MADISON, Ala. – Jax State's Wednesday game against Alabama and the opening game of the Rocket City Softball Showcase has been moved to Tuesday due to weather. Jax State's opening contest of the event will take place on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Toyota Field, home of the Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Jax State is set to play six games in the event, three against SEC foes including the opener against the No. 14 Crimson Tide. Jax State will play three games at Toyota Field and three at Charger Park in Huntsville, Ala. 
 
Rocket City Softball Classic Schedule
Feb. 18 | 6:30 PM vs. Alabama (Toyota Field)
Feb. 21 | 4:00 PM vs. ETSU (Charger Park)
Feb. 21 | 7:00 PM vs. Mississippi State (Toyota Field)
Feb. 22 | 4:00 PM vs. James Madison (Charger Park)
Feb. 23 | 4:00 PM vs. North Alabama (Charger Park)
Feb. 23 | 7:00 PM vs. Auburn (Toyota Field)

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Live Stats: TBD
 
Year One
Jax State head coach Julie Boland is entering her first season at the helm of the Gamecock Softball program. Boland served as an assistant coach for each of the last 23 seasons under Jana McGinnis. Boland was also a four-time All-Conference selection in her time as a player for the Gamecocks from 1997-2000. 
 
First of Many
On Feb. 7, Julie Boland picked up her first career win 3-1 over North Florida. The Gamecocks used RBI's from Amber Reed and Ashley Phillips while Kat Carter finished with a 7.0 inning, no earned run outing against the Ospreys.

Experience in the Circle
Entering the season, Jax State's pitching staff featured three individuals with 20+ career wins. Kat Carter (31), Sarah Currie (25) and Jaliyah Holms have all met the mark in their career. Similarly, Jax State returns all 354.1 innings of pitching production from last season. 
 
Phillips Tabbed Preseason All Conference
Jax State infielder Ashley Phillips was named to the Conference USA Preseason All-Conference Team. In 2024, Phillips started the final 43 games at third base for the Gamecocks batting .289 and slugging .586. Despite the delayed start, Phillips finished with the second-most homeruns (10) and RBI (26), while collecting 37 hits and 18 drawn walks.
 
Gamecocks Picked to Finish Fifth in CUSA
As a team, Jax State was selected to place fifth by the league head coaches. Jax State is entering its first season under Boland and is coming off of a fifth place Conference USA finish the year prior, Jax State's first season as members of CUSA. 

Hot Rod
Sophomore Emma Elrod continues her hot streak, leading Jax State in almost every offensive category, including batting average, runs, hits, RBI's, triples. home runs and total bases. Elrod finished her weekend at the Northwestern State Classic batting .471 and slugging .882.

Shutdown Arms
So far this season, Jax State has allowed just 14 runs and only eight earned runs in nine games for a team ERA of 0.91. All six Jax State pitchers boast a sub-3.00 ERA so far, highlighted by MacKinley Portillo, who has yet to allow a run in 11.0 innings this season.

All Jax State home softball games are free to attend courtesy of Martin's Family Clothing.