NATCHITOCHES, La. – Jax State scored in 11 of its 12 trips to the plate on Saturday, powering by Memphis and host Northwestern State for a Saturday sweep to open the weekend.
The Gamecocks (5-2) pulled away from the American Athletic Conference's Memphis Tigers, 8-3, in the first contest of the day, before run-ruling host NSU, 10-0, Saturday afternoon.
Jax State's offense hit at a .404 clip between both games on Saturday, totaling 23 hits which accounted for 18 runs scored.
To leadoff the action, sophomore
Amber Reed's two-out double in the home half of the first inning put the Gamecocks on the board when
Megan Rasmussen scored from first. The lead popped to 4-0 in the second frame when freshman
Jaci Underwood slugged her first career homerun with a three-run shot to left field.
Underwood's first longball highlighted a stellar day at the plate that saw the Hazlehurst, Ga., native, go 5-for-6 with four RBI.
Fellow freshman
Kailey Martin homered in her second-straight game early Saturday with a solo shot in the third, before drawing another RBI the hard way one inning later in the fourth taking a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded.
Senior
Hannah Buffington pitch-hit a two-run double in the sixth inning to stake the Gamecocks to an 8-1 advantage over Memphis. The Tigers tacked on two unearned runs in the eighth following a fielding error, but Jax State starter
Jaliyah Holmes picked up two more strikeouts to run her total to eight for the game as she picked up her first victory of 2025 from the circle. Over seven innings, Holmes allowed just six hits and a walk.
The offense continued to roll against the home Demons in the second game of the day scoring at least once in every inning. Sophomore
Emma Elrod's solo homerun in the third frame was the only hit to leave the park against NSU, as the Gamecocks racked up 14 hits to bring across 10 runs.
In a balanced attack at the plate, eight different Gamecocks drove in at least one run. Underwood, Reed and Elrod joined
Morgan Nowakowski,
Aria Davis and
Ashley Phillips to all complete the trip around the bases with a hit, RBI and eventual run scored.
Across the way, NSU found just two hits and went down on eight strikeouts as senior
Kat Carter shined from the circle for her third win on the young season.
After just one run allowed on Saturday, Jax State's pitching staff owns a 1.03 ERA through seven games to begin 2025.
Jax State will meet Memphis and NSU again on Sunday to close out the weekend slate. The contest against the Demons at 11:30 a.m. can be watched on ESPN+. Broadcast and live stat links are available on JaxStateSports.com.
