Purvis' No Hitter Opens Sweep of La Salle

STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Softball recorded a pair of victories over La Salle on Monday afternoon at Eagle Field. Sarah Purvis tossed a no hitter in game one of the doubleheader to take the 6-0 win while the bats produced a six inning 8-0 victory in game two. Purvis struck out 16 batters in the outing, one shy of a school record. The no hitter is the first for an Eagle pitcher since 2009

"Our pitching staff did a great job today," said Head Coach Annie Smith. "All four of our pitchers do different things well and they really complement each other and are able to keep opposing batters off balance. The offense did a great job of scoring runs. Now our focus is starting conference play against Samford this weekend."

-GAME 1-

Georgia Southern's (10-7) starting pitcher, Sarah Purvis (Warner Robins, Ga.), opened game one in style, striking out the first three La Salle (0-6) batters of the first inning on nine-straight pitches. In the bottom of the frame, Mackenzie Williams (Baxley, Ga.) lofted a fly ball to centerfield. The ball carried over the fence for a two-run home run thanks to the 20 mph winds blowing out to centerfield, giving GSU an early 2-0 lead. Williams' home run moves her into sole possession of ninth place on the career home run list at Georgia Southern with 15.

Georgia Southern tacked on a run in the fourth, using a bunt by Andrea Tarashuk (Flemington, N.J.) to score Marie Fogle (Rincon, Ga.) from third base. The Eagles would load the bases later in the frame, but could not add to the 3-0 lead.

In the fifth, Fogle's rocket triple to left center scored pinch runner Brianna McLendon (Soperton, Ga.) from first base, extending the Georgia Southern lead to 4-0. Pinch hitter Savannah Coon (Cuppling, Ga.) went yard in the sixth to add two more runs to the Eagle total. Coon's first career long-ball gave the Eagles a 6-0 lead going into the top of the seventh.

Purvis continued her magnificent outing by striking the first nine batters out in order. She would finish the game with 16 strikeouts, one shy of Aimee Littlejohn's school record 17 strikeouts. Purvis' no hitter was the first no-no since Brianna Streetmon blanked South Carolina State on March 23, 2009.

-GAME 2-

The Eagles took advantage of a leadoff walk to Alexa Lewis (Lawrenceville, Ga.) she reached third with two outs and scored as a result of a La Salle illegal pitch. The run gave an early 1-0 lead to Georgia Southern.

In the third inning, Ennis smoked a line drive home run to centerfield, scoring two runs and extending the advantage to 4-0. It was her 11th career long ball and her first three-run slam, she needs three home runs to tie Amanda Hall (2008-09) for 10th place all-time.

Williams hit her second home run of the game in the fifth inning with a two-run bomb to right field. Another run in the bottom of the sixth gave the Eagles the run-rule victory. Kaitlyn Johnson (Fayetteville, Ga.) hit a double to the wall in center to score Thomas from second and end the game early, 8-0.

Relief pitcher Marla Thompson (Statesboro, Ga.) was handed the victory, going two perfect innings in relief of starting pitcher Brooke Red (Warner Robins, Ga.). Thompson earned her first collegiate win and struck out three batters. Red allowed two hits in three innings of work.

Georgia Southern goes back on the road this weekend for the first Southern Conference series of the year at Samford. The series starts on Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m. (CT) doubleheader.

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Category: Softball

Published on Monday, 05 March 2012 18:51