Jax State Travels to No. 17 Ole Miss For First Road Series

Friday, March 7

Oxford, Miss

6:30 PM

Jacksonville State University

Ole Miss

3/6/2025 4:30:00 PM | Baseball

JACKSONVILLE -  For the first time this season, Jacksonville State will play outside the state of Alabama as it crosses the state line for a weekend series in Oxford, Mississippi to face No. 17 Ole Miss.

The series gets underway at Swayze Field on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The series continues on Saturday and Sunday with first pitch at 1:30 p.m. both days.

The Rebels have risen into the national polls with 10 consecutive wins entering the final weekend before Southeastern Conference play begins next weekend. Jax State is playing the second of three consecutive ranked opponents after falling to No. 23 Alabama on Tuesday and will likely face a ranked Troy club next Tuesday in Jacksonville.

SERIES INFO
Friday, March 7 (6:30 p.m.)

Probable Starters
Jax State: Jackson Phipps (1-0, 0.63 ERA), LHP, Jr.
Ole Miss: Hunter Elliott (3-0, 0.00 ERA), LHP, R-Sr.

Live Video: SECN+
Live Audio: O le Miss Audio
Live Stats: JaxStateSports.com

Saturday, March 8 (1:30 p.m.)

Probable Starters
Jax State: Karson Bonaparte (1-1, 2.19 ERA), RHP, Jr.
Ole Miss: Riley Maddox (2-1, 4.05 ERA), RHP, Sr.

Live Video: SECN+
Live Audio: O le Miss Audio
Live Stats: JaxStateSports.com

Sunday, March 9 (1:30 p.m.)

Probable Starters
Jax State: Steven Cash (1-0, 4.50 ERA), LHP, Jr.
Ole Miss: Mason Morris (1-0, 1.04 ERA), RHP, Jr.

Live Video: SECN+
Live Audio: O le Miss Audio
Live Stats: JaxStateSports.com

GAMECOCK STORY LINES
•   Jax State and Ole Miss are no strangers to each other as the two programs have played seven previous times dating back to the 2002 season with the Rebels winning six-of-the-previous meetings. Jax State's lone win over Ole Miss was during the 2023 season on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. The Gamecocks knocked off the No. 2 ranked Rebels, 10-6 (March 14). The weekend series is just the second three-game set between Jax State and Ole Miss. The Gamecocks visited Oxford for a weekend series during the 2002 season. The last two NCAA Regional appearances for the Gamecocks were in 2014 and 2019 and they were sent to the Oxford Regional both times. Jax State and Ole Miss have played three times in the postseason. The Rebels claimed the opening game of the 2014 NCAA Oxford Regional and the 2019 opening round contest. The Gamecocks battled back through the elimination bracket to reach the 2019 NCAA Oxford Regional final against the Rebels.
•   The Gamecocks enter the weekend as the NCAA Division I Baseball leader in triples. In the first 13 games, Jax State has collected 11 triples and leads UC Irvine (9) by two entering the weekend. Jax State has six different players with a triple this season, including four players with multiple triples. Senior Drew Collins leads the nation with three triples, followed by a pair each by juniors Colton Hegwood and Caleb Johnson.
•   Three Gamecocks have double digit on-base streaks heading into the weekend action. Redshirt freshman Cooper Blauser is riding a 13-game on-base streak, followed by senior Drew Collins and junior Colton Hegwood, who both have reached base safely in 12 straight games. Hegwood begins the week with a 12-game hitting streak. He has posted a hit in all 12 games that he has played in, including seven games with multiple hits. He has an on-base percentage of .509. Hegwood had two doubles on Tuesday against Alabama and four hits combined in the two games against the Crimson Tide.
•   Jax State's roster revamp from 2024 features five players from the Magnolia State and a sixth player with ties to the Mississippi JUCO system. Brady Thomas (7), Colton Hegwood (9), Brice Deaton (32), Joe Scarborough (44) Connor Brooks (45) are from the state of Mississippi. Thomas, Hegwood and Brooks are from Brandon and played two seasons at Jones College in Ellisville. Deaton will be in the shadows this weekend of his home town of Pontotoc. He was also a Bobcat at JC. Scarborough, from Pascagoula, spent two seasons at East Mississippi Community College. Junior Brody Swindle crossed the state line from Fairhope, Alabama to Perkinston, Mississippi to play two season at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.