Gamecocks Host Liberty For CUSA Home Opener

Friday, March 28

JACKSONVILLE

6:00 PM

Jacksonville State University

Liberty

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3/27/2025 4:00:00 PM | Baseball

JACKSONVILLE - Jacksonville State wraps up spring break week on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium for its Conference USA home opener with Liberty.

The series begins on Friday night with first pitch set for 6 p.m. The series continues on Saturday with a 6 p.m. start time. The two sides wrap up the weekend on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Both clubs will be looking to bounce-back from their respective CUSA opening weekend performances as the Gamecocks dropped a series at FIU, while the Flames fell to New Mexico State. Jax State (16-9) ended its five-game road trip with a 4-1 win over in-state foe UAB in Birmingham on Tuesday. LU knocked off ACC foe Virginia in Lynchburg, Va. In its midweek outing.

Tickets for the CUSA series are available online at JaxStateSports.com. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Gamecock Sports Network.

SERIES INFO
Friday, March 28 (6 p.m.)

Probable Starters
Jax State: Jackson Phipps (2-1, 2.63 ERA), LHP, Jr.
Liberty: Dylan Mathieson (1-1, 4.36 ERA) RHP, Jr.

Live Video: ESPN+
Live Audio: Gamecock Sports Network
Live Stats: JaxStateSports.com

Saturday, March 29 (6 p.m.)

Probable Starters
Jax State: Steven Cash (2-1, 4.55 ERA), LHP, Jr.
Liberty: Ben Blair (4-1, 2.67 ERA) RHP, So.

Live Video: ESPN+
Live Audio: Gamecock Sports Network
Live Stats: JaxStateSports.com

Sunday, March 30 (11 p.m.)

Probable Starters
Jax State: James Wilson (1-0,3.12 ERA), RHP, Jr.
Liberty: Jake Potts (0-0, 5.40 ), RHP, Sr.

Live Video: ESPN+
Live Audio: Gamecock Sports Network
Live Stats: JaxStateSports.com

GAMECOCK STORY LINES
•             Jax State and Liberty will be meeting for just the third time even though the two programs have been conference foes over the last four years. The Gamecocks and Flames did not face each other in the 2022 season due to the conference schedule format in the ASUN. Liberty holds a 4-2 lead in the series and has won both series that were played in Lynchburg, Va. LU will be making its first trip to Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. Liberty is the first team from the Commonwealth of Viginia to visit Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium in the history of the program.

•             The Gamecocks will host Liberty for their Conference USA home opener this weekend on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. Dating back to the 2010 season, Jax State has won 10-of-the-14 home conference-opening series across the three conferences it has been a member of over that time frame (OVCm, ASUN, Conference USA). Jax State is 28-14 (42 games) in its first conference series in Jacksonville since 2010. The Gamecocks have posted sweeps in six-of-those-10 series wins. The Gamecocks have won four-of-the-last-five home opening conference series. Last season, Jax State was swept by Western Kentucky in its first Conference USA series on the turf at The Jim.

•             The Gamecocks begin the week as the one of the NCAA Division I Baseball leaders in triples. In the first 24 games, State has collected 13 triples (all at home) and ranks third behind Arizona (16) and Tartleton State (15). Senior Drew Collins, redshirt sophomore Cooper Blauser and junior Caleb Johnson have three triples each.

•             Junior Carson Hornung extended his on-base streak to 17 games last weekend at FIU. Hornung has reached base via a walk 25 times, which leads CUSA entering the week. Dating back to the last 20 games of the 2024 season and the 21 games in 2025, Drew Collins has reached base in 40-of-the-last-44 games. Individually, a pair of Gamecocks had double-digit hitting streaks snapped in the SEMO series. redshirt sophomore Cooper Blauser had an 18-game hitting streak snapped, while junior Colton Hegwood's 17-game hitting streak came to an end during the series. Blauser and Hegwood have hit safely in five straight games.

•             Jax State's pitching staff enters the weekend with a 5.04 earned run average. In the 21 games against non-Southeastern Conference teams (No. 12 Alabama & No. 18 Ole Miss), the staff ERA is 3.39. The starting pitchers have an ERA o5 2.66 in those 21 games.