STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern softball team (8-12, 1-2) will host Appalachian State (9-8, 3-0) this weekend in the Southern Conference home opener. The Eagles opened conference play last week in Charleston, S.C. and won their first conference game of the season 1-0 over the College of Charleston. Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) provided Georgia Southern's lone run in the second inning with a solo shot to left, her first of the season.
Brianna Streetmon (Winder, Ga.) has been one of the best pitchers in the conference this season and leads the league in ERA (2.06) and opposing batting average (.209). She has been a workhorse for the Eagles appearing in 15 games and pitching 57-plus innings, which ranks in the top third of the conference.
Georgia Southern has had success against Appalachian State in the past and is 18-8 all-time. The Eagles dropped the first game of the series against the Mountaineers last season but responded winning three straight including the SoCon tournament opener. The pitching staff was dominate against Appalachian State allowing no earned runs in over 29 innings pitched. Smith picked up a pair of wins against the Mountaineers last season including a 4-2 complete game victory in the tournament.
Hanna Ennis (Snellville, Ga.) will look to extend her eight-game hit streak against Appalachian State Saturday. Ennis started the season with a nine-game hit streak, which is the longest by an Eagle this season. The Snellville native also leads the SoCon in hits in her freshman campaign.
The Mountaineers enter this weekend's series riding a five-game win streak. Appalachian State swept Samford last weekend and Presbyterian Wednesday. They are batting .266 as a team and average five runs a game.
Katie Boyd has been hitting the cover off the ball this season and leads the league in batting average (.532), slugging (1.149) and on-base percentage (.641). Boyd went four for five with a double and a homer against Presbyterian.
Kayla Richardson has been solid on the mound holding the opposition to a .211 batting average.
First pitch in Saturday's doubleheader is set for 1 p.m. at Eagle Field.
