NASHVILLE – Taylor West tossed her first career no-hitter to follow up Whitney Gillespie's shutout on Sunday, to lead the Jacksonville State softball team to a dominant sweep of Tennessee State.
 
West struck out 12 of the 16 batters she faced and allowed just one baserunner that reached on an error in an 8-0 rout in the second game of the twinbill. The Gamecocks (30-9, 9-1 Ohio Valley Conference) cruised to a 7-0 win over the Tigers (9-25, 1-9 OVC) behind Gillespie in the opener.
 
West's first no-hitter in her saw her throw just 78 pitches, 52 for strikes. The senior from Anniston struck out the first seven and 10 of the first 11 batters she faced en route to her career high in strikeouts for a five-inning game. A fourth inning fielding error at third that allowed the Tigers' lone baserunner to reach was the lone blemish on her line.
 
The win improved West to 12-4 on the season and gives her 47 career wins, one away from Ann Shelton in fourth on the school's career wins list. Her 12 strikeouts run her career total to 336, sixth in school history. It also capped an impressive week for West, one that saw her go 2-0 with a save in three appearances and post an earned run average of 0.40.
 
JSU's second sweep in as many days also put the Gamecocks in sole possession of first place in the OVC standings for the first time this season. Eastern Illinois, who entered the day tied with JSU for first, split its doubleheader with Eastern Kentucky on Sunday.
 
While West was shutting down the TSU bats, the Gamecock bats were busy racking up eight runs on 10 hits, led by two-hit performances from Gillespie, Stephanie Lewis and Leila Chambers. Gillespie delivered the big blast, a grand slam that highlighted a seven-run third inning that put the Gamecocks up 8-0. Also in the inning were and RBI single by Alexus Jimmerson and two-run triple y Anna Chisolm.
 
Chambers drove in the game's other run on a single up the middle in the second.  The Molena, Ga., native also had an impressive week, batting .412 with six RBI, two doubles and a homer.
 
Lauren Woodard (2-8) suffered the loss for the Tigers after allowing eight runs on 10 hits in five innings. She also walked one and struck out one.
 
In the opening game, Gillespie (14-3) was impressive, limiting TSU to five hits in her 14th complete game in 18 starts. The Pelham native allowed just five hits in her sixth shutout of the season and only allowed one runner to pass first base. She struck out seven and walked a pair.
 
The JSU offense was good for her, too. The Gamecocks amassed 12 hits in the opening game, led by Lewis' 3-for-4 game that included a triple and two RBI. Jimmerson, Gillespie, Jamie McGuire and Emily Woodruff each had two hits in the win.
 
Lewis' triple plated a pair in the first to give JSU an early 2-0 lead, and then Gillespie doubled in a run in the fourth to make it a 3-0 game. A three-run fifth broke the game open and then a McGuire RBI double in the sixth capped the JSU scoring.
 
Lauren Powell (4-10) suffered the loss for TSU in the opener after giving up seven runs on 11 hits in 5.1 innings in the circle. She walked four and struck out three.
 
The Gamecocks will return home for a Good Friday doubleheader against Austin Peay that starts at 1 p.m. this week. Admission is free for all fans ages 18 and under and for JSU students with a student ID. Tickets can be purchased online at www.jsugamecockstickets.com for $5 before midnight on Thursday. Tickets will be $8 on game day.