JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Jax State softball continued its midweek non-conference schedule with another in-state foe, this time defeating the Alabama State Hornets 11-3 in five innings on Tuesday night at Jana McGinnis Field.

The Gamecocks (27-10, 11-1 CUSA) rattled off 10 hits as a team, while only allowing three from the Hornets, en route to their eighth straight home win and fourth straight win overall. Jax State scored in each inning except for the second frame with six different batters picking up at least one RBI.

Head coach Julie Boland's squad got the action started early after a leadoff walk by Emma Elrod led up to an RBI single by Kailey Martin for the first score of the game in the first inning, and then proceeded to hold Alabama State hitless until the third inning.

In the third frame, the Hornets fired off with an RBI double with no outs and followed it up by plating a run off a sacrifice fly to take their first and only lead of the night. Not long after, Jax State responded in the bottom of the inning with a trio of consecutive hits in the latter part of the inning, including an RBI double by Amber Reed and a pair of RBI singles by Morgan Nowakowski and Martin to make it a 4-2 game.

After Alabama State scored its third and final run in the top of the fourth, the Gamecocks blew the game wide open in the bottom of the frame after putting together a four-run inning, highlighted by a two-RBI double by Nowakowski for her Conference USA-leading 16^th double of the year.

Looking to end the game early, Boland's squad did just that in the fifth, after three of the first four batters of the inning walked in order to set up a bases-clearing RBI double by Megan Rasmussen to score the last three runs of the night.

Nowakowski, Martin and Mikayla Deville led the team in hits, each going 2-for-3 on the day, with Nowakowski and Rasmussen leading the squad in RBIs with three each. Additionally, the Gamecocks tallied three doubles as a team and were walked seven times.

In the circle, senior Jaliyah Holmes got the start for Jax State and pitched the first three innings of action. Holmes allowed two RBIs off two hits, along with picking up two strikeouts as well. In relief was freshman Yulai Woodruff who pitched the final two frames, allowing one run off one hit, while picking up three strikeouts in the process.

The Gamecocks will return back to Jana McGinnis Field for an early start to the weekend series, hosting New Mexico State on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The action will start on Thursday night at 6 p.m. for Faculty Appreciation Night.