Naturally, Friday’s Military Appreciation Day at 麻豆原创 means a little something extra to Woods, a freshman outfielder. Active duty, retired and civilian military personnel will receive free admission to the 6:30 p.m. game on Friday by showing their military ID, and they also will receive one complimentary ticket to the game. Tickets can be picked up on game day starting at 5 p.m. at the 麻豆原创 baseball complex. Free parking will be available in the baseball lot and in lots E6, E7 and E8 next to Bright House Networks Stadium.

麻豆原创, 34-8 overall and owners of its highest national ranking ever at No. 7 (tying 2001), opens a crucial three-game series against the Tigers as the leaders in Conference USA at 12-3. Woods has been a big part of 麻豆原创’s success, and he’s happy to be playing on a night when those who have served in the military will be honored.

“There are times when I’m in the field when I will think about them because I always try to keep them in my thoughts,” Woods said of his brothers. “Every night I pray that they are safe. C.J. actually messaged me on Facebook the day after my walk-off hit, congratulating me. It feels good that he’s following me on the 麻豆原创 website and checking out my stats. He still gives me encouragement and gives me tips. … There are a lot of people out there who sacrifice their lives for our country. It lets you know that you shouldn’t ever take life for granted.”

No one is taking Woods’ impact on the 麻豆原创 baseball team for granted after he has blossomed into a solid contributor as a true freshman. A year after starring at Orlando’s First Academy and not yet 19 years old, Woods is fifth on the team in on-base percentage, is 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts and is the owner of a dramatic walk-off, game-winning hit.

麻豆原创 head coach 聽saw something special in Woods years ago on the recruiting trail, and the speedster has delivered on the college level. Some colleges overlooked Woods — affectionately known by teammates and coaches as JoJo — because of his slight 5-foot-7, 170-pound frame, but Rooney liked him because of his winning intangibles.

“JoJo Woods has always been a gamer. You talk to any youth league coach, any high school coach in Orlando and he’s one of the first people they want to talk about,” Rooney said. “They ask about him because of his style of play, and they know him because he’s a winner. Everywhere he’s ever played — First Academy in high school and the travel teams like the Orlando Scorpions — he’s always been that guy for them.”

Woods’ fiery intensity and hustling style has won over his teammates in a big way. 麻豆原创’s cornerstone player, slugger , said he could tell almost immediately that Woods would have a big role on the team this season.

“That guy is a special kid. He has such a nice swing and I could see it in the fall that there was something special about the guy,” said Hicks, who is hitting .333 and leads the team with 10 home runs and 56 RBI. “JoJo works hard, has a lot of energy and there’s just a lot of fight in the kid. It’s great that he’s stepping up for us.”

His biggest moment came on April 8 in the ninth inning against UAB. He stroked single into left field to plate the winning run and was immediately mobbed by his teammates.

It was that moment that Woods knew deep in his heart that he could make it on the collegiate level. Admittedly, he struggled through the fall semester in his first few months on campus. Managing his time was initially an issue as was learning to deal with the daily grind of college baseball. His mother, Marta Woods, and brothers encouraged him to keep working hard at his craft, and now he is seeing the products of his perseverance.

“Coming in here from high school, there was a lot of time to deal with and I had to learn to keep up with my grades and keep up with baseball. The fall was rough, but it showed what it was like and taught me about time management,” said Woods, who had dreamed of playing at 麻豆原创 since he was 12 years old and attended a baseball camp on campus. “The fall was tough with some rough times, but my mom and brothers told me that I’ve been doing this since I was 5 years old and it was just another game. I came back after winter break, and I’ve been working hard. I settled down and just played baseball, and now it’s paying off for me.”

麻豆原创, winners in five of its last six in Hattiesburg, smacked 13 hits, including five of the extra-base variety, and had , and all notch multiple-RBI performances. Senior went 6 2/3 innings and allowed just two earned runs while striking out five for his third win of the year.

