Friday, May 10
JACKSONVILLE
6:00 PM
Jacksonville State University
vs
Middle Tennessee
Crucial Final Home Weekend For The Gamecocks At The Jim
5/9/2024 5:17:00 PM | Baseball
JACKSONVILLE – With postseason implications on the line this weekend, Jacksonville State will close out the 2024 season with a crucial Conference USA weekend series with Middle Tennessee.
The series will get started on Friday with a 6 p.m. start time, followed by a Saturday evening first pitch of 6 p.m. The two clubs will wrap up the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets for the series are available at JaxStateSports.com. All Jax State students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free.
Jax State will hand out rally towels on Friday night courtesy of Apothecary in Jacksonville. For Sunday's contest at The Jim, Gamecock fans will be treated to the tunes of the famed Atlanta Braves organist, Matthew Kaminski, who will be playing during Sunday's series finale on Mother's Day. Jax State will honor its four seniors prior to the Sunday outing.
With six games remaining on the CUSA docket, the Gamecocks (17-29, 4-14 CUSA) are battling for one of the eight spots in the 2024 CUSA Tournament in late May on the campus of Louisiana Tech. Entering the weekend, the Blue Raiders (17-31, 5-13 CUSA) hold a one-game advantage over the Gamecocks for the eighth spot in the seeding order.
This weekend's series between Jax State and Middle Tennessee will be the first meeting since 2011. The Blue Raiders hold a 22-14 lead in the all-time series. The series dates back to the 1973 season. Dating back to the 2010 season, the Gamecocks have won six consecutive games from MTSU and have claimed the series between the two clubs in 2010 and 2011. Jax State swept MTSU in Murfreesboro during the 2011 season, including a pair of extra-inning games. The Gamecocks claimed a 9-6 decision in 14 innings and a 12-9 win in 10 frames to complete the sweep.
Junior Brennen Norton continues to blister the baseball over the last eight games. Dating back to the New Mexico State series two weekends ago, the reigning CUSA Hitter of the Week is hitting .559 with 18 hits in 34 plate appearances. The Cullman, Alabama third baseman has collected six extra base hits and driving in 12 runs. In the four games last week, Norton went hit .647 at the plate after going 11-for-17 with five of those hits for extra bases. The Cullman, Alabama third baseman collected three doubles and a pair of home runs – both of those coming in the Saturday win at DBU. His second home run evened the contest at 11-11 after Jax State rallied from a 9-3 deficit in the game. His week started well with a three-hit day against the Panthers of GSU to pace the offense in the 10-5 win in Atlanta, Georgia last Tuesday. Norton had a hit in all four games, including a four-hit day on Sunday in a tough 5-4 setback against the Patriots.
The home run ball has keyed the Jax State offense this season with 56 home runs in 46 games this season and ranks seventh in the league heading into the week. With Jax State surpassing the 50 home run mark this season, it matches the 56 home runs that the 1995 club that also hit 56 home runs on the season.
The Gamecocks have also been aggressive on the base paths this season with 86 stolen bases on the season. That number leads CUSA, just ahead of Sam Houston 80 stolen bases. Jax State's stolen bases so far on the season ranks 10th all-time and five shy of ninth place on the school's single season stolen base chart. The 1989 swuad had 91 stolen bases on the season.. Jax State matched a program mark for stolen bases in a single game against Alabama State on April 16 with eight stolen bases in the contest. The eight stolen bases against the Hornets established the program's Division I mark for stolen bases in a game. Sophomore Will Fincher had three of the eight stolen bases. He became the ninth different Gamecock in the Division I era to have three stolen bases in a game and the first since Gavin Golsan registered three against Samford during the 2016 season.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Gamecock Sports Network.
The series will get started on Friday with a 6 p.m. start time, followed by a Saturday evening first pitch of 6 p.m. The two clubs will wrap up the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets for the series are available at JaxStateSports.com. All Jax State students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free.
Jax State will hand out rally towels on Friday night courtesy of Apothecary in Jacksonville. For Sunday's contest at The Jim, Gamecock fans will be treated to the tunes of the famed Atlanta Braves organist, Matthew Kaminski, who will be playing during Sunday's series finale on Mother's Day. Jax State will honor its four seniors prior to the Sunday outing.
With six games remaining on the CUSA docket, the Gamecocks (17-29, 4-14 CUSA) are battling for one of the eight spots in the 2024 CUSA Tournament in late May on the campus of Louisiana Tech. Entering the weekend, the Blue Raiders (17-31, 5-13 CUSA) hold a one-game advantage over the Gamecocks for the eighth spot in the seeding order.
This weekend's series between Jax State and Middle Tennessee will be the first meeting since 2011. The Blue Raiders hold a 22-14 lead in the all-time series. The series dates back to the 1973 season. Dating back to the 2010 season, the Gamecocks have won six consecutive games from MTSU and have claimed the series between the two clubs in 2010 and 2011. Jax State swept MTSU in Murfreesboro during the 2011 season, including a pair of extra-inning games. The Gamecocks claimed a 9-6 decision in 14 innings and a 12-9 win in 10 frames to complete the sweep.
Junior Brennen Norton continues to blister the baseball over the last eight games. Dating back to the New Mexico State series two weekends ago, the reigning CUSA Hitter of the Week is hitting .559 with 18 hits in 34 plate appearances. The Cullman, Alabama third baseman has collected six extra base hits and driving in 12 runs. In the four games last week, Norton went hit .647 at the plate after going 11-for-17 with five of those hits for extra bases. The Cullman, Alabama third baseman collected three doubles and a pair of home runs – both of those coming in the Saturday win at DBU. His second home run evened the contest at 11-11 after Jax State rallied from a 9-3 deficit in the game. His week started well with a three-hit day against the Panthers of GSU to pace the offense in the 10-5 win in Atlanta, Georgia last Tuesday. Norton had a hit in all four games, including a four-hit day on Sunday in a tough 5-4 setback against the Patriots.
The home run ball has keyed the Jax State offense this season with 56 home runs in 46 games this season and ranks seventh in the league heading into the week. With Jax State surpassing the 50 home run mark this season, it matches the 56 home runs that the 1995 club that also hit 56 home runs on the season.
The Gamecocks have also been aggressive on the base paths this season with 86 stolen bases on the season. That number leads CUSA, just ahead of Sam Houston 80 stolen bases. Jax State's stolen bases so far on the season ranks 10th all-time and five shy of ninth place on the school's single season stolen base chart. The 1989 swuad had 91 stolen bases on the season.. Jax State matched a program mark for stolen bases in a single game against Alabama State on April 16 with eight stolen bases in the contest. The eight stolen bases against the Hornets established the program's Division I mark for stolen bases in a game. Sophomore Will Fincher had three of the eight stolen bases. He became the ninth different Gamecock in the Division I era to have three stolen bases in a game and the first since Gavin Golsan registered three against Samford during the 2016 season.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Gamecock Sports Network.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
INF
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