JSU softball: Because of weather, Gamecocks' opener is moved to their home field
Feb. 8—JACKSONVILLE — Jacksonville State will play its softball home opener a little sooner than expected.
As in, four weeks earlier.
JSU originally was set to open its season Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Mercer Heart of Georgia Classic in Macon, Ga., but the weather forecast for that area this weekend is abysmal. So, a last-minute scramble Wednesday morning has resulted in JSU hosting Buffalo and Army this weekend for an impromptu three-day softball invitational.
"I'm glad to be at home," JSU coach Jana McGinnis said. "I know our girls are happy just to be playing games, because when we heard about the weather and the possibilities, they were anxious because they thought the games would be canceled. We need to play games. It's opening weekend, and everybody's built up to open, and this makes it even better to me that we're staying at home."
For Buffalo and Army, it means that after they land at the Atlanta airport, they'll take buses West to Jacksonville instead of traveling South to Macon. For the Gamecocks, that means they'll stay home for their season opener for the first time since 2007, when they swept Alabama State on opening day.
The Gamecocks don't have to load the bus and travel three hours to Macon. They originally were set to play four straight weekends on the road before playing four games at home March 10, 11 and 12 in the JSU Gamecock Invitational.
"It's definitely exciting," said senior Lauren Hunt, an outfielder from Gadsden. "It's different. The past four years I've been here, we've always opened up somewhere else. It's a good thing that we're opening here at home, and we all will be excited about it. We were excited to travel as a team together, but we're excited to open up here at home."
Each team will play the other two teams twice each. The full schedule:
—Friday: 10 a.m.: Buffalo vs. Army, 12:30 p.m.: Buffalo vs. Jacksonville State, 3 p.m.: Army vs. Jacksonville State
—Saturday: 3 p.m.: Army vs. Buffalo, 5:30 p.m.: Army vs. Jacksonville State
—Sunday: 9 a.m.: Army vs. Buffalo, 11:30 a.m., Buffalo vs. Jacksonville State
Admission for all JSU home softball games this season is free. Martin's Family Clothing has bought all tickets for games at JSU's University Field.
"We're ready to play somebody else," McGinnis said. "Are we at our best? No, but we're ready to start playing games and competing."
McGinnis said she and her staff haven't finalized who'll pitch each games, but she promises that Gamecocks fans should get to see a variety of faces in the circle.
Sophomores Kat Carter (16-11, 3.13 ERA) and Sarah Currie (13-10, 2.96) anchored the staff last season as freshmen and both are back. Two promising freshmen have joined the squad: Jaliyah Holmes from East Coweta High School in Georgia and Jordan Eslinger of Alexander High in Georgia. Also, fifth-year senior Hannah Brown is back after missing last season with a knee injury.
"We've got options for starters," McGinnis said. "That's the exciting thing. I'm eager to see our two freshmen and how they react this weekend, because I think they've got a good career ahead of them."
Hunt said she and her teammates are ready to play. So far, they've looked like a group with good chemistry as 13 of the 20 players were on the roster a year ago.
"We have lots of fun together, but we know how to work together and how to get things done as well, which is a really good thing," Hunt said. "We all respect each other and root for each other, too."
The one issue with hosting the home opener four weeks ahead of schedule is making sure everything about the field is game ready ... such as having the United States flag fly beyond the outfield. At Wednesday's practice, two managers were working to make certain there would be no problem with raising the flag.
After all, with Army coming to play, that's one school you absolutely should make sure the flag is in place.
Senior Editor Mark Edwards: 256-235-3570. On Twitter: @MarkSportsStar.