JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Following a tough four-game stretch last week that included contests against No. 6 Alabama and a weekend series against FIU, Jax State softball gets to return home to face off against the Alabama State Hornets on Tuesday night at 5 p.m.
The Gamecocks (26-10, 11-1 CUSA) have now secured a first-place spot in Conference USA after sweeping FIU on the road this past weekend, outscoring the Panthers 19-8 across the three-game span. Jax State currently holds a two-game lead over Sam Houston and Liberty in the conference standings.
Head coach
Julie Boland's squad has been on a hot streak, winning 11 of its last 13 games, including three consecutive sweeps over conference foes (FIU, LA Tech and Western Kentucky), while holding its opponents to two runs or less in eight of those victories.
Jax State had a very successful weekend at the plate this past weekend, picking up 27 hits across three games against the Panthers, while picking up 12 hits in the final game of the series, which is the team's highest hit tally in conference play this season. Throughout the entirety of last week, the Gamecocks hit a total of four home runs across four games, including
Emma Elrod's solo homer against No. 6 Alabama last Wednesday.
A large part of the team's success against the Panthers was the duo of
Amber Reed and
Aria Davis at the plate. Reed batted 5-for-10 over the weekend, with three RBIs, two runs scored and a walk to bring her hit streak to eight games and her reached base streak to 13 games. Davis batted 4-for-10 across the series, with a pair of home runs in back-to-back matchups.
Jax State's top three hitters in the lineup are all batting over .340 this season, including
Morgan Nowakowski (.360), Elrod (.356) and
Kailey Martin (.342). The trio have combined to hit 31 of the team's conference-leading 72 doubles this season and each hitter boasts a slugging percentage higher than .515.
In the circle, the Gamecocks' pitching staff is led by last week's CUSA Pitcher of the Week,
Makenna Moore. The freshman arm holds a team-leading 2.68 ERA this season with nine wins in 14 starts, and picked up the first save of her collegiate career on Saturday against FIU. Alongside Moore is the second half of Jax State's one-two punch,
Jaliyah Holmes. Holmes also has nine wins this season, and holds teams to a .242 batting average against her, which ranks No. 10 in the conference.
Alabama State comes in to Tuesday's contest with a 13-24 overall record, but is coming off a series sweep against Alabama A&M this past weekend after outscoring the Bulldogs 38-8 across the three-game stretch. The Gamecocks are looking to take advantage of the Hornets' 6-9 away record, while Boland's squad boasts a 12-1 record at Jana McGinnis Field. The Hornets are led by sophomore Talee Sims, who bats .408 at the plate so far this season and leads the team in hits (40), RBIs (31), runs scored (26) and on-base percentage (.461).
Following the midweek matchup against Alabama State, the Gamecocks will remain at home for Easter weekend, beginning its conference series against New Mexico State on Thursday night at 6 p.m.
