JACKSONVILLE – Jax State softball extended its streak to 11-straight wins on Saturday with a doubleheader sweep over visiting North Florida.
Showcasing JSU's flexibility, the victories came in drastically different fashions from University Field. The Gamecocks (22-9, 8-0 ASUN) exploded early and held on for an 8-1 win in the first contest of the afternoon, before turning around and having to rally late to keep the streak alive with a 2-1 victory in the second matchup. North Florida (19-14) fell to 2-6 in league play following the pair of setbacks.
In no surprise, freshman
Jaliyah Holmes started and starred from the circle in game one. She walked just one and struck out five while allowing just a single run in the fifth. The Sharpsburg, Ga., native, was handed a four-run cushion quickly when
Holly Stewart blasted a three-run homer into the gusty skies to cap a big first inning at the plate for JSU. Holmes continued to turn in scoreless frames until the fifth, but JSU responded with two more runs in the home half of the inning when
Brantly Bonds (hit-by-pitch) and
Emma Jones drew bases-loaded walks.
The final insurance runs of game one came in the sixth on the two-run double off the bat of
Morgan Nowakowski. Jones stole her 22nd base of the season on Saturday, moving her one behind Rachel Fleming's Division I single-season school record from 2007. The all-time mark is held by Lisa Smith (1993) with 31.
In game two, sophomore
Sarah Currie took to the circle looking to secure the weekend series with a day one sweep. Currie allowed just one run through six innings while scattering eight hits. The performance was crucial as JSU's lineup scuffled at the plate and ran into some costly outs on the base paths early.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fifth, Bonds turned JSU's second double play of the day of a Currie-induced groundball. The Corner, Ala., senior, taggeg an Osprey runner between first and second before throwing over to first to finish the frame. In the home half of the inning,
Lauren Hunt reached base with a two-out hit and moved into scoring position on a throwing error. She would race home to score the tying run after Bonds poked a ball just deep enough into the outfield.
After Currie shut UNF down to open the sixth,
Lindsey Richardson mashed her fifth home run of the year to put the Gamecocks on top for the first time. With the fresh lead, Holmes returned to the circle for the final three outs collecting just the second save of her young career while Currie took the win in her third-straight conference start.
A powerful offense that's now 20-1 when scoring at least three runs in a game this season, Jax State secured the twinbill sweep in a different way, fight back to win just its third game of year when trailing after the fourth inning.
The 11-game winning streak is the longest since JSU won 15 in a row between March and April of 2017. The conference streak is already set pretty high after the Gamecocks swept the Ohio Valley Conference schedule (26-0) in 2016.
JSU and UNF close the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday from University Field.
