HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Jacksonville State head coach Steve Bieser believes his team is a No. 2 seed, and the Gamecocks certainly played like one Friday night.
Third-seeded Jax State opened play in the Hattiesburg Regional at Pete Taylor Park with a commanding 15-7 victory over second-seeded Virginia.
When the NCAA Tournament bracket was unveiled Monday, many believed Jax State — which entered the postseason with 46 wins and an RPI of 25 — had done enough to earn a No. 2 seed. Instead, the Gamecocks landed on the No. 3 line.
Jax State didn’t express frustration with the decision.
“We didn’t want to make a big deal out of that. We don’t need a whole lot of motivation from the outside,” Bieser said. “We knew from the get-go, nobody expected Jax State would be sitting here, but this group knew it. These guys knew that, and that’s where they really created their bond.”
The Gamecocks, instead, let their bats do the talking.
Junior second baseman Cooper Blauser set the tone with a two-run homer to center field in the second inning, and senior shortstop Caleb Johnson put the finishing touches on the victory with a two-run shot to left field in the ninth.
Between those blasts, the Gamecocks leaned on the pressure-driven style that has fueled their success all season.
That was never more evident than in the third inning, when three Jax State bunts produced two runs. In the fifth, the Gamecocks turned to a different kind of pressure. Johnson opened with an infield single, stole second, and later combined with Trey King on a double steal, sparking a five-run inning.
“That’s how we play. We want to put a lot of pressure on opposing teams,” Bieser said. “It rattles pitching whenever they have to bounce off the mound and field bunts, and it rattles pitchers when they know we’re looking to steal a base with every single guy on the roster.”
Jax State finished the game with 17 hits, with every player in the starting lineup recording at least one.
Beau Bryans started on the mound for the Gamecocks, and the senior left-hander held Virginia scoreless for the first four innings. By the time the Cavaliers got to Bryans, Jax State already held a commanding 9-0 lead.
Johnson led the Gamecocks at the plate, going 3-for-6 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Brady Thomas went 3-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and one run scored.
Jaxon Pate, Sam Richardson, Matthew Cash and King each finished with two hits and two runs scored. Cash added two RBIs, while Pate and King drove in one apiece.
Trey Majette delivered an RBI triple, and Grayson Ashe drove in two runs.
The victory capped an already exciting day for Jax State fans, following Little Rock’s upset of Southern Miss, the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Instead of facing the top-seeded Golden Eagles on Saturday, the Gamecocks (47-13) will meet the fourth-seeded Trojans (37-26) at 8 p.m. Southern Miss (44-16) will take on Virginia (36-22) in an elimination game at 1 p.m.
Even with Friday’s favorable results, Bieser dismissed the notion that Jax State now holds the upper hand in the Hattiesburg Regional.
“The last thing you can do in postseason play is start to get complacent and start to feel like you’re in a good spot,” Bieser said. “The only way you’re in a good spot is you go out and you perform, and you make sure that you’re ready to play, and that’s what our group will be.”