HIGHLIGHTS:
• Morgan Robinson hit her fifth home run of the season against BSU
• Alesha Mann had a 3-run, walk off homer to end the game against BSU
• Mann recorded 2 runs scored and 5 RBI on the day
• A.J. Hamilton hit her fifth home run of the season against TTU
 
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Georgia Southern softball team split a pair of games Saturday afternoon to end their time in the Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic, capping their eight games over nine days in Texas. In the day's first game, the Eagles defeated Boise State 12-9 when Alesha Mann blasted a three-run, walk-off home run before falling 14-5 to Texas Tech at Rocky Johnson Field.
 
Game 1 – GS 12, BSU 9
The day's first game was a back-and-forth affair as the two teams traded the lead throughout the game. Boise State (7-19) scored first in the top of the second with a pair of runs off a Rebekah Cervantes home run before GS (15-13) came soaring back with five runs to take the 5-2 lead in the bottom of the frame. Scoring the runs for the Eagles were Morgan Robinson, Hannah Farrell, Macy Weeks, India Davis and Lydia Witkowski. Batting the five in were Mann, Davis and Taylor Rogers.
 
The Broncos knotted the score back up with three runs in the top of the third inning and then took a two-run lead in the top of the fourth, but the Eagles were not done as they plated three in the bottom of the very same inning to take an 8-7 lead. Emily Snider had a sacrifice fly to score Davis and then Robinson ripped her fifth home run of the season to also score Witkowski and give GS the one-run advantage.
 
Boise State was able to tie the game back up at 8-8 in the top of the fifth, but Georgia Southern continued to battle hard at the plate as Robinson recorded her third RBI of the game when she reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Witkowski to score.
 
The Broncos tied the game up one final time in the top of the seventh inning, but the magic happened in the bottom of the inning. With two runners on and one out, Mann stepped up to the plate and hit a rocket to just left of straight center field, scoring Weeks and A.J. Hamilton to end the game in walk off fashion. It was Mann's fourth home run of the season and she now has 14 runs batted in on the season.
 
Witkowski and Davis led the way at the plate in the day's first game, each going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Davis finished the game with two RBI while Witkowski batted in one runner. Robinson finished the game with two runs scored and three RBI.
 
Sophomore Kierra Camp started the game in the circle for the Eagles with sophomore Heather Felt coming in to pitch one inning before freshman Dixie Raley finished things off with a three-inning, four strikeout performance to claim the win. Nicole Wilson (2-5) was saddled with the loss for Boise State after pitching four complete innings while giving up seven earned runs and six hits.
 
Game 2 – TTU 14, GS 5 (6 Inn.)
Texas Tech (13-15) worked quickly early in the day's second game to establish a four-run lead after one inning and then added a single run in each the second and third innings.
 
Mann was able to break up the TTU no-hitter in the bottom of the third inning with a double to right-center field and then moved over to third on the next batter before Witkowski sent a sharply hit ball to the second baseman that got through to the outfield and gave Mann enough time to cross the plate to score.
 
TTU added another run in the top of the fourth inning to lead 7-1, but Georgia Southern would not go quietly as the Eagles scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth when Hamilton ripped her fifth home run of the season which also scored Weeks.
 
The Red Raiders added another seven runs in the top of the sixth, including Kirsten Scwirtlich hitting her second homer of the game, to set the score at 14-3. The Eagles still refused to give up in the bottom of the frame as Robinson batted in Snider all the way from first with a double to right field followed by Mann ripping her second hit of the game to center field, scoring Haley Carter.
 
Weeks and Mann both finished the second game having gone 2-for-3 at the plate and each scored a run. Hamilton batted in two runners.
 
Raley (10-6) started the game for the Eagles and was the pitcher of record while Dominique Alcocer (5-6) claimed the win for TTU in four innings of work.

COACH SMITH SAYS
"Overall I think we had a very good, productive week. We did a lot of good things both on offense as well as defense: scored a lot of runs, made good contact at the plate and our pitchers and defense battled hard. Obviously we would like to have gotten a couple different results, but I am very pleased with the progress we made on the field and the fight we showed all week long."
 
UP NEXT
Georgia Southern will return to the Peach State and travel up to Athens where the Eagles will face the nationally-ranked Bulldogs on Wednesday, Mar. 23 in a single game. The game will air live on the SEC Network+ with first pitch coming at 6 p.m.
 
 
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