SUNDAY'S SCORES
@SIUE 8, Tennessee State 2
@Jacksonville State 9, Austin Peay 5
@Jacksonvile State 18, Austin Peay 4 (5)
Murray State 4, @Tennessee Tech 0
Murray State 14, @Tennessee Tech 5
JACKSONVILEL STATE 9, AUSTIN PEAY 5; JACKSONVILLE STATE 18, AUSTIN PEAY 4
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - - The friendly confines of University Field has once again provided to be the difference for the Jacksonville State softball team this season.
Gamecocks (30-14, 13-5 Ohio Valley Conference) had to come from behind in game one of a doubleheader against Austin Peay (8-30, 4-15 OVC) to defeat the Govs 9-5 before JSU's offense exploded in game two en route to an 18-4 victory. The 18 runs are the most in an OVC game since March 15 of last year, when the Gamecocks scored 17 against Tennessee Tech.
Sara Borders put on an outstanding performance as the senior from Alexandria went 6-for-7 on the day while clubbing two home runs to push her season total to 14, one behind the OVC lead, and driving in six runs and scoring four runs. She now sits eight behind the Jacksonville State career home run mark of 53.
On the week, Borders had a .688 (11-16) batting average while scoring eight runs, hitting five home runs, driving in 13 runs, collecting 28 total bases, and hitting two doubles. She also had an on base percentage of .722 and slugged 1.750.
Over the course of four OVC games this weekend, Borders went 10-for-13 (.765), hit four home runs and drove in 10 runs.
In game one, Stephanie Lewis continued her hot hitting as she went 2-for-4 including a two-run home run during a five-run fifth inning for Jacksonville State. Savannah Sloan, Whitney Gillespie, Caitlyn Sapp, Taylor Sloan, Jordan Bullock and Emily Woodruff all recorded a hit for the Gamecocks.
Sapp and Woodruff each drove in one and two runs respectively while Cadi Oliver recorded a sacrifice fly to score Savannah Sloan to get JSU on the board in the first inning. Taylor Sloan also scored two runs and Ella Denes drove in a run on a fielder's choice.
Taylor West started in the circle for the Gamecocks in game one and went 3 2/3 innings before being knocked out of the contest following a Laurel Burroughs grand slam in the top of the fourth. She struck out five while only walking one. Logan Green came on in relief to go the final 3 1/3 and she only surrendered two hits, struck out two and walked one to earn her 12th win on the season.
In the first inning of the game, catcher Savannah Sloan swiped second base to become just the seventh player in Gamecocks history to steal 30 bases for her career.
Whitney Gillespie set the Govs down in order to start game two and then Sara Borders followed a Savannah Sloan double with a double of her own to put JSU up 1-0 and the Gamecocks never looked back. Later in the inning, Emily Woodruff singled back up the middle to score Borders and Stephanie Lewis to make it 3-0.
Another three-up, three-down inning for Gillespie (9-5) in the circle in the top of the second gave the JSU bats a chance to continue their hot streak and they didn't disappoint.
Highlighted by a three-run home run by Borders, the Gamecocks plated four runs in the bottom of the second as a fielder's choice off the bat of Savannah Sloan plated Taylor Sloan.
A sacrifice fly to left field by Chandler Groves put Austin Peay on the board as Sidney Hooper scored from third base, but that was all the Govs mustered against Gillespie.
Jacksonville State really came to life in the bottom of the third as the Gamecocks put an eight spot on the scoreboard on eight hits. Melanie Steer got the party started with a two-run double to score Emily Woodruff and Gillespie, and then Cadi Oliver followed with a single to score Taylor Sloan. Ella Denes made it three hits in a row as she doubled home Steer and pushed Oliver to third.
Borders doubled home Denes following Oliver scoring off a wild pitch. Woodruff came back up and drove in Borders before Taylor Sloan plated Stephanie Lewis to finish the inning.
Taylor West came into the circle to start the fourth and walked the leadoff batter before setting down the rest of the Govs in order. Glencoe native Jamie McGuire drilled her first home run of the season in the bottom half of the frame.
Austin Peay scored three runs off Jordan Sims in the top half of the fifth before shutting the door on the Gamecocks' mercy rule win.
SIUE 8, TENNESSEE STATE 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - For those who remained after a 3-hour, 6-minute rain delay Sunday to see the SIUE softball team defeat Tennessee State 8-2 at Cougar Field, the Cougars thank you.
Rain was plentiful and caused what was scheduled as a doubleheader to become just a single game. The event started 41 minutes late due to the weather, and watching the weather radar became a spectator sport.
