SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — After having the week off, the Jax State softball team returned to action on the road once again on Friday night, defeating the Missouri State Bears 3-1 at Killian Stadium to open the three-game series this weekend.
The Gamecocks (33-12, 17-2 CUSA) were responsible for 10 hits as a team, including four of which that came in the seventh inning, while holding Missouri State (18-23, 6-13 CUSA) to just four hits throughout the evening matchup.
The Bears found the scoreboard first in the second inning, following a sacrifice fly. However, the Gamecocks responded in the fourth with a bunting single up the middle by
Jaci Underwood to score
Aria Davis. The hit was Underwood's only one of the day and her fourth in the last four games.
From there, the game was knotted up until the final frame as Jax State's
Makenna Moore and Missouri State's Emily Koranda continued to limit scoring chances for either squad in the latter innings.
In the seventh, junior
Emma Elrod kicked things off immediately with a leadoff double, and then advanced to second on a wild pitch to put her in scoring position with no outs. Soon after,
Amber Reed ripped a triple down the right field line to score Elrod and extend her reached-base streak to 22 games. The three-bagger was Reed's first of the season and second of her career.
The Gamecocks did not stop there though, as
Kailey Martin added a single to score Reed for Jax State's third and final run. Following the RBI single,
Aria Davis contributed a base hit as well for her third of the day to lead the team.
In the circle, Moore finished her evening with another complete game performance, allowing one run off four hits and a walk, along with tallying four strikeouts as well to earn her 14
th win of the year.
Aside from Davis's three-hit day, the Gamecocks featured a couple more individual multi-hit performances including
Ashley Phillips and Elrod who picked up two hits each.
Jax State will remain in Springfield for game two against the Bears at 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon at Killian Stadium