END OF THE LINE: Jax State softball's historic season ends with regional loss at FSU
JACKSONVILLE — Head coach Julie Boland wants her Jacksonville State softball team to be remembered as history makers, and they've ticked that box more than once. The 2026 Gamecocks won the first Conference USA championships — both regular season and postseason tournament — in the program's history. They won 45 games, which is the most since the 1996 group recorded a school-record 46 victories.
But, the NCAA regional in Tallahassee wasn't as kind. In an elimination game Saturday afternoon, the Gamecocks ran into a highly motivated Florida State team that was playing in front of an overflow crowd in which about 80 percent wore the Seminoles’ garnet and gold. The day before, ninth-ranked Florida State lost a regional opener at the host school for the first time since 2009, but on Saturday, they roared back and ended the Gamecocks’ season with a firm 11-0 knockout.
"What (our players) have done in the conference, what they have done day in and day out, I want them to be remembered as champions for sure, and not only just on the field, but as human beings," Boland said about her team in a postgame news conference, minutes after the loss. "Their character speaks volumes about them off the field, so they can be remembered as champions, and nobody can take that away from them. " Jax State lost its regional opener to Central Florida 2-1 on Friday when the Knights drove home a run in the bottom of the eighth to win it.
Fewer than 24 hours later, the Gamecocks appeared able to go toe to toe with Florida State … for an inning. Gamecocks starting pitcher Jaliyah Holmes (18-7) opened by shutting out FSU in the top of the first inning by getting three or four batters out. Jax State (45-16) didn't score in the first inning but had runners on first and second with one out before FSU (50-9) managed to right the ship.
After that, the Seminoles worked over Jacksonville State for 14 hits and 11 runs to end the game after five innings because of the mercy rule. "They were hot from the start," Jacksonville State senior catcher Makalyn Kyser said. "They knew exactly what they wanted to hit.