GAME ONE STATS  |  GAME TWO STATS

RICHMOND, Ky. – The Jacksonville State softball team slugged its way to a doubleheader sweep at Eastern Kentucky in the Gamecocks' Ohio Valley Conference opener on Saturday.

Senior Amanda Crow homered twice to lead the Gamecocks (13-6, 2-0 OVC) to a 9-0 mercy-rule win in the first game of the day, and junior Kristin Graham's two home runs in the nightcap lifted JSU to a 6-2 win over the Colonels (13-8, 0-2 OVC). The offensive output paired well with a JSU pitching staff that limited EKU to just one earned run on six hits over the two games.

The Gamecocks have now won 10 in a row over the Colonels and improve to 19-5 in the all-time series, while the win is the 599th in 18th-year head coach Jana McGinnis' career.

Freshman Tiffany Harbin (8-4) paced the Gamecocks in the circle, earning both wins. The Hazel, Green, Ala., native tossed a two-hit shutout in the opener before picking up the win in the finale after three innings of relief work. On the afternoon, she struck out seven batters in eight frames, while allowing just one run on four hits.

Freshman Hayden Crawford had a big day at the plate with four hits in seven at bats, including a 3-for-3 first game that saw the Sparkman, Ala., native belt her first career home run, and score three runs. She and JSU rattled off 10 hits in the five-inning win, with Crawford and Amanda Crow driving in three apiece.

In that first game, the Colonels opened a door in the first inning and JSU took advantage. Despite just one JSU hit in the inning, a walk and a pair of costly EKU errors gave the Gamecocks an early 3-0 lead that they would only add to. Following a leadoff double from junior Tess Echols, Crawford pushed the lead to 5-0 in the second with her blast. With two outs, she swung at the first pitch and deposited it over the wall done the line in left.

Crow led off the third with a solo homer that gave JSU a 6-0 advantage and then capped the scoring in the fourth with a two-run homer down the left field line.

Harbin was in control in the circle, allowing just two baserunners past first and one past second to pick up the win. Noelani Esperas (5-1) was tagged with her first loss of the year after allowing six runs, three earned, on six hits in three innings. Stacye Toups pitched the last two frames and surrendered three runs on four hits.

In the second game of the day, it took a little longer for the Gamecocks' bats to wake up. They left seven runners on base over the first four innings, including the bases loaded in the third, and headed into the fifth trailing, 1-0. Four Gamecock errors put their backs against the wall, but the bats bailed them out with six runs over the final three innings.

Graham got things going in the fifth with a one-out solo home run that tied the game at 1-1, setting up a two-run shot by sophomore Kelci Johnston in the sixth that put JSU up for good.

The Colonels would add one in the sixth, but Graham put the game away in the top of the seventh with a three run blast down the left field line. The home run was her sixth of the season and her fourth in the last four games.

Freshman Savanna Hennings allowed an unearned run in 2.1 innings in the circle for JSU before giving way to Harbin, who tossed the next three innings. She allowed one run, the JSU pitching staff's first earned run allowed in 29.2 innings, and struck out three to pick up her second win of the day. Senior Ashley Eliasson entered the game in the sixth and recorded the final five outs, three by strikeout, to pick up her first save of the season.

Kristin Perry (3-4) suffered the loss for EKU after giving up six runs on 13 hits in seven innings. She walked four and struck out nine in the losing effort.

Diane Gallagher and Sheyenne Hussey each recorded on hit in each game to lead EKU at the plate.

The two teams will wrap up the three-game series on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT.