WOODSTOCK, Ga. – A late rally lifted the Jacksonville State softball team to a 9-8 extra-inning win over Western Kentucky on Friday and salvaged a split after falling 4-1 to No. 23 Kentucky on the opening day of the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic.

Against the Hilltoppers in the nightcap, the Gamecocks (5-5) trailed 5-1 heading into the fifth inning, rallied and then pulled off the win in the ninth. Senior Hillary Downs went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in the win to pace a 14-hit attack by the JSU offense, while freshman Krystal Ruth's ninth-inning two-run home run put the game just out of reach.

In the first game of the day, Kentucky's Chanda Bell held the Gamecocks' offense at bay after settling in. She allowed two hits over the first two innings, including a solo home run by junior Amanda Crow in the second, but didn't allow a hit from that point. Senior Nikki Prier doubled in the first to account for the Gamecocks' other hit.

Natalie Smith and Molly Johnson each went 2-for-4 for the Wildcats, while Meagan Aull's first home run of the season capped UK's six-hit afternoon.

Junior Ashley Eliasson (1-5) lost her fifth-straight decision after allowing four runs, two earned, on six hits in six innings in the circle. She struck out four and walked three and continued to struggle in the field, making two errors. Freshman Hilary Phillips came on in the seventh with no out and a runner on and put the Wildcats down in order.

JSU bats finally came to life midway through the final game of the day, after three WKU runs in the third and two more in the fourth put the Gamecocks down 5-1. JSU got its early run off of the bat of sophomore Tess Echols, who belted her first home run in a JSU uniform to give the Gamecocks a short-lived one-run lead.

Downs pulled JSU within two runs at 5-3 in the fifth with her first home run of the season, one that followed a double from senior Chrissy O'Neal. The Gamecocks cut that deficit in half in the sixth on a Downs single that plated Echols, who led off the frame with a walk, from second.

The Gamecocks claimed a 6-5 lead with a two-run seventh, thanks to an RBI single from freshman Kelci Johnston and a fielder's choice from Echols that drove in Kaycee Crow from third. That lead would also be short lived, as the Hilltoppers sent the game into extra innings on Katrina Metoyer's RBI single.

An infield single from freshman Sam Rich plated Krystal Ruth and gave the Gamecocks a 7-6 lead in the top of the eight, but WKU would answer with a run to tie it again in the home half of the inning, thanks to a run-scoring double off of the bat of Elizabeth Ferrell.

Ruth did her magic in the top of the ninth with a two-out blast to right center that was her second career hit and her second career home run. The Hilltoppers got one in the bottom of the inning but Eliasson settled in to strike out the side with the tying run on third and the winning run on first.

Eliasson (2-5) used a solid relief appearance to snap a skid of five-straight losses in the circle. The Vallejo, Calif., native allowed three runs, one earned, on six hits in 4.1 innings of relief work. She struck out five and walked a pair in relief of Sam Snow, who surrendered three runs, one earned, on four hits in three innings. Rich tossed 1.2 innings and allowed two runs on three hits and a couple of walks.

Mallorie Sulaski suffered the loss for WKU after surrendering seven runs, five earned, on 11 hits in 7.1 innings in the circle. She struck out five and walked five in the process.

Rich also finished the game with three hits in five at bats, while six Gamecocks recorded one hit. Echols was 1-for-3 with two walks, two RBI and two runs scored.

The Gamecocks will play two games on Saturday at the Buzz Classic, starting with a 3 p.m. CT matchup with Winthrop. They will then take on North Florida at 5 p.m. CT. JSU's tourney will conclude on Sunday, when the Gamecocks take on UNC-Greensboro at 10 a.m. CT.