GAME ONE FINAL STATS  |  GAME TWO FINAL STATS

JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State softball team slugged its way to a doubleheader sweep of Morehead State on Saturday at University Field, where the Gamecocks claimed a 10-3 win in the opener and a 12-9 win in the nightcap.

Junior Abbey Stepp went 5-for-6 with a double, home run and four RBI, while junior Kaycee Crow drove in five RBI to lead a Gamecocks (18-6, 5-0 Ohio Valley Conference) offense that hit .431 on the day. The 22 runs were the most in a doubleheader by a JSU team since scoring the same amount against the Eagles (9-15, 3-2 OVC) in 2007. At 5-0, JSU is also off to its second-best start in league play since joining the OVC in 2004, behind only a 12-0 start in 2008.

On a day in which the JSU pitching staff had its struggles, the offense bailed the Gamecocks out. Nine players recorded at least one hit, while five had multiple hits in the twinbill. They used four home runs to power their way to the win in game one before plating 10 runs from the fourth inning on in the finale.

Junior Kristin Graham went 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI on the day to raise her league-leading batting average to .540 on the year. Stepp's productive afternoon pushed her average to .418, 78 points higher than it was when the day began.

Freshman Tiffany Harbin was the horse for the pitching staff again on Saturday. The Hazel, Green, Ala., native earned a complete-game win in the first game of the day before picking up the save in the nightcap. After winnings all three games in the Gamecocks' three-game sweep of Eastern Kentucky last week, giving her either the win or save in all five OVC games to this point.

In the opening game of the day, JSU used a five-run third to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 6-3 lead and never looked back. The big blow was a three-run home run by senior Sallie Beth Burch, the spark of back-to-back homers from the Moulton, Ala., native and sophomore Krystal Ruth. Stepp stretched that lead to 9-3 in the fourth on her three-run shot. A solo blast by junior Tess Echols, her first round tripper of the year, in the sixth capped the scoring.

Harbin (11-4) struck out 12 batters in her seven innings in the circle, the most by a Gamecock since Ashley Eliasson fanned a dozen in 2009. Harbin allowed three runs on five hits and walked just one, but after a three-run home run by Rebecca Butler in the third, Harbin allowed no hits and just one base runner the rest of the way.

Butler was 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Eagles, while Stepp and Kaycee Crow each went 3-for-4 for JSU in the game.

Ashley Imperial (5-8) was tagged with the loss for the Eagles after surrendering five runs on five hits in 2.1 innings of work. She walked three before making way for Kelcey McMurray, who gave up three runs on one hit and two walks in one inning. Ashley Boyd recorded the final eight outs and allowed two runs on five hits in the process.

In the final game of the day, MSU got an unearned run in the top of the first but wouldn't lead for long. JSU got an RBI double from Amanda Crow and an RBI single from Kaycee Crow to claim a 2-1 lead.

The Eagles tied it in the fourth on a Sam Woodall RBI single, but the Gamecocks would take control in the home half of the inning. JSU sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth and plated six runs, thanks to three hits and five walks. A two-run single from Kaycee Crow capped the frame that gave JSU an 8-2 lead it wouldn't relinquish.

The Eagles got four back in the fifth, only to watch the Gamecocks bat around again in the bottom of the inning and plate three more to pull out to an 11-6 advantage. Amanda Crow singled in a pair in the inning after MSU intentionally walked Graham to load the bases for the Sharpsburg, Ga., native.

After the two exchanged runs in the sixth, Morehead State loaded the bases in the seventh before Harbin came on to get the Gamecocks out of the jam.

Graham (2-0) earned the win in relief after allowing five runs on six hits in two innings of work. Eliasson started the game and held the Eagles to an unearned run on three hits and two walks in 2.1 innings in the circle. Harbin recorded just one out, a strikeout, to notch her first career save.

Ashley Boyd (0-3) suffered the loss for MSU after surrendering four runs on five hits in 3.1 innings of work. She walked three and fanned one before McMurray came on and allowed four runs on two hits and three walks while recording just one out.

Woodall went 3-for-5 at the plate to lead the Eagles, while Graham and Amanda and Kaycee Crow each recorded three hits to pace the JSU offense.

The two will wrap up the three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m. at University Field.