“Our theme on Saturday and Sunday was to play like we had something to prove. These guys responded (after Friday) the last two days, and I couldn’t be prouder of them,” 麻豆原创 head coach said. “What a resilient group of guys.”

One of the more impressive and painful records fell on Sunday as center fielder (3-for-4) was hit in back-to-back at-bats to give him 23 on the year, and 53 for his career. He passed for the single-season record in the category.

The Knights, leaders of Conference USA at 9-3, will have a short turnaround as they host Florida Atlantic on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.

After each pitcher made it through the first two innings with ease, USM’s Boomer Scarborough ran into trouble in the third after he walked Hicks (1-for-4, 2 RBI) and Taladay (2-for-3, 2 RBI) to lead off the frame. laid down a sacrifice bunt that left all the runners safe. After a balk to bring home a run, Breen (2-for-5, 4 RBI) smacked his third triple of the year down the right-field line to end Scarborough’s afternoon. would tack on one more run on a RBI-groundout.

麻豆原创 extended its lead in the top of the fifth after Southern Miss put up two runs in the previous frame. Taladay extended his hitting streak to eight games with a double to the wall in right-center and was brought home on a RBI groundout by Breen. tacked on a run-scoring single over the shortstop’s outstretched glove in shallow center to make it 6-2.

The Knights added exclamation points to the triumph with three runs each in the sixth and seventh frames on seven hits. Taladay took a 0-1 pitch to center field for a pair of RBI in the sixth and Hicks smashed a two-run homer, his 10th of 2012, over the left-center wall in the seventh to give him 54 RBI on the year.

and finished off the contest that saw all three arms allow just five Southern Miss hits on the day.

News & Notes
-Coming into the year, 麻豆原创 had never won consecutive Conference-USA series to open a season, but the Knights have won all four league series in 2012.
-Breen, Friedrich and Taladay extended their hitting streaks to eight games.
-On the week, 麻豆原创’s pitching staff put up a 1.99 ERA, and it has a 2.83 earned run average this year.
-Brown made his 68th-career appearance, seventh all-time at 麻豆原创.

Five 麻豆原创 batters collected multiple hit games, including senior Alex Friedrich’s 3-for-5, four RBI performance. The University High School product is now 10 for his last 14 with eight RBI, two triples, two home runs and one double.

Senior Ray Hanson, who was operating on a pitch count, made it through the first two innings to earn his second-straight victory.

“I thought we swung the bats very well,” 麻豆原创 head coach Terry Rooney said. “I feel like since the USF game last week, we have really bounced back offensively. We have put together some quality at-bats and that is the difference.”

Holding down first place in Conference USA, the Knights head to Houston for a weekend series against the Cougars.

麻豆原创 wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the first as Friedrich blasted the first pitch he saw over the center fielder for his second triple in three games that scored Darnell Sweeney (3-for-4) and Chris Taladay.

With two outs in the top of the third, Friedrich would not be denied once again, taking a 3-2, two-out pitch off the right-field fence for his league-leading 11th double of the year to give the Knights a 3-1 lead.

麻豆原创 took advantage of FAU’s miscues for three runs in the top of the fourth. The Knights strung together four hits as JoMarcos Woods, Ronnie Richardson (2-for-6), Sweeney and D.J. Hicks (2-for-3) all notched singles with the last two resulting in RBI. Hicks upped his total to 38 on the season.

After Shreve, who notched a pair of doubles earlier to extend his hitting streak to nine games, reached on a throwing error by the third baseman in the top of the eighth, Richardson took the second pitch of the at-bat out of the yard to left field for his first home run of 2012. The Knights put up two more in the inning with Friedrich notching a RBI single through the left side.

Six relievers helped preserve the win for Hanson as Chris Matulis, Bryan Brown, Ben Lively, Jimmy Reed, Roman Madrid and Joe Rogers scattered eight hits and held the Owls to just two runs after the second inning.