BOX SCORE

JACKSONVILLE – Nikki Prier's bat led a JSU offense that provided starter Hilary Phillips all she would need on Wednesday, when the Jacksonville State softball team handed rival Samford a 3-2 defeat at University Field.

Prier, a senior from Raleigh, N.C., belted a solo home run and an RBI single in her two official at bats, while walking in two other plate appearances, while Phillips held the Bulldogs (14-30) at bay from the circle. The freshman from Ider, Ala., carried a perfect game into the fifth before wrapping up her ninth complete game in 14 starts for the Gamecocks (24-17).

In the 47th meeting in the all-time series and the first since the Bulldogs left the Ohio Valley Conference for the Southern Conference in 2009, Phillips struck out seven Samford batters and walked four to improve to 10-7 on the year. She needed 100 pitches to earn the win and improve the Gamecocks to 29-18 in the series, one that has seen them win 11 of the last 13.

Phillips cruised through the first four innings, retiring the first 13 batters she faced before running into a little trouble in the fifth. She issued a one-out walk to Amanda Jordan, Samford's first baserunner of the night, to set up a game-tying two run home run off the bat of Anna Kimbrell. Phillips' 1-2 pitch was lined over the wall down the left field line, breaking up her no-hitter and shut out in one swing.

In the meantime, the Gamecocks got just enough offense to support Phillips' gem. Junior Amanda Crow hit her team-leading eighth home run of the season in the second to give JSU an early lead, while Prier's solo shot came in the third and put JSU up by a pair. The round tripper by Prier was the 35th of her career, moving her to within one of Rachel Countryman's 36, which is third in JSU's career books.

After the Bulldogs tied the game in the fifth, Prier struck again with a single in the bottom of the frame that drove in freshman Kelci Johnston from second and proved to be the game winner. The hit followed Johnston's leadoff walk and a steal of second that put the Northport, Ala., native in position to score the game winner.

Samford didn't get its second hit until the top of the seventh, when a one-out double from Rachael Reeves put the tying run in scoring position. Phillips settled down from there, retiring Kayla Shaffer on a sacrifice bunt and forcing pinch hitter Robyn Harmon to ground out to first.

The Bulldogs' Kayla Burris (1-2) suffered the loss in relief of starter Stephanie Royall after allowing two runs on five hits in four innings of work. Royall went just 1 1/3 innings before being pulled. She threw 33 pitches, only 13 strikes, walked three and gave up a run on a hit.

The Gamecocks will travel to Clarksville, Tenn., this weekend for a three-game OVC series at Austin Peay that will begin with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The two will conclude the series with a single game on Sunday at 12 p.m.