CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Jacksonville State offense erupted for 23 runs on Sunday in an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader sweep of Eastern Illinois.
A bases-clearing double in the seventh inning by
Taylor Beshears lifted the Gamecocks (25-19, 13-3 OVC) to a 5-2 win in the opening game before a three-run sixth led to a 10-9 win in the finale.
Beshears was 5-for-7 on the day with four RBI, while seniors
Caitlyn Sapp and
Emily Woodruff each homered, doubled and drove in three runs while batting over .500 during the sweep. Sapp was 5-for-8 (.625), while Woodruff had three hits in six at bats.
Junior pitcher
Faith Sims earned the win in the opening game before coming in to pick up the save in the nightcap. She tossed nine total innings on the day, allowing just two runs on six hits.
In the opening game, EIU drew first blood with a first-inning run and held that 1-0 advantage until JSU broke through in the third. Sapp delivered EIU ace Jessica Wireman's 3-2 pitch over the wall in center to turn a one-run deficit into a 2-1 JSU lead.
The Panthers tied the game in the fourth with a single run off of Sims, and the game remained tied until Beshears' game winner in the seventh. After three-straight infield singles from Woodruff, Sapp and
Anna Chisolm, the Trussville, Ala., native's double cleared the bases and gave JSU the deciding 5-2 advantage.
Beshears finished the game with a 3-for-4 showing at the plate, while Sapp went 2-for-3.
Sims (15-7) won the battle of the two team's aces in game one, allowing two runs on six hits in her complete game. She struck out six. Wireman (13-7) and fanned six batters but allowed five runs on nine hits in her seven frames in the circle.
In a wild and crazy nightcap, the Gamecocks answered a four-run first inning by the Panthers with a seven-run second. An error on a
Hannahstaysia Weaver infield single scored the first run and set up Woodruff's three-run homer.
Woodruff, a native of Albertville, Ala., belted a three-run shot to left center to tie the game at 4-4. Chisolm put JSU ahead when her RBI single plated Sapp and then scored the next run on a Beshears double.
Alexus Jimmerson drove in Beshears for the final run of the inning.
The JSU lead didn't last long, thanks to a three-run second by the Panthers that tied the game at 7-7. EIU regained the lead with a pair of runs in the fourth and held that 9-7 advantage until the JSU sixth.
The Gamecocks plated three runs in the frame, the first on a Sapp single that drove in Woodruff. Jimmerson tied the game with a bases-loaded ground out that scored Sapp, and Chisolm gave the Gamecocks the lead when she scored on a passed ball.
The Gamecocks threw four pitchers in the game, but Jimmerson (7-4) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief work. She struck out two of the three batters she faced in the fifth, before Sims entered to toss a hitless two innings and claim her fourth save of the year.
Wireman (13-8) suffered the loss in relief, surrendering a run on one hit and two walks.
Each of the first four hitters in the JSU lineup recorded at least two hits, with Sapp leading the way with three in the leadoff spot. Chisolm, Beshears and Jimmerson each had two hits, while Woodruff added two in the nine-hole.
The Gamecocks return home, where they will play their final seven games at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. That homestand will begin with a 5 p.m. nonconference game against Georgia Tech on Tuesday. Tickets can be purchased online in advance at www.JSUGameockSports.com/Tickets, and JSU students and all fans ages 18 and under receive free admission.
