CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State softball team continued its winning ways in Ohio Valley Conference play on Friday, moving into first place with a doubleheader sweep at Austin Peay.
 
Faith Sims went the distance to claim the win in a 2-1 win in the opener and then earned the save in a 5-3 win in the finale, helping the Gamecocks (23-17, 11-1 OVC) move into first place in the league standings with the sweep of the Govs (24-14, 8-4 OVC).
 
While Sims was dealing in the circle, seniors Caitlyn Sapp and Emily Woodruff were doing work at the plate. Sapp drove in Woodruff with a game winning double in the seventh inning of the first game and then belted a seventh-inning homer in the nightcap to provide some insurance. Woodruff went 4-for-6 on the day and scored three runs.
 
JSU's impressive play vs. league foes continues with the Gamecocks winning their 56thgame in the last 58 regular season games vs. OVC foes. Counting the last two OVC Tournament titles, JSU is now 64-3 in its last 67 games against conference opponents.
 
In the opener, Sims (14-7) went the distance for JSU in the circle to earn the win. The Cordova, Ala., native held Peay to a run on just three hits and struck out seven in the win. She outdueled Govs ace Morgan Rackel (12-6), who surrendered two runs on six hits in her seven-inning outing that saw her fan 11 batters.
 
The Gamecocks started the scoring in the top of the third, when Woodruff singled, moved to third on an Anna Chisolm double and scored when Taylor Beshears' comebacker was misplayed by Rackel.
 
That 1-0 lead held until the fifth, when an infield single from Bailey Shorter tied the game.
 
JSU won it in the seventh and did all of the damage with two outs. Woodruff singled with two down and set up Sapp's game wining double to right.
 
Woodruff had two of the team's six hits, while the first four batters in the order – Sapp, Chisolm, Beshears and Alexus Jimmerson – each had one hit.
 
The Gamecocks wasted no time getting on the board in the second game, grabbing a quick run in the top of the first. Chisolm doubled, moved to third on a Beshears grounder and then scored on an Alexus Jimmerson sac fly that gave them a 1-0 lead.
 
The Govs were gifted with a pair of runs in the second, when a two-out throwing error allowed two to cross and give APSU its first lead of the day at 2-1.
 
That lead was short-lived. Another woodruff hit, a leadoff single in the third, set up the next Gamecock run on a Beshears triple to center and tied the game at 2-2.
 
Two fourth-inning runs for JSU gave the Gamecocks a 4-2 lead. Lex Hull doubled to lead off the inning and then scored on an error that allowed Hannahstaysia Weaver. The freshman from Pisgah, Ala., then scored on Woodruff's second hit of the day.
 
The Govs cut the lead in half in the home half of the fourth with a leadoff homer from Carly Mattson.
 
The Gamecocks turned to Sims in the sixth inning to relieve Jimmerson in the circle, and she put a zero on the board in the frame before Sapp delivered an insurance run on a leadoff homer to left. Her third round tripper of the year gave JSU a 5-3 lead in the top of the seventh.
 
Sims closed the door in the seventh and sealed the sweep, earning her third save of the year just hours after claiming her 14thwin of the season. She allowed just two hits in her two innings of relief. Jimmerson (6-3) won the game after limiting APSU to three runs, just one earned, on four hits in five innings.
 
Kelsey Gross (4-5) took the loss after allowing four runs on five hits in four innings in the circle.
 
The Gamecocks will make the long trip north next week, when they will play a doubleheader at SIU-Edwardsville on April 21 before closing the trip with a twinbill at Eastern Illinois on April 22.