JACKSONVILLE – Whitney Gillespie earned a win and a save and the Jacksonville State softball team swept day one of its Ohio Valley Conference opening series with preseason favorite Tennessee Tech on Saturday.
 
Gillespie, a sophomore from Pelham who hadn't seen the circle until just over a week ago, went the distance in a 2-1 win in the opener and then tossed two perfect innings to earn the save in a 5-4 win in the nightcap. The Gamecocks (11-13, 2-0 OVC) used the day to clinch the series with the defending OVC Tourney champs and the team picked just ahead of them in the preseason poll.
 
Gillespie (1-1) limited the Golden Eagles (8-17, 0-2 OVC) to a run on four hits in seven innings in the opener before entering with a one run lead in the sixth inning of game two. She sat down all six batters she faced to grab her first save of the season and the fifth of her young career. She also tied her career high with seven strikeouts in the first game and didn't issue a free pass in nine total innings in the circle on Saturday.
 
In the opener, TTU struck first on a solo homer from Cortney Fry in the second inning, but Gillespie clamped down and faced one batter over the minimum the rest of the way. JSU took the lead with a two-run third, and its starting pitcher didn't allow a Tech runner past first for the final 5 1/3 innings.
 
That third was started by a Jordan Bullock single to left that was the first of the day by JSU against TTU ace Danielle Liberatore. Emily Woodruff followed with a poke into the right field corner that she turned into a game-tying triple and then scored to take a 2-1 lead on Ella Denes' single to left.
 
Liberatore (5-8) was good in the opener but suffered the tough-luck loss to Gillespie. The TTU starter also went the distance, allowing two runs on three hits – the three consecutive base hits in the third, while striking out five and walking two.
 
The second game saw JSU jump on the Golden Eagles early, scoring one in the second as the result of a little small ball. Emily Church started things with a single and moved to second on a ground out from Caitlyn Sapp. Hayley Sims delivered a two-out single to center that scored Church and made it a 1-0 game.
 
Woodruff generated a run-scoring situation in the third, when a single to the pitcher and a steal of second set up Denes' RBI single that gave the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead.
 
After an unearned Tech run in the top of the fourth, JSU went from small ball to the long ball to pull away. Jamie McGuire belted her first homer of the year to lead off the bottom of the fourth, and then Woodruff followed a Sapp single with a blast of her own that made it a 5-1 JSU lead.
 
Tech got one in the fifth and then used an Alyssa Richards two-run homer in the sixth to cut its deficit to one. JSU then went to Gillespie to close the door on Tech's comeback chances.
 
Senior Casey Akenberger (5-2) earned the win in the circle, limiting TTU to two unearned runs on four hits in four innings, while junior Taylor West allowed two runs on one hit and a walk in one inning of work that set the table for Gillespie's save.
 
Hannah Weaver (1-3) suffered the loss after allowing three runs on five hits in three innings, while Taylor Waldrop gave up the other two JSU runs on three hits while recording just two outs. Liberatore tossed the final frame for TTU, retiring all three batters she faced.
 
Woodruff and Denes each recorded three hits on the day, with Woodruff's three RBI and Denes' two also led the team.
 
The Gamecocks will go for the series sweep on Sunday at 1 p.m. Admission if free for JSU students and fans ages 18 and under and audio of the game will also be available online for free through jsugamecocksports.com.