Oxford, Ala. — After first pitch was delayed two hours because of rain, Jacksonville State came out swinging in its 6-2 win over third-seeded SIUE to advance to the championship game of the 2017 Ohio Valley Conference Softball Tournament at Choccolocco Park.
The top-seeded Gamecocks (39-10) plated three first-inning runs and never looked back in downing the third-seeded Cougars (40-12) for the third time in three meetings this season. The most recent of those wins puts JSU in the championship game of the double-elimination tournament without a blemish on its record.
That game will begin at 12:30 p.m. at Choccolocco Park against the winner of the 10 a.m. game on Saturday. That winner will have to defeat the Gamecocks twice, while one JSU win will clinch the OVC's automatic bid into the NCAA Softball Championship.
Cadi Oliver and
Taylor Sloan each recorded two hits in the game, while
Stephanie Lewis and Sloan drove in two runs apiece. After the Gamecocks grabbed the early lead, their ace went to work, earning her 20th win of the season and here second in as many head-to-head battles with SIUE's ace Haley Chambers-Book.
JSU jumped on Chambers-Book, who was voted the OVC Pitcher of the Year, early when
Anna Chisolm led off the game by hitting an 0-1 pitch to center field for a double. Two batters later,
Alexus Jimmerson scored Chisolm with a single through the right side, before Lewis drilled a two-run home run over the centerfield fence, which put the Gamecocks ahead by three runs before Gillespie even took the circle.
When she (20-4) took the circle in the bottom half of the inning, SIUE strung together three-straight hits that resulted in the Cougars' first run of the game when Zoe Schafer drove in Alyssa Heren from third base. After surrendering the run, Gillespie settled down to allow just four hits over the course of the game's remaining six innings, which included a solo home run by Sarah Lopesilvero with one out in the bottom of the seventh.
Jacksonville State added a single run in the top of the fifth when
Taylor Sloan brought home pinch runner
Anna Snider on a two-out, infield single. Two innings later, Sloan plated the sixth Gamecock run of the afternoon when she singled home Oliver after her leadoff double off of the base of the center field wall. Sloan's second RBI single of the game was ripped down the first-base line, just out of the SIUE defender's reach. Jimmerson then finished a 12-pitch at bat by making it 6-1 JSU on a sacrifice fly to center that scored Chisolm from third base.
On the afternoon, Gillespie, a First-Team All-OVC Pitcher, threw 110 pitches to 27 SIUE batters, scattering seven hits over seven innings, surrendering two earned runs, striking out four and not issuing a walk. She hasn't issued a walk in the last 15.1 innings in this year's conference tournament. She also forced the Cougars into seven comebackers to the mound that were part of 12 ground ball outs.
Chambers-Book (26-7) took the loss after allowing six earned runs on eight hits and struck out just one Gamecock batter in seven innings of work.
