JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State baseball team begins the second half of the ASUN conference schedule back in the Sunshine State for the second time in three weeks with a trip to ASUN frontrunner Florida Gulf Coast this weekend.

The series with the nationally-ranked Eagles will get started on Friday with first pitch set for 5:30 p.m. CST. The series continues on Saturday with a 1 p.m. start time, while the series finale has been moved to 11 a.m. CST due to JSU's travel schedule. All three games at Swanson Field will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Gamecock Sports Network.

This weekend's series marks the first-ever meeting with FGCU. The Eagles are one of two ASUN programs that the Gamecocks have not faced in baseball. Jax State, who has not played Liberty, will travel to Lynchburg, Virginia in two weeks for the initial meetings with the Flames. JSU is making its second trip to Fort Meyers, Florida, but the first action against FGCU. The Gamecocks played Jacksonville in the opening round of the 2022 ASUN Baseball Championship at Swanson Field. JSU's second game of round robin play was at JetBlue Park in Fort Meyers, Florida.

Both teams enter the weekend looking to rebound in conference play and two clubs are coming off midweek setbacks. The Gamecocks (17-18, 10-5 ASUN) dropped a home series to Jacksonville last weekend, while the Eagles (27-10, 11-4 ASUN) fell on the road at Eastern Kentucky. JSU will be looking to shake off a Tuesday loss to Troy and FGCU fell in extra innings to FIU on Wednesday. The series features two of the top-four teams in the league standings entering the weekend. FGCU shares first place with Lipscomb through 15 games within the conference, while Jax State and Austin Peay share identical 10-5 marks in the ASUN.

Junior Javon Hernandez remains one of the hottest hitters in the ASUN and on the national level. Entering the weekend, he leads the ASUN in total hits with 62 and ranks fifth in the nation in total hits and just four hits back of the NCAA Division I leader Jonah Cox of Oral Roberts (66). Hernandez leads the conference in batting average with a .440 mark and ranks 10th in NCAA Division I baseball. Since moving the to two-spot in the lineup (21 games), Hernandez is 50-of-87 (.575), scored 27 runs and delivered 26 RBI. He has 13 walks and 7-8 in stolen bases. Hernandez has an on-base mark of .634 and fielding at a .958 rate.

As a team, Jax State is hitting .298 on the season with five individuals hitting .300 or better in the lineup. Senior T.J. Reeves leads the team in RBI with 39, while junior Mason Maners has 30 RBI on 42 hits. Reeves has reached base in all 35 games this season and head into the weekend hitting .341 on the season. The Gamecocks start the weekend with a league-best .343 batting average against ASUN foes and the top lowest earned run average through the first five weeks of conference play as the pitching staff sports a 3.45 ERA.