MONDAY'S SCORES
@Jacksonville State 10, Southeast Missouri 4
@Jacksonville State 6, Southeast Missouri 5
@Morehead State 4, Eastern Illinois 3
Eastern Illinois 8, @Morehead State 2
JACKSONVILLE STATE 10, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4; JACKSONVILLE STATE 6, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - - The long ball kept the Jacksonville State softball team unbeaten in Ohio Valley Conference play on Monday, when they Gamecocks swept a doubleheader from Southeast Missouri at University Field.
The Gamecocks (20-7, 4-0 OVC) belted five home runs in a 10-4 win to start the day and then got a walk-off two-run homer from Sara Borders to close the sweep with a 6-5 win in the nightcap. JSU extended its winning streak to eight and won its 12th in the last 13 with the sweep, and Borders' game winner extended JSU's streak of games with at least one homer to eight.
Borders, a senior from Alexandria, Ala., ran her career home run total to 39, passing Nikki Prier for third on the school's all-time list. She trails Chrissy O'Neal (40) in second place by one.
Freshman Whitney Gillespie homered twice in the opener and got the win in relief in the finale, while Ella Denes, Savannah Sloan and Cadi Oliver also contributed to the five-homer game. Sloan went 4-for-6 on the day, while freshman Emily Woodruff also had four hits, two in each game.
In the opener, Gillespie's three-run homer got the scoring started in the bottom of the first for the Gamecocks. She drove the first pitch she saw from Keaira Schilling well over the wall in straightaway center to clear the bases after a double from Jordan Bullock and a walk by Borders.
SEMO got one on the board in the top of the third on an RBI single from Taylor McDannold. Her bloop single to left center was the third-straight hit for the Redhawks, flowing singles from Lindsey Patterson and Alexis Anderson.
The second three-run homer of the day for the Gamecocks came in the third, when Savannah Sloan fouled off 12 pitches before driving Schilling's 15th pitch of the at bat over the left side of the scoreboard in left. The senior's first home run of the year gave the Gamecocks a 6-1 advantage.
The fourth inning saw Gillespie and Ella Denes go back-to-back to make it an 8-2 JSU lead. Gillespie hit her second homer to straightaway center and the Denes bounced one high off the tin roof of the batting cage beyond the right field wall.
The Redhawks pushed two more across in the sixth and made it a n 8-4 game, but Cadi Oliver got them right back with a two-run blast in the home half of the inning. JSU's fifth homer of the game put the deciding 10-4 score on the board.
Taylor West (6-2) earned the win in the circle after holding the Redhawks to four runs on 10 hits in the complete game. The Anniston, Ala., native struck out seven and walked four in the win.
Schilling (2-7) suffered the loss after surrendering six runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings in the circle. Aubrey Denno pitched the final 3.2 innings, allowing four runs on four hits.
Gillespie drove in four in her 2-for-2, two home run game, while Sloan drove in three on her homer.
JSU manufactured a run in the first inning of the second game after a big fielding miscue by SEMO. A leadoff walk to Emily Woodruff was followed by a throwing error from Savannah Carpenter that put runners at second and third with no outs. Borders got under one to drive in Woodruff on a sac fly and put the Gamecocks up 1-0.
Borders doubled in another run in the third on a ball that short-hopped the wall in right to start the three-run inning for the Gamecocks. A Gillespie grounder to short drove in Jordan Bullock, who slid around the tag at the plate to make it a 3-0 JSU lead. Denes lifted one to right to plate Borders on a sac fly that made it 4-0 in the third.
SEMO centerfielder Kayla Fortner, who'd been quiet for much of the day after being named the OVC Player of the Week before first pitch, got her first hit in the top of the fourth with a leadoff homer to right center. Her eight homer of the year got SEMO on the board and cut JSU's lead to 4-1.
The Redhawks got one back in the fifth and then took their first lead of the day on Lindsey Patterson's three-run homer in the top of the sixth. The shot to center off Gillespie snapped a streak of 16.1 consecutive scoreless innings and gave SEMO a 5-4 lead.
The Gamecocks saved a little magic for the seventh inning, one that started with a walk by Bullock and ended on Borders' game winner. She drove Madeline Krumrey's 3-2 pitch deep over the wall in center to keep JSU unbeaten in league play.
Gillespie (7-2) picked up the win in relief after holding SEMO to the three runs on three its in 2.2 innings of work. She relieved Logan Green, who left the game with the lead after holding the Redhawks to two runs on six hits in 4.1 innings in the circle.
Krumry (3-4) was tagged with the loss after allowing six runs, five earned, on eight hits in just over six innings of work.
MOREHEAD STATE 4, EASTERN ILLINOIS 3; EASTERN ILLINOIS 8, MOREHEAD STATE 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Eastern Illinois softball earned an Ohio Valley Conference split at Morehead State on Monday (March 23), as the Panthers dropped the opening contest, 4-3, but countered with an 8-2 nightcap victory.
The Panthers move to 8-15 overall and 3-4 in early-season league action. The Eagles, meanwhile, drop to 9-13 and 1-3, respectively.
EIU will now return home to prepare for this coming weekend's home opener versus Murray State as the Racers come to town for a Saturday (March 28) twinbill and Sunday (March 29) single game. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. each both days at Williams Field.
In the nightcap victory, the host Eagles broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of the fourth inning with a two-run homer, but the Panthers would add three runs in their half of the sixth off a two-RBI single by sophomore Amber Toenyes to plate seniors Hannah Cole and Bailey O'Dell. Sophomore Hannah Rachor added her own RBI shot to center to bring home freshman pinch-runner Tori Johnson.
Eastern then added four security runs in the next frame as O'Dell delivered her eighth base-clearing shot of the year to score juniors Jennette Isaac and April Markowski. While Rachor added another RBI single, this time to right field, to help plate Toenyes and Cole.
Rachor led all players with a 3-for-4 plate performance, while O'Dell and Cole each went 2-for-3 as well in the victory. The Panthers out-hit the Eagles, 11-to-5, while both squads stranded several potential scorers as Morehead State led that stat line, 8-to-7.
Freshman Jessica Wireman earned the complete-game win to improve to 4-8 in the circle, fanning three Eagle batters, but walking six. A pair of MOR pitchers saw action and combined for nine Ks and five walks.
In the tough first game loss, the Panthers jumped out to an early 3-0 advantage in the fourth as junior transfer Katie Watson helped O'Dell score off a sac fly RBI, despite the fact that the Eagle defender dropped the catch. EIU then added to the score with two more runs off a Morehead State miscue.
The host team would tie it up in the bottom of the fifth off a three-run homer, before earning the eventual game-winner in the sixth via an RBI single.
Michelle Rogers was tabbed for the loss, as the freshman falls to 3-6 overall. Junior Haylee Beck was able to register a stolen base in the loss.
Team-wise, was out-hit 9-to-6 in the first game, stranding five baserunners to just four for the Eagles.
In twinbill numbers, Cole led the way with a .600 batting average (3-for-5), while O'Dell and Rachor each tallied three RBI. Wireman held the MSU bats to a low .217 mark, while defensively Rachor's six assisted led the way as EIU also had an errorless day.