WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Jacksonville State 9, Alabama A&M 1 (5)
@Jacksonville State 12, Alabama A&M 0 (5)
JACKSONVILLE STATE 9-12; ALABAMA A&M 1-0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State softball team ushered in the newly renovated University Field and the 2013 home slate in grand fashion with a sweep of in-state foe Alabama A&M on Wednesday.
The Gamecocks downed the Bulldogs 9-1 in the opener and blanked AAMU 12-0 in a pair of five innings games. With the two wins, JSU improved to 5-6 on the season, while AAMU dropped to 0-2 on the year.
In the opening contest, the Bulldogs plated their only run of the afternoon in their first plate appearance after Anisa Britt singled off of Jax State starter Hilary Phillips to plate Brianna Zeigler, who led off the game with a hit by pitch.
The Gamecock bats came to life in the final three frames, scoring a trio of runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Sophomore first baseman Sara Borders sparked the offense with a 3-for-3 performance and drove in three runs. The Alexandria, Ala.-native added a pair of hits in the second contest, along with her fourth RBI of the day. Catcher Savannah Sloan was the other Gamecock with multiple hits in the contest, including an RBI in the JSU fifth to secure the run-rule victory.
Junior Tiffany Harbin tossed the final 4.1 innings in the opener and silenced the Bulldogs' bats with just one hit and posting eight strike outs. Harbin started in the circle in the second contest and pitched a shutout in three innings of work. The Hazel Green, Ala.-product added three punch outs in her work in the second game. Casey Akenberger saw her first action in the circle at University Field to finish up the second game. Akenberger faced seven batters and allowed one hit.
Jax State exploded for six runs in the first inning to cruise to the win in the night cap. JSU, who finished with 12 total hits, connected on seven in the first frame. The first frame was highlighted by a pair of doubles from Kelci Johnston and Amanda Martinez. Johnson's rope to center field plated a pair of Gamecocks, while Martinez drove in Cadi Oliver. Oliver turned in a 2-for-2 day at the plate and scored three runs.
The Red and White would tack on three runs in the third and fourth before closing down the game in the fifth. JSU took advantage of four AAMU errors and five walks given up by the Bulldogs' hurler, Meaghan Gray.
The Gamecocks return to the diamond this weekend as they participate in the Phyllis Rafter Memorial Tournament in Woodstock, Ga. JSU will open the weekend against Bowling Green at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 22. They will turn around and play Georgia State at 2 p.m. to wrap up day one of the three-day event, hosted by Kennesaw State.