TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jacksonville State scored in each of the first four innings and then used a four-run sixth to eliminate Princeton in a 10-2 mercy-rule win in the Tallahassee Regional on Saturday.
The Gamecocks got two home runs from
Jamie McGuire and rode a three-hit day from
Anna Chisolm that included a walk-off two-run single in the sixth to advance to a rematch with Georgia at 4:30 p.m. CT on JoAnne Graf Field. The winner will face host and No. 4 national seed Florida State in Sunday's regional championship.
Chisolm paced JSU on the day, reaching base all five times she stepped in the box. The St. Louis native drove in four runs, walked twice and singled three times to lead a 12-hit attack by the Gamecocks (41-11). The Tigers (25-20) fell behind early and couldn't claw back against JSU ace
Whitney Gillespie, who kept them off balance for much of the game.
McGuire belted her 13th and 14th home runs of the season in the game, both solo shots. She has now hit five postseason round trippers after connecting on three in last week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
Gillepsie,
Emily Woodruff and
Leila Chambers each added two hits in the game for JSU, with Woodruff notching two doubles and two RBI.
The Gamecocks struck first and did so early, using small ball to get the game's first run in the bottom of the first. Chisolm led off the frame with a walk, stole second, moved to third on an
Alexus Jimmerson Grounder and then scored on
Stephanie Lewis' infield single.
A leadoff walk in the second to
Leila Chambers led to the second JSU run.
Cadi Oliver bunted her to second and
Emily Woodruff doubled her in to make it a 2-0 game and chase starting pitcher Erica Nori from the circle.
The Gamecocks broke the game open in the third with three two-out runs. A leadoff walk stared it again for the JSU offense, which started the frame with Lewis earning a free pass. She scored on Woodruff's second double of the day, and Chisolm followed with a two-run single to right that put JSU up 5-0.
JSU didn't' get the leadoff runner on the fourth, but
Jamie McGuire got a run on the board with a one-out solo homer. The 13th homer of the season for the Glencoe, native sailed high above the wall in left field to make it a 6-0 JSU lead.
The Tigers pushed two runs across in the sixth, using a two-run single through the right side by Keeley Walsh to make it a 6-2 game.
McGuire's second homer followed in the home half of the inning and got one of the two runs back for JSU. She turned on the first pitch she saw from Riley Wilkinson and lined it over the wall in left to extend the Gamecocks' lead to 7-2. A wild pitch scored pinch runner
Torre Roberts later in the inning to set up Chisolm's walk-off single.
Gillespie (21-5) earned the win in the circle after holding the Tigers to two runs, one earned, on four hits in six frames. She struck out four and walked three to help JSU advance in the elimination bracket.
Nori (9-4) suffered the loss for Princeton, allowing two runs on two hits and four walks in just 1 and 1/3 innings of work. Claire Klausner and Wilkinson each allowed four runs on five hits in relief for the Tigers.
