JACKSONVILE –
Shelby Newsome had her first two career three-hit games and
Alexus Jimmerson had a big day at the plate and in the circle to lift the Jacksonville State softball team to a doubleheader sweep of Eastern Illinois on Saturday at University Field.
The Gamecocks (15-19, 13-9 Ohio Valley Conference) had to come from behind in both games but upended the Panthers (19-14, 11-9 OVC) with a 10-8 win in the opener and an 8-3 victory in the nightcap. The two wins pushed JSU past EIU into fourth place in what is a logjammed OVC standings.
Newsome, a freshman from Hatchechubbee, Ala., went 3-for-4 in both games, while recording the first triple and first home run of her career in the second game of the day. She capped the twinbill going 6-for-8 with five RBI and five runs scored.
Jimmerson, a senior from Jackson, Tenn., was 4-for-7 at the plate with a double in each game, while also tossing 6 and 1/3 innings of one-hit relief to earn the win in the second game. Jimmerson's two doubles extended her streak of consecutive games with at least one extra-base hit to nine.
The Gamecocks battled back twice in the first game, first overcoming an early 2-0 deficit when grounders from Jimmerson and
Megan Fortner scored
Savannah Sudduth and Newsome to tie the game at 2-2 in the third.
EIU seemed to regain control in the fourth, when the Panthers scored five runs on two hits and a pair of Gamecock errors. The big blow was a three-run home run from Megan Burton, her second of the game.
The Gamecocks erased the five-run Panther lead in a hurry, sending 10 batters to the plate in a six-run, five-hit fourth inning that gave them an 8-7 lead. Newsome started the scoring with a two-run single and was followed by a two-run double from Jimmerson that pulled JSU to within a run.
Chaney Phillips put the Gamecocks in front with the final blow of the inning, a two-run double off the wall in left field that made it an 8-7 game.
Hannah Brown kept the Panthers bats in check the rest of the way, allowing just one of her three runs after getting the lead.
Alex Howard gave her some insurance in the sixth, thanks to a pinch-hit, two-run single down the right field line.
Brown (3-2) earned the win after tossing 3 and 1/3 innings of relief where she allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits. She struck out three.
Reagan Watkins pitched the first 3 and 2/3 innings, surrendering six runs on four hits, while striking out four and walking four.
Jade Montgomery (6-10) suffered the loss for EIU after giving up three runs on four hits in two relief innings. Olivia Price started and gave up seven runs on eight hits in 3 and 1/3 innings in the circle.
In the second game of the day, the Panthers scored three first-inning runs on an RBI single from Amber Cieplinski and a two-run double from Hannah Cravens. The Gamecocks nibbled away at that lead, scoring one in each of the first three frames before breaking it open in the fourth.
Jada Terry drove in Newsome after her triple in the first, and
Caroline Lively doubled in Fortner to plate the second-inning run. Terry tied the game in the third with a tape-measure home run down the left field line.
The fourth inning saw four Gamecock runs on three hits and a pair of EIU errors. Newsome singled in the first one and a Panther error allowed a second run to score. Jimmerson doubled Newsome in for the third, and a sac fly from
Karsen Mosley put JSU up 7-3.
Newsome provided the final run with her first career homer in the sixth, a high drive that snuck inside the foul pole in left and put the Gamecocks up 8-3.
That would be plenty of support for Jimmerson (3-4), who struck out three and walked four in her shutout appearance out of the bullpen. Brown started the game and made way for Jimmerson with two outs in the first. She allowed three runs on three hits.
Price (9-4) suffered the loss for EIU, allowing four runs on four hits in just one inning of relief work. Cravens pitched the first two innings and allowed two runs on four hits, while Montgomery gave up two runs on two hits in two innings later in the game. Sydney Cammon pitched a scoreless sixth.
The Gamecocks will go for the sweep of the three-game series on Sunday, when they host the Panthers at 12 p.m. at University Field. Admission for JSU students and all fans ages 18 and under is free. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
