Saturday, March 2
JACKSONVILLE
1:00 PM
Jacksonville State University
vs
Kent State
Gamecocks Welcome The Golden Flashes To The Jim
2/29/2024 9:03:00 PM | Baseball
JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State baseball team will open a weekend series with Mid-American Conference contender Kent State on Friday evening at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.
The series will commence on Friday evening at 6 p.m., followed by a Saturday evening showdown at 6 p.m. the series will wrap up on Sunday with a 1 p.m. start time. Tickets are available online at JaxStateSports.com and at the stadium box office. All Jax State students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free. As part of Jax State's Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day, all university employees receive free admission thanks to the university administration.
The Friday and Sunday match ups will be streamed on ESPN+. Due to Jax State's men's hoops home finale at 4 p.m. inside Pete Mathews Coliseum, the Saturday contest will not be streamed.
Jax State (3-5) will be looking to shake off a tough start to the season after dropping a series at South Alabama and a midweek setback to Kennesaw State on Tuesday. The Golden Flashes (1-7) are wrapping up an eight-game road trip through the southeastern states after visits to Conference USA foe Louisiana Tech and a midweek set at Troy.
The series against KSU will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs on the diamond. The Golden Flashes of KSU will be the sixth different team from the Mid-American Conference that Jax State has faced off against on the diamond. The Gamecocks have played 10 games against teams from the MAC - Ball State (1-1), Central Michigan (1-4), Miami (Ohio) (0-1), Eastern Michigan (1-0) and Western Michigan (1-0). CMU was the last MAC club to visit Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. CMU and Jax State played a three-game series during the 2020 season.
The Gamecocks have set their third different weekend rotation in the first three weekends of the season, trying to find the right fit ahead of league play later in March. Freshman Colin Woodham, who collected a win in relief last Saturday against South Alabama, will start the opening game of the weekend. Woodham, from Millbrook, Alabama, will be in the starting role for the first time as a Gamecock. He pitched in relief against Memphis in week one and tossed 1.2 innings last weekend in Mobile, Ala. Sophomore Jackson Sleeper will be making his third start of the season on Saturday. Sleeper has worked 3.0-plus innings in his first two starts on the mound, including six strikeouts in his stint versus Memphis. Junior Austin Cornelius will be making his fourth start of the season and second of the week in Sunday's finale. In 3.0 innings last Tuesday against the Owls, Cornelius tallied three strikeouts.
Offensively, the Gamecocks are paced by the top of the order, headlined by Caleb Johnson at the leadoff spot. The sophomore shortstop has reached base in all eight games this season and in the last 13 games dating back to the last five games of his freshman season of 2023. He shares the team lead in hits with freshman Gabe Young. The two have 10 hits each and four RBI for each of the two in the lineup. Senior Derrick Jackson, Jr. leads the team in RBI with seven, followed by junior Brennen Norton's six RBI on the season with a team three home runs through eight games.
For more information on Gamecock baseball, follow the program on X and Instagram @JaxStateBB.
The series will commence on Friday evening at 6 p.m., followed by a Saturday evening showdown at 6 p.m. the series will wrap up on Sunday with a 1 p.m. start time. Tickets are available online at JaxStateSports.com and at the stadium box office. All Jax State students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free. As part of Jax State's Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day, all university employees receive free admission thanks to the university administration.
The Friday and Sunday match ups will be streamed on ESPN+. Due to Jax State's men's hoops home finale at 4 p.m. inside Pete Mathews Coliseum, the Saturday contest will not be streamed.
Jax State (3-5) will be looking to shake off a tough start to the season after dropping a series at South Alabama and a midweek setback to Kennesaw State on Tuesday. The Golden Flashes (1-7) are wrapping up an eight-game road trip through the southeastern states after visits to Conference USA foe Louisiana Tech and a midweek set at Troy.
The series against KSU will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs on the diamond. The Golden Flashes of KSU will be the sixth different team from the Mid-American Conference that Jax State has faced off against on the diamond. The Gamecocks have played 10 games against teams from the MAC - Ball State (1-1), Central Michigan (1-4), Miami (Ohio) (0-1), Eastern Michigan (1-0) and Western Michigan (1-0). CMU was the last MAC club to visit Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. CMU and Jax State played a three-game series during the 2020 season.
The Gamecocks have set their third different weekend rotation in the first three weekends of the season, trying to find the right fit ahead of league play later in March. Freshman Colin Woodham, who collected a win in relief last Saturday against South Alabama, will start the opening game of the weekend. Woodham, from Millbrook, Alabama, will be in the starting role for the first time as a Gamecock. He pitched in relief against Memphis in week one and tossed 1.2 innings last weekend in Mobile, Ala. Sophomore Jackson Sleeper will be making his third start of the season on Saturday. Sleeper has worked 3.0-plus innings in his first two starts on the mound, including six strikeouts in his stint versus Memphis. Junior Austin Cornelius will be making his fourth start of the season and second of the week in Sunday's finale. In 3.0 innings last Tuesday against the Owls, Cornelius tallied three strikeouts.
Offensively, the Gamecocks are paced by the top of the order, headlined by Caleb Johnson at the leadoff spot. The sophomore shortstop has reached base in all eight games this season and in the last 13 games dating back to the last five games of his freshman season of 2023. He shares the team lead in hits with freshman Gabe Young. The two have 10 hits each and four RBI for each of the two in the lineup. Senior Derrick Jackson, Jr. leads the team in RBI with seven, followed by junior Brennen Norton's six RBI on the season with a team three home runs through eight games.
For more information on Gamecock baseball, follow the program on X and Instagram @JaxStateBB.
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