WKU Baseball will travel to Jacksonville State for its first Conference USA road test this weekend.
The Hilltoppers come into the weekend with a 13-8 record after defeating Belmont 7-2 on Wednesday night at First Horizon Park. The Hilltoppers stayed disciplined at the plate against Belmont, walking eight times and getting hit by pitches twice.
Junior infielder Lane Arroyos extended his on-base streak to 21 with a three-run home run in the three-inning game against Belmont. Arroyos leads the Hilltoppers with a .380 batting average, 30 hits, five home runs and 27 RBI.
On the mound, WKU carries a 5.08 ERA with 196 strikeouts in 188 innings. Graduate Aaron Robertson leads the starters for the Hilltoppers with a 2.37 ERA with 15 strikeouts and zero walks in 19 innings. The left-hander will start game two of the series. In his last outing against FIU, Robertson went three innings, giving up two runs on five hits and striking out one.
Graduate right-hander Gavin Perry will start game one, who holds a 4.91 ERA with 24 strikeouts and 11 walks. Perry pitched game one against FIU, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out seven in 4.2 innings.
Redshirt sophomore left-hander Zach Serup will start game three. Serup carries a 4.40 ERA with 21 strikeouts and five walks. Serup started game three against FIU, where he went four innings, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out five.
Jacksonville State comes into the weekend boasting an 18-4 record. The Gamecocks are coming off a 12-7 victory over Alabama A&M on Wednesday and a 7-6 loss against Samford on Tuesday. However, Jax State is 8-2 in its last 10 games. In their CUSA opener, the Gamecocks swept Sam Houston in three games, outscoring them 25-11.
The Gamecocks are led by redshirt freshman infielder Jaxon Pate in the box. Pate is batting .387 with 15 RBI and 13 walks. In Jax State’s midweek games, Pate went 3-8 with four RBI and three walks.
On the mound, the Gamecocks hold a CUSA low 3.50 ERA led by their three senior left-handers in the starting rotation.
Senior Eli Pillsbury will start game one. Pillsbury carries a 1.01 ERA with 31 strikeouts and five walks in 26.2 innings. The left-hander pitched game one against Sam Housting, going 6.2 innings and giving up one run on four hits and zero walks while striking out six.
Senior Beau Bryans will take the mound in game two. Bryans holds a 3.74 ERA, 29 strikeouts and 15 walks. In his last outing against Sam Houston, he went four innings, giving up four runs on three hits and three walks while striking out five.
Senior Steven Cash will start game three, who holds a 3.04 ERA with 26 strikeouts and six walks. Cash pitched game three against Sam Houston, where he didn’t give up a run on two hits, zero walks, six strikeouts in six innings.
However, in their series against FIU, the Hilltoppers hit .357 against left-handers, which could prove crucial against Jax State’s left-heavy rotation.
The series marks the 15th, 16th, and 17th games against the two teams, with Jax State leading the head-to-head 8-6. Their last meeting was in the form of the 2025 CUSA Final Championship, where the Hilltoppers walked off Jax State in 10 innings. In their series last season in Bowling Green, the Gamecocks took the series 2-1, outscoring WKU 18-16.
The first pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m., with the series continuing on Saturday at 2 p.m. The series will close out Sunday with the first pitch set for 1 p.m. All three games can be streamed on ESPN+.