SIUE, 35-10 overall and 16-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference, grabbed the early lead in the game with two runs in the first inning. Haley Chambers scored on a wild pitch by Tennessee State starter Taylor Green. Alex McDavid added an RBI on an infield out, scoring Rebecca Gray from third.
The Cougars tallied four runs in the bottom of the third. Chambers started the inning with a single up the middle. Gray bunted for a single. Both Gray and Chambers moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt by Allison Smiley and scored on a double by McDavid.
After Rachel Keller walked and Whitney Lanphier was hit by a pitch, McDavid scored on another wild pitch. Brittany Toney added an RBI single that drove home Keller.
With Tess Eby at the plate and a 3-1 count, the umpires called for a delay as rain continued to fall.
Chambers, who started for the Cougars, had allowed just one hit through three innings and now has 17 straight innings without giving up a run as a starter. After the delay, both SIUE and Tennessee State switched pitchers.
The Cougars and the Tigers, 9-31 overall and 2-17 in the OVC, played another 64 minutes and each scored two runs. SIUE picked up its two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run single by Smiley.
Baylee Douglass was awarded the win after coming into the game to start the top of the fourth. She is now 14-5.
SIUE plays its final nonconference matchup of the season Wednesday when it travels to Kansas for a 1 p.m. game against the Jayhawks.
MURRAY STATE 4, TENNESSEE TECH 0; MURRAY STATE 14, TENNESSEE TECH 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Murray State softball team picked up two much need road wins Sunday, as they swept a doubleheader at Tennessee Tech to move into third in the OVC standings. The Racers picked up a 4-0 shutout win in game one and used a 10-run rally to clinch the sweep in game two, 14-5.
Alexa Becker led off game one with a single for Murray State (26-16, 13-7 OVC) and was replaced by Mo Ramsey on a fielder’s choice in the next at bat. Jessica Twaddle, then wasted little time in getting the Racers on the board with a home run to give her team a 2-0 lead. In the third, Twaddle made it 3-0 with a bunt single to score Erica Howard, who reached on a walk.
The two teams remained scoreless for the next three and a half innings, with Murray State tallying just one hit over that span, while Tennessee Tech (26-22, 13-7 OVC) came up with three. However, in the top of the seventh, Maggie Glass padded Murray State’s lead with a solo home run to lead off the frame, increasing the score to 4-0.
The Golden Eagles started off hot in the top of the seventh, getting runners into scoring position on a hit by pitch and a single. CheyAnne Gaskey, however, stepped up for Murray State and retired the next three batters to preserve the 4-0 shutout win. Gaskey (14-8) picked up her fourth shutout of the season by allowing no runs on five hits with six strikeouts and just two walks.
Twaddle led the Racers in the contest by going for 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a home run, while Alexa Becker followed at 2-for-4. Erica Howard also had a great day for Murray State as she was officially 0-for-0, but walked in each of her three plate appearances and also scored a run.Howe
In game two, Murray State once again got off to a hot start in the first by loading the bases on a Mo Ramsey single, a Jessica Twaddle double and walk by Shelbey Miller. Jocelynn Rodgers then scored Ramsey on a single, which was followed by a sacrifice fly from Maggie Glass to score Twaddle and give the Racers a 2-0 lead.
In the fourth, MSU continued its display of power when Taylor Odom made it 4-0 on her third home run of the season, after Glass walked earlier in the stanza. In the bottom of the sixth, with runners at the corners the game went into an 83 minute rain delay. After the delay, the Golden Eagles mounted a two-out rally with a pair of singles, a triple and a MSU error to take a 5-4 lead.
In the seventh, Ramsey got the Racers started off on the right foot with a bunt single. Twaddle followed with her third hit of the game to give MSU runners at first at second with no outs. Shelbey Miller tied the game at 5-5 in the next at bat when she singled to the wall to drive in Ramsey.
Murray State then took the lead back with double from Jocelynn Rodgers to make it 7-5. Glass then followed Rodgers with her second home run of the day to make it 9-5 with no outs. Murray State would go on to score five more runs in the seventh, totaling 10 runs on 11 hits in the frame. Tech threatened in the seventh, but could not get close and MSU held on for the 14-5 win.
The 18 hits ties the program record for most in a game, while the 14 runs ranks fifth. Twaddle led MSU in game two by going a career-high 4-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs, while Ramsey was 3-for-5 with three runs and a RBI and Howard was 3-for-4 with a run. Gakey moved to 15-8 with the relief win, allowing no runs on just one hit with three strikeouts over 1.1 innings.