Friday, February 9
Columbia, S.C.
11:30 a.m. CT / 12:30 ET
Jacksonville State University
vs
Virginia
Jax State Begins 2024 Campaign at Carolina Classic
2/8/2024 1:39:00 PM | Softball
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Jax State softball prepares to open the 2024 season on Friday morning at Beckham Field in Columbia, S.C. in the opening day of the Carolina Classic.
Under head coach Jana McGinnis, beginning her 31st season at the helm of the Gamecocks (1,015-577), Jax State begins the 2024 campaign with a tough test in the Palmetto State. Jax State will meet Atlantic Coast Conference foe Virginia for the season-opener, before taking on tournament host South Carolina later on Friday afternoon. The two Gamecocks will square off again on Saturday afternoon after Jax State meets UNC-Greensboro to begin the second day of action. The weekend wraps up with a second matchup against the UNCG Spartans on Sunday morning.
With weather expected to move through the area schedule times have already, and will likely continue to change and adjust to the forecast. Follow Jax State softball on X (@JaxStateSB) for the latest updates throughout the weekend and the 2024 season. Jax State's two contests against the host Gamecocks are slated to stream on SEC Network+, an ESPN partner. Live stats are available for every game with links available at JaxStateSports.com.
Facing a challenging field featuring two Power Five programs and the 2023 Southern Conference champions, Jax State aims to learn a lot about its young squad. 2023 All-ASUN selections senior Lindsey Richardson, senior Emma Jones and sophomore Jaliyah Holmes return for the Gamecocks. Holmes and Richardson were likewise tabbed to the Conference USA preseason team.
Jax State welcomes six newcomers to the fold for 2024. Behind a strong pitching rotation that returns 96 percent of pitchers thrown last season between Holmes, Kat Carter, Sarah Currie and Jordan Eslinger, the Gamecocks pad the depth with 2022 Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year Amber Reed of North Gwinnett High School and Douglas, Ala., 1,000-strikeout star MacKinley Portillo.
In the field, the Gamecocks welcome freshman outfielders Megan Rasmussen of Sunrise, Fla., and Emma Elrod from Newnan, Ga. The pair will help restock an outfield that primarily returns only one starter in Morgan Nowakowski. The Gamecocks also brought in a pair of transfers beginning with Ainsley Grimes, a catcher from Morris, Ala., who joins Jax State following a redshirt-freshman season at former ASUN foe Austin Peay. Also new to the lineup, sophomore infielder Kenzie Nicholson makes her new home in Jacksonville after playing her freshman season alongside her older sister at Arizona State.
In the only previous meeting with UVA, Jax State beat the Cavaliers, 6-2, in Orlando, Fla., during the 2015 Diamond 9 Citrus Classic. The Gamecocks have split their two meetings with South Carolina, and own a 5-1 series lead versus UNCG.
Under head coach Jana McGinnis, beginning her 31st season at the helm of the Gamecocks (1,015-577), Jax State begins the 2024 campaign with a tough test in the Palmetto State. Jax State will meet Atlantic Coast Conference foe Virginia for the season-opener, before taking on tournament host South Carolina later on Friday afternoon. The two Gamecocks will square off again on Saturday afternoon after Jax State meets UNC-Greensboro to begin the second day of action. The weekend wraps up with a second matchup against the UNCG Spartans on Sunday morning.
With weather expected to move through the area schedule times have already, and will likely continue to change and adjust to the forecast. Follow Jax State softball on X (@JaxStateSB) for the latest updates throughout the weekend and the 2024 season. Jax State's two contests against the host Gamecocks are slated to stream on SEC Network+, an ESPN partner. Live stats are available for every game with links available at JaxStateSports.com.
Facing a challenging field featuring two Power Five programs and the 2023 Southern Conference champions, Jax State aims to learn a lot about its young squad. 2023 All-ASUN selections senior Lindsey Richardson, senior Emma Jones and sophomore Jaliyah Holmes return for the Gamecocks. Holmes and Richardson were likewise tabbed to the Conference USA preseason team.
Jax State welcomes six newcomers to the fold for 2024. Behind a strong pitching rotation that returns 96 percent of pitchers thrown last season between Holmes, Kat Carter, Sarah Currie and Jordan Eslinger, the Gamecocks pad the depth with 2022 Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year Amber Reed of North Gwinnett High School and Douglas, Ala., 1,000-strikeout star MacKinley Portillo.
In the field, the Gamecocks welcome freshman outfielders Megan Rasmussen of Sunrise, Fla., and Emma Elrod from Newnan, Ga. The pair will help restock an outfield that primarily returns only one starter in Morgan Nowakowski. The Gamecocks also brought in a pair of transfers beginning with Ainsley Grimes, a catcher from Morris, Ala., who joins Jax State following a redshirt-freshman season at former ASUN foe Austin Peay. Also new to the lineup, sophomore infielder Kenzie Nicholson makes her new home in Jacksonville after playing her freshman season alongside her older sister at Arizona State.
In the only previous meeting with UVA, Jax State beat the Cavaliers, 6-2, in Orlando, Fla., during the 2015 Diamond 9 Citrus Classic. The Gamecocks have split their two meetings with South Carolina, and own a 5-1 series lead versus UNCG.
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1B
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