JACKSONVILLE – Alex Howard's walk-off, pinch-hit double in the seventh inning lifted the Jacksonville State softball team to a 7-6 win and a three-game series sweep of Eastern Illinois on Sunday afternoon.
 
Howard lined a two-run double past a diving center fielder and drove in Karsen Mosley and Sidney Wagnon to give the Gamecocks (16-19, 14-9 Ohio Valley Conference) a dramatic win against the Panthers (19-15, 11-10 OVC), whoe entered the day one game back of JSU in the standings.
 
Senior Alexus Jimmerson continued her recent tear, going 2-for-4 with a homer and extended her hitting streak and streak of consecutive games with an extra-base hit to 10 games. She also earned her third-straight win in relief.
 
Howard's game winner was the second walk-off hit in the young career of the freshman from Oxford, Ala.
 
For the third time in the series, Eastern Illinois scored in the top of the first. Morgan Lewis doubled in Megan Burton after she reached on a leadoff walk. The lead didn't last long, thanks to three-straight singles from Savannah Sudduth, Shelby Newsome and Jada Terry in the bottom of the first that tied the game.
 
The Gamecocks grabbed their first lead in the second, when Keeli Bobbitt's infield single led to a throwing error from third baseman Aniya Holt that allowed Chaney Phillips to cross and put JSU up 2-1.
 
EIU tied the game briefly on Burton's solo homer in the third, but Alexus Jimmerson's solo blast in the home half of the third put JSU back up, 3-2.
 
The Panthers pulled back ahead with a two-run sixth, that was sparked by a leadoff homer from Amber Cieplinski. An RBI grounder by Katie Nicholson scored the go ahead run in the sixth.
 
The Gamecocks went to work quickly in the home half of the sixth, getting back-to-back singles from Lauren Hunt and Bobbitt to set up a Newsome sac fly that tied the game at 4-4.
 
Hannah Cravens delivered EIU's next blow and it was a big one. She laced a two-out, two-run double down the left-field line that put the Gamecocks in another hole.
 
They dug out once again. Jimmerson started it with a leadoff single, and her pinch runner Ellie Largen scored on Karsen Mosley's double that cut it back to a one-run game. Megan Fortner followed with a walk and Phillips bunted her and Mosley into scoring position to set up Howard's game winner.
 
Jimmerson (4-5) won her third-straight decision after pitching two innings and limiting the Panthers to two runs on one hit and three walks. She struck out two in relief of Nicole Rodriguez, who tossed the first five innings and allowed four runs on six hits while striking out seven.
 
Olivia Price (9-5) suffered the loss without recording an out. She only faced Fortner and walked her, but she ended up representing the winning run. Sydney Cammon faced every other batter and allowed six runs on 12 hits in 6 and 1/3 innings of work. She came back into the circle after Fortner walked and gave up the game winning hit to Howard.
 
The Gamecocks will return to action on Tuesday with a doubleheader at Tennessee Tech that will start at 3 p.m. in Cookeville, Tenn.