Tuesday, March 18
Birmingham, AL
6:00 PM
Jacksonville State University
at
Samford
Gamecock Baseball Begins Five-Game Road Trip On Tuesday
3/17/2025 6:06:00 PM | Baseball
JACKSONVILLE - Jacksonville State begins a five-game road trip on Tuesday with the first of two trips in a span of a week to Birmingham. The Gamecocks will wrap up the two-game season set against Samford on Tuesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on the Samford campus.
Jax State (12-7) is coming off its fourth weekend series win after claiming a pair of wins over Southeast Missouri. The two clubs split a Friday doubleheader before the Gamecocks used some late innings heroics on Sunday for a 5-4, 10-inning win to clinch the series. Jax State trailed 4-2 and down to its final out and strike before redshirt freshman Cooper Blauser blasted a two-run home run to send it to extra innings. Freshman Trey Majette delivered the game-winning RBI in the tenth inning.
GAMEDAY INFO
Tuesday, March 18 (6 p.m.)
Probable Starters
Jax State: James Wilson (1-0, 1.63 ERA), RHP, Jr.
Samford: Brooks Rice (0-1, 11.17), RHP, Sr.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: JaxStateSports.com
GAMECOCK STORYLINES
• Tuesday's meeting at will be the 92nd meeting between the two clubs with the Gamecocks holding a 55-36 lead in the series. After posting a 12-6 win over Samford on February 18 on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium, Jax State will be looking to sweep the two games with the Bulldogs for the first time since 2022. Prior to the Gamecocks' win in the first meeting, the Bulldogs strung together five consecutive wins over Jax State after sweeping the two games between the two clubs in 2024 and 2023. The Bulldogs claimed a pair of 7-3 wins in Birmingham and in Jacksonville last season.
• The Gamecocks begin the week as the one of the NCAA Division I Baseball leaders in triples. In the first 20 games, State has collected 12 triples (all at home) and ranks third behind Tarleton State and Arizona, who both have 15 triples through gamed on March 16. Senior Drew Collins, redshirt sophomore Cooper Blauser and junior Caleb Johnson have three triple each.
• Two Gamecocks had double digit hitting streaks snapped during the weekend series with SEMO. Redshirt sophomore Cooper Blauser saw an 18-game hitting streak come to an end in the second game of Friday's twinbill. Junior Colton Hegwood string together a 17-game hitting streak until going without a hit in the nightcap against SEMO. Junior Carson Hornung extended his on-base streak to 13 games last weekend. Dating back to the last 20 games of the 2024 season and the 20 games in 2025, Drew Collins has reached base in 36-of-the-last-40 games.
• For the second consecutive season, Jax State will open its Conference USA slate on the road with a trip to Miami, Florida to face FIU. The series with the Panthers will get started on Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT The series continues on the weekend with a 4 p.m. CT first pitch and will wrap up on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. Jax State returns to Birmingham next Tuesday (March 25) to face UAB.
First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on the Samford campus.
Jax State (12-7) is coming off its fourth weekend series win after claiming a pair of wins over Southeast Missouri. The two clubs split a Friday doubleheader before the Gamecocks used some late innings heroics on Sunday for a 5-4, 10-inning win to clinch the series. Jax State trailed 4-2 and down to its final out and strike before redshirt freshman Cooper Blauser blasted a two-run home run to send it to extra innings. Freshman Trey Majette delivered the game-winning RBI in the tenth inning.
GAMEDAY INFO
Tuesday, March 18 (6 p.m.)
Probable Starters
Jax State: James Wilson (1-0, 1.63 ERA), RHP, Jr.
Samford: Brooks Rice (0-1, 11.17), RHP, Sr.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: JaxStateSports.com
GAMECOCK STORYLINES
• Tuesday's meeting at will be the 92nd meeting between the two clubs with the Gamecocks holding a 55-36 lead in the series. After posting a 12-6 win over Samford on February 18 on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium, Jax State will be looking to sweep the two games with the Bulldogs for the first time since 2022. Prior to the Gamecocks' win in the first meeting, the Bulldogs strung together five consecutive wins over Jax State after sweeping the two games between the two clubs in 2024 and 2023. The Bulldogs claimed a pair of 7-3 wins in Birmingham and in Jacksonville last season.
• The Gamecocks begin the week as the one of the NCAA Division I Baseball leaders in triples. In the first 20 games, State has collected 12 triples (all at home) and ranks third behind Tarleton State and Arizona, who both have 15 triples through gamed on March 16. Senior Drew Collins, redshirt sophomore Cooper Blauser and junior Caleb Johnson have three triple each.
• Two Gamecocks had double digit hitting streaks snapped during the weekend series with SEMO. Redshirt sophomore Cooper Blauser saw an 18-game hitting streak come to an end in the second game of Friday's twinbill. Junior Colton Hegwood string together a 17-game hitting streak until going without a hit in the nightcap against SEMO. Junior Carson Hornung extended his on-base streak to 13 games last weekend. Dating back to the last 20 games of the 2024 season and the 20 games in 2025, Drew Collins has reached base in 36-of-the-last-40 games.
• For the second consecutive season, Jax State will open its Conference USA slate on the road with a trip to Miami, Florida to face FIU. The series with the Panthers will get started on Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT The series continues on the weekend with a 4 p.m. CT first pitch and will wrap up on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. Jax State returns to Birmingham next Tuesday (March 25) to face UAB.
Players Mentioned
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