BOX SCORE

JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State softball team got its third mercy-rule win of the weekend on Sunday, when the Gamecocks handed Southeast Missouri an 11-1 defeat in Ohio Valley Conference action at University Field.

The Gamecocks (24-9, 9-1 OVC) scored seven runs in the first inning and never looked back en route to sweeping the Redhawks (12-15, 3-6 OVC) in the three-game series. JSU outscored SEMO 32-2 over the weekend, setting a school record for runs scored in a series. The Gamecocks won all three games via the mercy rule.

Junior Mary Beth Ledbetter got the JSU offense started on Sunday with a first-inning grand slam, the first of two Jax State home runs on the day. Senior Kayla Collins belted a pinch-hit three-run homer in the fourth to cap a weekend that saw the Gamecocks hit eight balls over the wall.

Sophomore Ashley Eliasson (10-4) recorded another solid outing for the Gamecocks in the circle to earn her second win of the weekend. The Vallejo, Calif., native held SEMO to an unearned run on four hits in five innings of work after throwing a one-hitter in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.

On the weekend, Eliasson and the Gamecocks' pitching staff held the Redhawks to just one earned run on a .148 batting average, while the Jax State offense hit a collective .413 over the series. To go along with their eight home runs, the Gamecocks also recorded four doubles, a triple and 30 RBI.

Ledbetter's second home run of the year was part of the big first inning that was sparked by a two-run single by freshman Meredith Sellers. Junior Nikki Prier, who ended the weekend by going 7-for-9 with two homers and six RBI at the plate, singled to drive in junior Hillary Downs to cap the inning.

Senior Allie Barker's RBI single in the third gave the Gamecocks an 8-0 lead before SEMO finally cracked the scoreboard with an unearned run in the top of the fourth. Collins put JSU up by 10 in the home half of the inning with her three-run blast, and Eliasson closed the door on the Redhawks in the fifth.

Stefanie Barnes (3-4) pitched all four innings for the Redhawks to take the loss. She surrendered all 11 runs, 10 earned, on eight hits and seven walks.

The Gamecocks will be back on the field on Friday at 12 p.m. CT, when they open a three-game series at Eastern Kentucky with a doubleheader in Richmond, Ky. The two will conclude the series on Saturday with a 1 p.m. single game.