PHOTO GALLERY

JACKSONVILLE — In the middle of one chase for history, the Jacksonville State softball team made a little more on Saturday.
 
With 1-0 and 6-1 wins over Belmont at University field, the Gamecocks (36-14, 25-0 Ohio Valley Conference) remained unbeaten in league play and on track for the best season in OVC history, but they gave head coach Jana McGinnis her 800th career win in the process.
 
The two wins over the Bruins (19-34, 11-15 OVC) move the Gamecocks closer to that historic finish, which would be the OVC's second unbeaten regular season and its first since Tennessee Tech went 17-0 in 1994. One week after clinching the league's regular season title, the Gamecocks will go for that 26-0 mark Sunday in the series finale at 1 p.m.
 
JSU has made winning a thing of consistency lately. Saturday's sweep extended the Gamecocks' current win streak to 16 and gives them 27 wins in their last 28 games. In OVC games, JSU has won a league-record 29 in a row and looks to be the first to grab 30-straight on Sunday.
 
McGinnis' win No. 799 came courtesy of Whitney Gillespie's two-hit shutout in the first game of the doubleheader. The sophomore from Pelham, Ala., threw 101 pitches to 24 batters and surrendered only two singles and issued two walks while striking out five. She came into the game with 1.02 ERA and lowered it to 0.95 by the time her day was finished. She also holds a 0.818 WHIP and 14-1 record on the season while extending her scoreless innings pitched streak at home to 20.1.
 
Belmont and Jacksonville State traded zeroes for the first four innings until the fifth inning.
Leila Chambers drew a four-pitch walk before taking second base on a wild pitch. Emily Woodruff followed with a single to centerfield and Chambers beat the throw the plate to score Jacksonville State's only run.
 
Woodruff's hit was one of only four for the Gamecocks against the Belmont duo of Ashley Johnson and Lexi Rouse (5-6), who took the loss after coming in relief of Johnson in the fourth inning. Ella Denes and Jordan Bullock were the only other Jacksonville State players with hits. Bullock had two in three at bats.
 
Gillespie held Belmont hitless until the fifth inning when Mac Stewart singled off the glove of Anna Chisolm with two outs. Chelsey Deloney had the Bruins only other hit in the game when she had a one-out single before being thrown out by Denes on a double play to end the game.
 
No. 800 was a come-from-behind win that saw JSU's offense pick up speed as the game progressed.
 
Stewart put Belmont on the scoreboard first when she hit a single off starter Taylor West (13-5) to score Deloney. Jess Andree attempted to score a second Bruin run on the play, but she was thrown out at the plate by Bullock.
 
JSU responded in the bottom of the frame when Chambers singled off the first base bag to plate Stephanie Lewis. Emily Woodruff, the next batter, followed with a two-run home run to give the Gamecocks a 3-1 lead.
 
Woodruff made it 4-1 when she touched home plate after an error by Stewart at shortstop following an infield single by Bullock. The next inning, Jamie McGuire blasted a solo home run over the right centerfield fence.
 
Denes concluded the Gamecocks' scoring when she scored on a throwing error by Belmont centerfielder Baylee Cook following a double by Bullock.
 
Carolyn Snodgress, who started and only went 1.2 innings for Belmont, suffered the loss for the Bruins after she allowed three unearned runs after facing only 11 batters.
 
West, who was also the winning pitcher in McGinnis' 700th win on March 15, 2014, earned the win after allowing a run on five hits in a complete game in the circle.
 
Jacksonville State will honor seniors Casey Akenberger and Denes prior to the start of Sunday's final regular season home game against Belmont, which concludes the three-game series. The seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony that will begin at 12:50 p.m. before the 1 p.m. first pitch. Admission for JSU students and fans 18 and under is free.