Friday, April 14
JACKSONVILLE
6:00 PM
Jacksonville State University
vs
Jacksonville
Gamecocks Host Jacksonville In Pivotal ASUN Series
4/13/2023 2:33:00 PM | Baseball
JACKSONVILLE - Jacksonville State will hit the midpoint of the ASUN baseball schedule as Jacksonville visits Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium in a pivotal conference series.
The series against the club from Jacksonville, Florida will get started on Friday evening at 6 p.m. The weekend action continues with a Saturday evening showdown at 6 p.m., followed by the weekend wrap up at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are available online at JSUGamecockSports.com All Jax State students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Gamecock Sports Network.
The Gamecocks (16-15, 9-3 ASUN) have won three-of-the-first-four weekend series and are coming off a road series win at North Florida last weekend. The Dolphins start the weekend at 22-12 overall and 7-5 in the ASUN.
Jax State and Jacksonville have met 23 times on the diamond dating back to JSU's first stint in the ASUN and home-and-home non-conference series during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The Dolphins leads the all-time series 20-3, but Jax State claimed the last meeting in the opening game of the 2022 ASUN Baseball Championship, 8-4, in Fort Meyers, Florida. Jax State's previous two wins came in 1999 (3-1) and 2003 (10-6) in the ASUN Tournament in DeLand, Fla. Prior to last season's meeting, the Dolphins traveled to Oxford, Alabama to face the Gamecocks at Choccolocco Park while stadium renovations were going on at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. It was the first athletic competition following the March tornado that hit the Jax State campus.
he Gamecocks' pitching staff enters the weekend against JU with the lowest earned run average against ASUN opponents with a 3.21 mark. The staff has collected 106 strikeouts in the first 12 ASUN games (8.8 per game) and has allowed 41 runs - 36 earned runs in league play. The starting rotation of AJ Causey, Tanner Jones and Eli Zielinski has a combined 2.76 ERA against the conference and surrendered just 25 runs-22 earned runs.
Junior Javon Hernandez starts the weekend tied for first in the ASUN in total hits with 53 – tied with FGCU's Alejandro Figueredo…Ranks ninth in the nation in total hits and just 10 hits back of the NCAA Division I leader Jonah Cox of Oral Roberts (63). Leads the conference in batting average with a .417 mark and ranks 24th in NCAA Division I baseball. In conference games only, he ranks first in batting average (.600), hits (30), runs (22), total bases (47), on-base percentage (.667). Listed in the top-10 in RBI (17-9th) and slugging percentage (.940-3rd). Since moving the to two-spot in the lineup (18 games), Hernandez is 41-of-73 (.562), scored 24 runs and delivered 23 RBI. He has 13 walks and 7-8 in stolen bases. Hernandez has an on-base mark of .836 and fielding at a .983 rate.
The outfield tandem of senior T.J. Reeves and junior Mason Maners have been the anchors of the offense. Reeves leads the team RBI with 37, while Maners has 27 RBI on the season. Reeves has reached base in all 31 games this season. Maners enters the ASUN series having reached base in 38-of-the-40 ASUN games he has played in and has a hit in 34-of-the-40 games. He is hitting .349 (51-146) against ASUN foes dating back to 2022.
The series against the club from Jacksonville, Florida will get started on Friday evening at 6 p.m. The weekend action continues with a Saturday evening showdown at 6 p.m., followed by the weekend wrap up at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are available online at JSUGamecockSports.com All Jax State students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Gamecock Sports Network.
The Gamecocks (16-15, 9-3 ASUN) have won three-of-the-first-four weekend series and are coming off a road series win at North Florida last weekend. The Dolphins start the weekend at 22-12 overall and 7-5 in the ASUN.
Jax State and Jacksonville have met 23 times on the diamond dating back to JSU's first stint in the ASUN and home-and-home non-conference series during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The Dolphins leads the all-time series 20-3, but Jax State claimed the last meeting in the opening game of the 2022 ASUN Baseball Championship, 8-4, in Fort Meyers, Florida. Jax State's previous two wins came in 1999 (3-1) and 2003 (10-6) in the ASUN Tournament in DeLand, Fla. Prior to last season's meeting, the Dolphins traveled to Oxford, Alabama to face the Gamecocks at Choccolocco Park while stadium renovations were going on at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. It was the first athletic competition following the March tornado that hit the Jax State campus.
he Gamecocks' pitching staff enters the weekend against JU with the lowest earned run average against ASUN opponents with a 3.21 mark. The staff has collected 106 strikeouts in the first 12 ASUN games (8.8 per game) and has allowed 41 runs - 36 earned runs in league play. The starting rotation of AJ Causey, Tanner Jones and Eli Zielinski has a combined 2.76 ERA against the conference and surrendered just 25 runs-22 earned runs.
Junior Javon Hernandez starts the weekend tied for first in the ASUN in total hits with 53 – tied with FGCU's Alejandro Figueredo…Ranks ninth in the nation in total hits and just 10 hits back of the NCAA Division I leader Jonah Cox of Oral Roberts (63). Leads the conference in batting average with a .417 mark and ranks 24th in NCAA Division I baseball. In conference games only, he ranks first in batting average (.600), hits (30), runs (22), total bases (47), on-base percentage (.667). Listed in the top-10 in RBI (17-9th) and slugging percentage (.940-3rd). Since moving the to two-spot in the lineup (18 games), Hernandez is 41-of-73 (.562), scored 24 runs and delivered 23 RBI. He has 13 walks and 7-8 in stolen bases. Hernandez has an on-base mark of .836 and fielding at a .983 rate.
The outfield tandem of senior T.J. Reeves and junior Mason Maners have been the anchors of the offense. Reeves leads the team RBI with 37, while Maners has 27 RBI on the season. Reeves has reached base in all 31 games this season. Maners enters the ASUN series having reached base in 38-of-the-40 ASUN games he has played in and has a hit in 34-of-the-40 games. He is hitting .349 (51-146) against ASUN foes dating back to 2022.
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