DBU (21-11, 5-4 CUSA) at JACKSONVILLE STATE (21-12, 5-4 CUSA)
April 11-13 | Jacksonville, AL | Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium 

GAME NOTES (PDF)

GAME COVERAGE
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Audio: Patriot Broadcasting Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
X: @DBU_Baseball
Instagram: @dbu_baseball
Facebook: DBU Baseball

PROBABLE STARTERS

DBU: 

Friday: RHP Micah Bucknam (4-1, 4.08 ERA, 46.1 IP, 61 SO, 17 BB)

Saturday: RHP James Ellwanger (1-1, 4.56 ERA, 25.2 IP, 37 SO, 17 BB)

Sunday: RHP Ryan Borberg (2-4, 4.86 ERA, 33.1 IP, 33 SO, 10 BB)

JACKSONVILLE STATE: 

Friday: RHP Jackson Phipps (2-1, 2.92 ERA, 37.0 IP, 40 SO, 23 BB)

Saturday: LHP Steven Cash (3-1, 4.22 ERA, 42.2 IP, 30 SO, 16 BB)

Sunday: RHP James Wilson (2-0, 2.42 ERA, 26.0 IP, 27 SO, 17 BB)

SERIES HISTORY

- DBU holds a 4-2 advantage over Jacksonville State in the all-time series. 

- The Patriots took 2-of-3 from the Gamecocks in last year's series in Dallas.

- This weekend marks the first time the two programs will meet in Jacksonville, Alabama.

PATRIOT STORYLINES

- Climbing the RPI: DBU continues to strengthen its postseason resume, jumping to No. 31 in the latest RPI rankings released by D1Baseball.

- Series Dominance: The Patriots have won seven of their eight weekend series this year. DBU's lone series loss came to WKU last weekend at home.

- Power #s: DBU ranks 13th nationally in home runs (58) and 14th in slugging percentage (.544).

- Run Scoring Machine: The Patriots lead Conference USA in scoring, averaging 8.8 runs per game.

- Home Run King: Junior catcher Grant Jay set the DBU career home run record with a three-homer game vs. UTA on April 1. He hit his 54th career home run on Tuesday at Oklahoma.

Golden Spikes Watch: Jay is also one of 45 players recently named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List.

- 30-40 Club: Senior center fielder Nathan Humphreys is the first Patriot with 30 career home runs and 40 career stolen bases. He enters this weekend's series nine hits shy of 200 for his career.

- Run Producer: Chayton Krauss continues to drive in runs at an elite pace, leading C-USA and ranking 26th nationally with 44 RBI. He's aiming to lead DBU in RBI for the second straight season.

- Bullpen Lockdown: Patriot relievers Avery Duncan, Mason Peters, Tyler Schott, & Zach Todd have combined for 19.2 scoreless innings over their last 17 outings

- Friday Night Ace: LSU transfer Micah Bucknam has been the Patriots' Friday night starter since Opening Day and has anchored the rotation with 61 strikeouts - 20th-most in the country.

- Web Gems: DBU ranks No. 21 in the nation in fielding percentage (.979). Last year's team set the school record with a .982 fielding percentage.    

SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE

- The Gamecocks hold a 21-12 overall record nearly two months into the 2025 season. 

- Jacksonville State sits at 5-4 in CUSA play following a 2-1 series victory over Kennesaw State last weekend. The Gamecocks won Friday night before falling Saturday in extra innings after trailing by three. Sunday afternoon, Jax State jumped to an early 6-0 lead and later held on to win 8-6, taking the series. 

- The Gamecock pitching staff currently holds a team ERA of 5.07.

- The back end of the JSU bullpen is manned by committee. Six different pitchers have notched a save for the Gamecocks, with Jackson Sleeper and Joe Scarborough leading the rest with two each.

- While the Jax State lineup doesn't feature a qualified hitter who holds an OPS over 1.000, they have two with clips over .900: Carson Hornung (.9r6), and Cooper Blauser (.926).

- The Gamecocks have only swatted 20 total home runs through 33 games. Ace Williamson leads the group with four big flies.

- JSU is incredibly active and efficient in the stolen base department, with 91 steal attempts in 33 games (2.76). They currently rock a team-wide 84.6% success rate on steals. Blauser leads the team with 18 attempts (16-18), followed closely by Drew Collins and Caleb Johnson who are both 14-17.

ON DECK
The Patriots make the quick journey to Fort Worth on Tuesday to conclude the season series with TCU (25-9, 8-4 BIG 12) following this weekend's series with JSU. The Patriots fell to the Horned Frogs by a three-run margin on March 18th at Horner Ballpark.