JACKSONVILLE — The Jax State Gamecocks take to the road for the third Conference USA series of the season, taking on the LA Tech Bulldogs in Ruston, Louisiana. The series kicks off on Friday night a 6:00 p.m. from J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
The Gamecocks roll into the series with a 21-5 overall record and a 6-0 mark in CUSA play. The Gamecocks are the only remaining undefeated team in the CUSA. Last weekend, the Gamecocks swept Western Kentucky and outscored the Hilltoppers 26-5 over the weekend to knock off one of the other unbeatens in the league.
LA Tech is 15-11 overall and 4-2 in CUSA play. After starting conference play 3-0 with a home sweep of Delaware, the Bulldogs went to Las Cruces to take on the Aggies of New Mexico State, dropping the series with Saturday and Sunday losses.
The series is tied 4-4 between the two teams, with the first meeting coming in 2024, Jax State's first year in CUSA. Last season, Jax State won four of the five meetings between the two teams, including taking two-of-three at home to win the regular season series, then taking both games in the CUSA tournament from LA Tech to knock the Bulldogs out of the running.
Head Coach Steve Bieser earned his 400 career victory on Friday, March 20, in a 10-3 victory over WKU. After racking up 138 wins at SEMO, Bieser earned 188 victories at Mizzou prior to coming to Jax State, arriving in Jacksonville with 326 total wins. As of March 26, he has earned 76 wins with the Gamecocks for a total of 402 wins.
Jax State has the fifth-most double plays in Division I. The team is tied with California and UAB with 25. The teams ahead of the Gamecocks are Tarleton State (#1, 30), Butler (#2, 29), La Salle, New Orleans, Texas State (#3, 27), ULM, and Vanderbilt (#4, 26).
Jax State has claimed a spot in a national poll, appearing as No. 25 in this week's Perfect Game rankings. The Gamecocks are also receiving votes in other major polls, the USA Today Coaches Poll (15 points, 31st-most) and the National College Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) poll. Jax State is also ranking highly in several mid-major polls, coming in at No. 4 in 6-4-3 Charts Diamond Sports Rankings Mid-Major poll and No. 9 in 11.7's Mid-Major Power Rankings. PEARatings has Jax State at No. 3 in the mid-major NET ratings. 64Analytics actually has the Gamecocks at the highest mark of any ranking at No. 20.
The Gamecocks will trot out the normal trio of southpaws for the weekend rotation, starting with Eli Pillsbury on Friday, Beau Bryans on Saturday, and Steven Cash on Sunday. LA Tech has only announced starters for the first two days of the series, with right-hander Declan Dahl getting the nod on Friday night and left-hander Hudson Rowan getting the start on Saturday. Sunday's starter is listed as TBD.
This weekend's series will be streamed on ESPN+, and through radio. Mike Parris will have the call from J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park, better known as The Love Shack.
