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 CT on Friday. JSU is slated to meet the Bruins just once, before doubleheader action against Tennessee on Saturday and App State on Sunday.
The tournament returns Jax State to the site of its 2009 NCAA Regional title, where JSU knocked off James Madison, Nebraska and UT (twice) to advance to the school's first Super Regional. JSU is 2-2 all-time against the Lady Vols after the most recent meeting in 2017. The Gamecocks lead the series against Belmont, 33-8, and are 2-0 in a couple of matchups against the Mountaineers.
At the plate, junior
Lindsey Richardson leads the Gamecocks batting .389 with 14 RBI to begin the year. Richardson and senior outfielder
Lauren Hunt are two of four Gamecock above .300 for the first month of the season after both started all 14 games leading into the weekend. Meanwhile in the circle, sophomores
Kat Carter and
Sarah Currie have picked right up following strong freshman campaigns a season ago. Carter owns a 4-0 mark and 2.01 ERA through 31.1 innings, while Currie stands 2-2 with a 2.72 ERA in her five appearances. Behind them, freshman
Jaliyah Holmes has wasted no time in securing her time in the circle with a 4-1 record. She tossed a nine-strikeout complete game on Sunday against Central Michigan to close out the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Classic.
Live stats for all games are available at JSUGamecocksports.com. Only games against Tennessee will be streamed during the tournament with links to Saturday's contests also available on JSU's schedule page.
Next weekend JSU is set to host Western Michigan and Samford for the Gamecock Invite at University Field.
