LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The Jacksonville State softball team used the long ball to down Elon 7-6 on Sunday morning before dropping a 10-0 decision to No. 1 Florida to close the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic.
A three-run home run from
Emily Woodruff gave the Gamecocks (5-5) an early lead on the Phoenix (4-6), and a two-run bomb from
Ella Denes provided just enough insurance late to help JSU to the win. In the tournament finale at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, the No. 1 Gators (11-0) dropped the Gamecocks to a split in the six-game weekend.
Woodruff and Denes each went 2-for-3 against Elon, while
Jamie McGuire and
Whitney Gillespie each had a 2-for-4 showing in the game.
Stephanie Lewis got JSU on the board in the second inning on a bunt single that scored Gillespie after her leadoff single and Woodruff cleared the bases on her blast to left that gave the Gamecocks a 4-0 lead.
JSU freshman starter
Kirsten Titus (1-1) kept the Phoenix bats in check over the first three innings, before they pushed a couple of unearned runs across to make it a 5-3 game in the bottom of the fourth. A one-out single and a double in the fifth led to another run that cut JSU's lead to one and forced JSU to go the bullpen.
Taylor West get out of the inning with no further damage.
Denes came through in the sixth after Woodruff reached on an error by third baseman Kristin Hoover. Denes turned on an Abby Barker pitch and drove it out to right to make it a 7-4 JSU lead.
West got in trouble in the seventh, when a one-out rally was highlighted by a two-run Ashtyn Foddrell double that cut the Gamecocks' lead to one and placed the tying run in scoring position.
Faith Sims, another freshman hurler entered the game and closed the door on Elon, getting a ground out and a strike out to notch her first career save.
Titus earned her first win after allowing four runs, just two earned, on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings or work. She walked three and struck out three. West surrendered two unearned runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief work to hold the lead for Sims.
Elise Walton (2-1) suffered her first loss of the season after JSU tagged her for four runs on four hits in just 1 1/3 innings. She struck out three and walked one before making way for Barker, who allowed three runs, one earned, on six hits and two walks.
In the tourney finale, JSU faced its toughest foe to date and the first No. 1 team in the country since taking on top-ranked Washington in the 1996 NCAA Regionals.
Sims got the call to start against the Gators and held them scoreless through the first two innings, but a three-run third inning that was highlighted by a Kelsey Stewart homer broke the scoreless tie.
In the bottom of the third, JSU mounted a threat. The Gamecocks loaded the bases with no outs on three-straight singles from Lewis, Woodruff and Denes, but a pair of strikeouts and a pop up got Florida out of it with no damage done.
Florida answered with its biggest inning, a five-run fourth that put the game out of reach.
Sims (1-2) suffered the loss after allowing seven runs on six hits and four walks in three innings of work. Senior
Casey Akenberger tossed the final two innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits and four walks. Sims struck out two and Akenberger fanned one batter.
Florida's Aleshia Ocasio (3-0) earned the win after holding JSU scoreless on six hits through her four innings. She struck out six, while Delanie Gourey struck out one and walked one in a scoreless fifth.
Lewis was 2-for-2 against Florida to cap a weekend that saw her lead the Gamecocks at the plate with a .438 (7-for-16) average.
The Gamecocks return to action this weekend in Louisiana Tech's tournament in Ruston, La. JSU will open play against Grambling State and Lamar on Friday before taking on Liberty and the host Bulldogs on Saturday.