MARTIN, Tenn. – One day after Jacksonville State powered to a pair of wins, the Gamecocks used the circle to sweep UT Martin and remain unbeaten in Ohio Valley Conference play.
 
The Gamecocks (24-14, 14-0 OVC) got a pair of three-hitters to sweep the Skyhawks (22-18, 7-7 OVC) with a 4-0 win in the opener and 2-1 in the finale. The wins extend the best OVC start in JSU history to 14-0 and runs the Gamecocks' school-record win streak in conference games to 18 in a row.
 
Sophomore Whitney Gillespie shut out UTM on three singles in the opener and was followed by junior Taylor West, who allowed just one run on her three singles in the second game. Over the two games, UTM batters hit just .133 (6-for-45) and only saw four baserunners reach second base. West struck out eight batters, while Gillespie recorded four strikeouts.
 
At the plate, junior Stephanie Lewis went 5-for-8, including a 4-for-4 second game that featured a double. Junior Emily Church drove in a run in each game, including JSU's lone homer of the day in the opener.
 
In that first game, JSU scored in the second on an Emily Woodruff bases-loaded single and then used Church's third-inning homer to take an early 2-0 lead. The Gamecocks took advantage of a Skyhawk error in the fourth to score two unearned runs and put the deciding 4-0 score on the board.
 
It would be more than enough support for Gillespie (8-1), who retired 11 in a row at one point to win her eighth-straight decision.
 
Brooke Kennedy (11-8) suffered the loss for UTM after allowing four runs, two earned, on eight hits in seven frames. She struck out five and walked one in the loss.
 
Church and freshman Anna Chisolm each recorded two hits for JSU in the win.
 
In the second game, the Gamecocks scored their only two runs early. A leadoff single from senior Ella Denes was followed by a single from Jordan Bullock that set up an RBI single from Jamie McGuire and a Church sac fly that put the Gamecocks up 2-0.
 
West (7-5) went to work for the Gamecocks in the circle, holding UTM without a hit until there were two outs in the third. The only inning in which the Skyhawks had multiple hits all day came in the fifth, when back-to-back singles that cut the JSU lead in half. She cruised from that point to secure the sweep.
 
Katie Warrick (1-1) allowed 10 hits but gave up just two runs in the losing effort for the Skyhawks.
 
The Gamecocks return home Thursday, when they host Alabama A&M at 5 p.m. at University Field. Admission is free for all fans ages 18 and under and for JSU students.