Jacksonville State University
Kennesaw State
Gamecocks Host Kennesaw State in Final Home Series
5/7/2026 5:04:00 PM | Baseball
JACKSONVILLE – Jax State baseball will welcome the Kennesaw State Owls for the final home series of the season at Jim Case Stadium. The series will begin Friday with first pitch set for 6 p.m.
After securing the series last weekend at Missouri State 2-1, the Gamecocks have risen to 24th in both the Baseball America and NCBWA polls, while Jax State also received 58 votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll (most votes received that is not in the top 25).
The Gamecocks took games two (10-2) and three (11-4) at Missouri State handing the Bears only their second and third home losses of the season. Kennesaw State hosted Georgia State for their midweek battle, where the topped the Panthers 10-9 in 11 innings, while Jax State has had a full week of rest.
Offensively for Jax State, they are led by Jaxon Pate, who boasts a .373 batting average which is third in CUSA. Pate leads the team in on-base percentage at .483, which is second in CUSA. The Junior transfer from Georgia, Trey King has also made a name for himself batting .347 eighth in the conference. Both King and Pate are each currently on an eleven-game hitting streak dating back to 4/14 against Alabama A&M.
The Gamecocks also rank third in Division I baseball in hits allowed per nine innings (7.07), only behind Southern California and Oregon. Also in Division I baseball, Jax State is tied for 12th in double plays (43), tied for fourth in shutouts (6), fourth in sac-bunts (53), and 14th in strikeouts per nine-innings (10.7).
Kennesaw State is led by Cooper Williams offensively, who is batting at a .326 clip with nine doubles, a triple, and seven homers. Jackson Chirello, the CUSA Hitter of the Week, is batting .325 with 14 doubles, a triple, and 12 homers.
Both teams have announced their starting pitching rotations. The Gamecocks will send out the trio of lefties with Eli Pillsbury set for Friday; Beau Bryans set for Saturday, and Steven Cash set for Sunday. Kennesaw State has announced right-hander Nolan Sliver will start Friday night with righty Harry Cain starting on Saturday night. The Owls have not announced a starter for Sunday.
Sunday will be Jax State's senior day, with the senior recognition beginning at 12:20 p.m.
All games this weekend will be broadcast on ESPN+ with coverage by Eli Gold and Jim Case. While Mike Parris will have the call on the Gamecock Sports Network all weekend via radio. As always, you can follow live stats and Jax State Baseball on Twitter/X (@JaxStateBB) for updates.
| FRIDAY (6 PM) | SATURDAY (6 PM) | SUNDAY (1 PM) | |
| JAX ST | LHP Eli Pillsbury (6-1, 3.05 ERA) | LHP Beau Bryans (6-0, 2.54 ERA) | LHP Steven Cash (6-2, 2.87 ERA) |
| KSU | RHP Nolan Sliver (0-0, 5.33 ERA) | RHP Harry Cain (3-3, 4.36 ERA) | TBA |
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