FINAL STATS

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State softball team scored two runs in the top of the eighth to break a tie and pull off a 5-3 win at Tennessee State in Ohio Valley Conference action on Friday evening.

Junior Nikki Prier and senior Courtney Underwood each drove in a pair of runs to pace the win. Prier, a native of Raleigh, N.C., and Underwood, a Huntsville native, each had two hits to account for over half of the offensive production for the Gamecocks (16-8, 3-0 OVC), who have now won 14 consecutive games against OVC foes and six in a row against the Tigers (10-12, 2-2 OVC).

The Gamecocks built a 3-0 lead by the third inning, but Tennessee State stormed back to put two on the board in the third and another in the fourth to tie the game and eventually send it to extra innings.

Prier recorded her second double of the game in the eighth to drive in junior Mary Beth Ledbetter, who was hit by a pitch to leadoff the inning. Prier advanced to third on an Underwood single and scored the final run on a sacrifice fly from freshman Meredith Sellers.

Senior Karla Pittman continued her impressive work in the circle, pitching three innings of one-hit softball to earn the win for JSU. The North Canton, Ohio, native came on to relieve sophomore Ashley Eliasson, who started the game and surrendered three runs, one earned, on four hits in five innings of work. Eliasson struck out six batters and Pittman fanned two.

Jax State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run double from Underwood and pushed the lead to 3-0 in the third on Prier's first double of the day.

TSU cut the Gamecocks' lead to 3-2 in the home half of the third on a two-run double from Bridget Metzger, and tied in the fourth on a leadoff home run off of the bat of Caitlin Eaton.

Eaton led the Tigers' offensive attack by going 2-for-3 at the plate. She also went the distance in the circle for TSU, allowing five runs on seven hits in eight innings. She struck out eight batters and walked three.

The two teams will wrap up a three-game series on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT, when they play a doubleheader at Tiger Field.