JACKSONVILLE – The long ball kept the Jacksonville State softball team unbeaten in Ohio Valley Conference play on Monday, when they Gamecocks swept a doubleheader from Southeast Missouri at University Field.
The Gamecocks (20-7, 4-0 OVC) belted five home runs in a 10-4 win to start the day and then got a walk-off two-run homer from
Sara Borders to close the sweep with a 6-5 win in the nightcap. JSU extended its winning streak to eight and won its 12th in the last 13 with the sweep, and Borders' game winner extended JSU's streak of games with at least one homer to eight.
Borders, a senior from Alexandria, Ala., ran her career home run total to 39, passing Nikki Prier for third on the school's all-time list. She trails Chrissy O'Neal (40) in second place by one.
Freshman
Whitney Gillespie homered twice in the opener and got the win in relief in the finale, while
Ella Denes,
Savannah Sloan and
Cadi Oliver also contributed to the five-homer game. Sloan went 4-for-6 on the day, while freshman
Emily Woodruff also had four hits, two in each game.
In the opener, Gillespie's three-run homer got the scoring started in the bottom of the first for the Gamecocks. She drove the first pitch she saw from Keaira Schilling well over the wall in straightaway center to clear the bases after a double from
Jordan Bullock and a walk by Borders.
SEMO got one on the board in the top of the third on an RBI single from Taylor McDannold. Her bloop single to left center was the third-straight hit for the Redhawks, flowing singles from Lindsey Patterson and Alexis Anderson.
The second three-run homer of the day for the Gamecocks came in the third, when
Savannah Sloan fouled off 12 pitches before driving Schilling's 15th pitch of the at bat over the left side of the scoreboard in left. The senior's first home run of the year gave the Gamecocks a 6-1 advantage.
The fourth inning saw Gillespie and
Ella Denes go back-to-back to make it an 8-2 JSU lead. Gillespie hit her second homer to straightaway center and the Denes bounced one high off the tin roof of the batting cage beyond the right field wall.
The Redhawks pushed two more across in the sixth and made it a n 8-4 game, but
Cadi Oliver got them right back with a two-run blast in the home half of the inning. JSU's fifth homer of the game put the deciding 10-4 score on the board.
Taylor West (6-2) earned the win in the circle after holding the Redhawks to four runs on 10 hits in the complete game. The Anniston, Ala., native struck out seven and walked four in the win.
Schilling (2-7) suffered the loss after surrendering six runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings in the circle. Aubrey Denno pitched the final 3.2 innings, allowing four runs on four hits.
Gillespie drove in four in her 2-for-2, two home run game, while Sloan drove in three on her homer.
JSU manufactured a run in the first inning of the second game after a big fielding miscue by SEMO. A leadoff walk to
Emily Woodruff was followed by a throwing error from Savannah Carpenter that put runners at second and third with no outs. Borders got under one to drive in Woodruff on a sac fly and put the Gamecocks up 1-0.
Borders doubled in another run in the third on a ball that short-hopped the wall in right to start the three-run inning for the Gamecocks. A Gillespie grounder to short drove in
Jordan Bullock, who slid around the tag at the plate to make it a 3-0 JSU lead. Denes lifted one to right to plate Borders on a sac fly that made it 4-0 in the third.
SEMO centerfielder Kayla Fortner, who'd been quiet for much of the day after being named the OVC Player of the Week before first pitch, got her first hit in the top of the fourth with a leadoff homer to right center. Her eight homer of the year got SEMO on the board and cut JSU's lead to 4-1.
The Redhawks got one back in the fifth and then took their first lead of the day on Lindsey Patterson's three-run homer in the top of the sixth. The shot to center off Gillespie snapped a streak of 16.1 consecutive scoreless innings and gave SEMO a 5-4 lead.
The Gamecocks saved a little magic for the seventh inning, one that started with a walk by Bullock and ended on Borders' game winner. She drove Madeline Krumrey's 3-2 pitch deep over the wall in center to keep JSU unbeaten in league play.
Gillespie (7-2) picked up the win in relief after holding SEMO to the three runs on three its in 2.2 innings of work. She relieved
Logan Green, who left the game with the lead after holding the Redhawks to two runs on six hits in 4.1 innings in the circle.
Krumry (3-4) was tagged with the loss after allowing six runs, five earned, on eight hits in just over six innings of work.
The Gamecocks will be at home on Tuesday, when they host Arkansas in a 4 p.m. single game at University Field. JSU students and all fans ages 18 and under get in free to all JSU home softball games.
