CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Jacksonville State softball team rallied to a 5-1 win to close Sunday's doubleheader at Eastern Illinois, avenging a 2-1 loss in the opener and splitting the day with the Panthers.
 
After falling in a tough first game that saw the Gamecocks (24-11, 8-3 Ohio Valley Conference) strand 10 runners on base, they got the bats going in a three-run fifth that put them ahead of the Panthers (12-18, 7-7 OVC) for good.
 
Freshman Emily Woodruff had four hits and drove in four runs on the day, while fellow freshman Jordan Bullock and junior Cadi Oliver each added three hits for the JSU offense.
 
In the opening game, Taylor West (7-4) came up on the short end of a pitcher's duel for the second-straight day.  The sophomore from Anniston held the Panthers to two runs on five hits in a complete game, while striking out six and walking none.
 
She led for much of the game after the Gamecocks staked her to a 1-0 lead in the second on a two-out RBI single from Woodruff. She and EIU starter Michelle Rogers (6-8) went back-and-forth the rest of the way until a two-run Hannah Cole triple put EIU up 2-1 in the sixth. JSU would get a runner in scoring position in the seventh but couldn't push her across to tie the game.
 
Rogers grabbed the win after limiting the Gamecocks to a run on eight hits in seven innings that saw her walk four and strike out five.
 
In the nightcap, the JSU bats were slow to wake up again. An EIU run in the second led to JSU trailing 1-0 through four innings before its offense got going.
 
Back-to-back-to-back singles from Ella Denes, Oliver and Savannah Sloan loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth, setting up a two-run double from Woodruff that also led to a third run after an EIU error cleared the bases.
 
Senior Sara Borders doubled to lead off the sixth and seventh innings for the JSU offense, scoring on a Whitney Gillespie single in the sixth and a Woodruff single in the seventh to make it a 5-1 JSU lead.
 
Sophomore Logan Green (9-3) earned the win for the Gamecocks after allowing just one run on four hits in seven frames. Jessica Wireman (5-9) suffered the loss after giving up five runs on nine hits in seven innings in the circle.
 
The Gamecocks will be at home Tuesday at 5 p.m. against Alabama State at University Field. Admission is free for JSU students and all fans ages 18 and under.