JACKSONVILLE — The Gamecocks welcome the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders to Jim Case Stadium for a three-game series beginning this Thursday, with the first pitch set for 6 p.m.
The two clubs are both looking to recover from their midweek contests with Southern Indiana beating MTSU 7-2, and No. 16 Alabama beating the Gamecocks 4-3 in a hard-fought battle. Jax State is looking to continue to add to their 13-4 home turf record and 9-0 CUSA start.
The Gamecocks as a team hold a 3.64 ERA, ranked 17th in the NCAA and leads all of CUSA, led by NC State transfer Eli Pillsbury, who boasts a 0.91 ERA and sits fifth in the NCAA rankings. Offensively for Jax State, Grayson Ashe is batting .298 and is riding a 7-game hitting streak and leads the team in home runs (six) and RBI's (31, leads CUSA). The standout redshirt freshman Jaxon Pate leads CUSA batting .387 and leads Jax State in hits with 36.
The aforementioned Pillsbury and Ashe have taken home some personal accolades in recent days. Pillsbury was named Midsesaon All-America by D1Baseball (2nd Team) and Perfect Game (3rd Team), while Grayson Ashe was named to the Buster Posey Award Midseason Watchlist.
Jax State has the fourth-most double plays in Division I. The team is tied with Gardner-Webb, Nicholls, TCU, UAB, and UConn with 28. The team with the next-highest amount in Conference USA is LA Tech with 24. The Gamecocks are also second in the NCAA for sacrifice flies with 23.
The Blue Raiders have won the past four of their last five, backed by CUSA Player of the Week Layne Akers who tallied 12 RBI in his past six games and holds a .297 average at the plate. Brett Rodgers leads them offensively holding a batting average of .377, which is ranked second in CUSA behind Jax State's Pate.
Following Thursday's contest, the Gamecocks finish out the series vs. MTSU Friday and Saturday with first pitches being set for 6 p.m. and 1 p.m. before heading to Auburn to face the No. 18 team in the nation.
Jax State will return its familar lineup of southpaws, with Pillsbury taking the mound on Thursday night, followed by Beau Bryans on Friday night and Steven Cash on Saturday. The Blue Raiders have announced two-thirds of their rotation, with lefty Chandler Alderman opening things up on Thursday before turning to right-hander Drew Horn on Friday. The Blue Raiders have currently listed TBA for Saturday.
This weekend's series will be streamed on ESPN+ with coverage by Eli Gold and Jim Case, while Mike Parris will have the radio call all weekend on the Gamecock Sports Network. Tickets are still available at JaxStateSports.com/Tickets and fans 18 years and younger are admitted free.
