JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State will take a three-game winning streak into its final non-conference weekend of the season as the Gamecocks travel to Carbondale, Illinois to face Southern Illinois in a Conference USA tune up.
The series with the Salukis will begin on Friday with a 6 p.m. first pitch. The two clubs will continue the weekend action on Saturday at 2 p.m. and wrap up the series with Sunday's 1 p.m. start time. All three games will be available on the Gamecock Sports Network.
The Gamecocks (8-8) offense has keyed the winning streak, including a pair of run-rule wins on Tuesday and Wednesday against Alabama State and UAB respectively. The streak began with reigning CUSA Pitcher of the Week
Austin Cornelius' gem last Sunday in Jax State's series-clinching win over Iowa. The Gamecocks quickly extinguished the Hornets, 16-4, on Tuesday in Montgomery and routed the Blazers, 14-3, on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. In the midweek set, Jax State tallied 30 runs and pounded out 27 hits in 14 innings combined. The pitching staff limited the two in-state squads to seven runs on 13 hits.
The trip to Carbondale wraps up a home-and-home deal between Jax State and SIU. The two clubs faced off against each other last season in Jacksonville with the Gamecocks winning the series. Jax State will be looking for its fourth consecutive series win over SIU, dating back to the 2017 season – which was the Gamecocks' last visit to SIU. The Gamecocks and Salukis have played 26 times on the diamond with Jax State holding a 15-11 lead in the series.
Sophomore
Caleb Johnson enters the week having reached base in all 16 games this season. Dating back to the last five games of the 2023 season, the shortstop has reached base in 21 consecutive games. Johnson heads in to Wednesday leading the Gamecocks at the plate with a .295 average. He has collected 18 hits and has walked nine times. The Phenix City, Alabama native has also been plunked six times. He enters the week with a .434 on-base mark.
Entering the week, sophomore catcher
Bear Madliak has thrown out 12-of-31 (.387) bases runners this season. He leads NCAA Division I Baseball in that category. The Carrollton, Georgia backstop has thrown out a runner on the bases in eight-of-the-16 games this season. Madliak collected three on the base paths in game one of the series against Kent State on March 2 and added two more in the second game of the twinbill. He enters the week with throwing out 26-out-of-68 (.388) base runners in 65 games as a Gamecock. JD Gregson of Incarnate Word ranks second in NCAA Division I Baseball with nine punchouts on the bases.
Jax State will send senior
Will Baker back to the mound on a Friday night. The Mount Olive, Alabama lefty started the opening contest at South Alabama on Feb. 23. Baker will be making his sixth appearance of the season. He worked a pair of innings earlier in the week against ASU. The Gamecocks will go with
Jackson Sleeper in Saturday's contest. Sleeper has been a constant in the weekend rotation as he makes his fifth start against SIU this weekend. Cornelius is in line to toss the series finale on Sunday and will be looking for a repeat performance of his last outing. He pitched 8.0 shutout innings, allowed three hits and a run. He retired 16 straight Hawkeyes in the outing.
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