MURRAY, Ky. – Jacksonville State edged Murray State twice on Sunday to sweep another Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader and extend its win streak in league play to a conference-record 25 games.
JSU hung on for a 3-1 win the opener and then rallied for a 6-4 win over the Racers (18-28, 8-13 OVC) in the nightcap. Coupled with a 1-1 day by second-place Eastern Kentucky on Sunday, The Gamecocks (32-14, 21-0 OVC) now have a five and a half game lead in the OVC race with six games left in the regular season.
The Gamecocks are off to the best start to conference play in school and OVC history, while their 25-straight in OVC play tops Tennessee Tech's 24 in a row from 1994-95 as the longest the league has seen. JSU has won 12-straight overall and 23 of its last 24.
On Sunday, freshman
Anna Chisolm and sophomore
Emily Woodruff each recorded three hits at the plate, while junior
Stephanie Lewis had five RBI.
Sophomore
Whitney Gillespie was stellar in the circle again, earning the win in game one and the save in game two for the second-straight day. She allowed just one unearned run in a complete-game win to start the day and then retired the only two batters she faced to close the finale.
In the opener, the Gamecocks grabbed three runs in the first inning, the first on a bases-loaded walk to
Jamie McGuire and the next two on a Lewis single.
MSU starter Mason Robinson (13-14) settled in from that point and held JSU off the board the rest of the way. She suffered the loss after allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits and four walks in seven innings of work.
Gillespie (12-1) didn't allow a Racer hit until the fourth inning and finished the game allowing an unearned run on five hits and three walks in seven frames. All five Murray State hits in the game were singles.
In the second game, the Gamecocks struck early again. McGuire's two-run single up the middle put JSU up 2-0, but the lead wouldn't last as long this time.
The Racers got three runs on four hits off of JSU starter
Taylor West in the bottom of the first to take a 3-2 lead, a score that would hold until the Gamecocks made their move in the fifth.
Woodruff started the frame with a double to right and then scored when left fielder Cayla Levins couldn't handle
Jordan Bullock's single. A two-out walk to McGuire set up Lewis, who drilled a three-run blast to left center and gave the Gamecocks a 6-3 lead.
The Racers threatened in the seventh, getting a leadoff single from Jessica Twaddle that chased West from the circle.
Casey Akenberger entered in relief and gave up a pinch-hit RBI single to Taylor Odom. Gillepsie then entered and closed the game for the Gamecocks, getting Erica Howard to ground to first and then striking out Maggie Glass to end the game.
West (11-5) earned the win after allowing three runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings, while Gillespie earned her third save of the season and her second in as many days.
Bullock, Chisolm and Woodruff each wad two hits in the win.
Haven Campbell (5-8) was tagged with the loss after giving up six run on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings in the circle that also saw her walk two.
JSU heads to Richmond, Ky., next week for a big three-game series against second-place EKU. The weekend will start with a 12 p.m. CT doubleheader on Saturday before wrapping up with a 12 p.m. CT single game on Sunday.
