NO FOOLING AROUND: Eagles Win Series Against Chattanooga

STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Softball earned its first series victory over Chattanooga since 2008 with a 6-2 victory on Sunday at Eagle Field. The Eagles broke open an early pitcher's duel with a three-run home run in the fourth and added three more in the fifth to take control of the game. With the win, the Eagles improve to 22-12 overall and 8-1 in the league, strengthening their hold on first place. Chattanooga falls to 19-13 with a 5-2 SoCon mark.

"Our goal today was to go out and play our game," said Head Coach Annie Smith. "When we do that, we can play with anybody. Mackenzie's (Williams) home run in the fourth gave us some breathing room and it opened the game up for our offense. Sarah (Purvis) keeps throwing great games for us and our defense is been getting the job done behind her, which is what we stress to the team."

Chattanooga's starting pitcher, Taylor Deason took a no hitter into the fourth inning, but it was Hanna Ennis (Snellville, Ga.) that broke up the no-no bid with a single to left center. A walk to Marie Fogle (Rinocn, Ga.) put runners on first and second for Mackenzie Williams (Baxley, Ga.). The Eagle catcher crushed her third home run of the series, a three-run job, to left center, giving the Eagles a 3-0 lead and chasing Deason from the game in the fourth inning, she was relieved by Michelle Fuzzard.

Eagle starting pitcher Sarah Purvis (Warner Robins, Ga.) continued her yeoman's work in the circle for the Eagles. She kept the Mocs hitless for the first four and two-thirds innings with a double in the fifth ending her no hit bid.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Eagles struck again for three runs. Lexi Allen (Metter, Ga.) earned a one-out single with a line over the first baseman and got into scoring position with a stolen base. She scored the Eagles' fourth run of the game on an RBI double from Alexa Lewis (Lawrenceville, Ga.). Later in the frame with two outs, Fogle went downtown with her fifth home run of the season off the foul pole in left, giving the Eagles a 6-0 lead through five complete innings.

Chattanooga got on the board in the seventh, posting two runs off a pair of two doubles in the inning. Purvis, however, got out of the late jam to finish the afternoon with seven strikeouts, allowing just three hits and five for the entire series. She improves to 12-6 in the circle this season with the win.

Williams finished the afternoon 2-for-2 as she hit .667 (6-for-9) in the series. Three of the hits were home runs, giving her a stratospheric 1.778 slugging percentage in the three game series. Fogle was no slouch herself, hitting 5-for-9 against the Mocs (.556) with a stolen base.

Georgia Southern goes back on the road next weekend with a three-game series at UNCG. Play begins on Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. with a single game. The series concludes on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

Fans can follow their Eagles at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com or receive short updates at facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics or on Google+ at gplus.to/GSAthletics.

Category: Softball

Published on Sunday, 01 April 2012 15:25