Mark Kingston Tabs Eli Jones As Game One Starter In Raleigh Regional

After Eli Jones opened the season as the unquestioned staff ace and took the ball on the first nine series-openers, Mark Kingston moved him to the Saturday spot for the next four series to try to maximize his effectiveness in the middle of a series. He struggled and dropped out of the weekend rotation entirely for the regular season finale at Tennessee, only to return to start game two of the SEC Tournament and pitch again in relief against LSU.

And now for game one of the Raleigh Regional against James Madison, Jones gets the ball for game one.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Jones said. “Obviously as a kid you dream of moments like this, and for us as a team it’s kind of a new start for us in the postseason. At this point for everybody on the team, it’s like this is opening day again. You’ve got to treat it like that. Everybody is 0-0, and we’re all working towards a common goal. It’s great to get this opportunity.”

Kingston had a few different options for his weekend opener. Garrett Gainey, who he called the “best pitcher” on the staff coming out of the Tennessee series, built his pitch count up over 90 by the end of the regular season and was available. Dylan Eskew started two games in Hoover, and Matthew Becker started the clinching game of last season’s regional against Campbell.

But all roads led back to Jones, the man who battled through the NCAA Tournament last year and has been there to answer the call all season.

“I think Eli earned the right because he’s one of our most mature guys,” Kingston said. “He’s been here before, he’s pitched some really big innings in the NCAA Tournament already and he’s been trending in a good direction. And as it relates to how long he’ll go, we’ll just kind of let the game dictate that.”

The 5.32 ERA for Jones can be divided into three segments. The lights out first stretch of the year, where in his first seven starts he posted a 2.45 ERA and allowed just 10 total earned runs. Then there was the slump, six outings with a 10.23 ERA through the back half of conference play. And then the final three performances against Tennessee, Arkansas and LSU, where — albeit in a very limited sample size — he only allowed three earned runs in 5 ⅔ innings.

So which Jones is the real one, and could the uptick in form down the stretch be a sign of light at the end of the tunnel pushing him towards his first half form?

“Much better,” Jones said when asked how he feels about his stuff. “I’ve been working really hard to kind of work out some kinks that have grown on me throughout the course of the year. We think we’ve ironed some of those out. Once again like I said, it’s a brand new season for all of us. Whatever happened in the past is in the past. We’re looking forward to postseason play.”

First pitch against the Dukes is set for 2 p.m. ET Friday, with live coverage on ESPN+. James Madison will counter Jones with junior right-hander Todd Mozoki.

***************************************************************************

Want 2 months free on your Rivals subscription? Refer a friend and they'll get 50% off their first year while you get 2 months free, and the best part? You can do it as many times as you want. Just use your custom referral link on your subscriptions page (linked above).