Softball Eagles Split on Opening Day
2/20/2010 2:12:00 AM | Softball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Junior pitcher Brianna Streetmon (Winder, Ga.) threw four scoreless innings and gave up only one hit as the Eagles defeated Oakland 8-0 in the 2010 season opener. Georgia Southern played two games today as part of the 2010 Georgia Southern Eagle Classic. Sophomore Marie Fogle (Rincon, Ga.) hit the first home run for Georgia Southern going 2-3 with two runs batted in and scoring two runs.
The Eagles started the game with three runs in the first, including Fogle's home run to drive in senior Nina Iduate (Norcross, Ga.). Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) reached on an error and stole second to get in scoring position. Senior third baseman Jenny Side (Loganville, Ga.) drove in the third run of the inning.
Fogle started the third with a single and stole second, advancing to third on a sacrifice by Smith. Sam Russo's (Snellville, Ga.) single to right field brought Fogle home for the Eagles' run in the third. The four-run fourth inning began with Hanna Ennis' (Snellville, Ga.) single to right center. She advanced to second on an error on the second baseman. Kaitlynn Szczepanski (Chesapeake, Va.) drove in Ennis for her first career RBI as an Eagle. Both Kelly Burnett (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and Iduate would score in the inning on separate passed balls. Fogle then drove Szczepanski to close the scoring for the game in accordance with the run rule.
In the second game, Georgia Southern picked up where it left off, getting Fogle on base with a single up the middle. She promptly stole second and was then driven home by Iduate. The Eagle would then tie the game in the bottom of the fifth as Russo's sacrifice fly to right drive home Iduate. The Eagles would then again answer the Lady Bison swapping runs in the eighth inning as Mackenzie William's (Baxley, Ga.) sacrifice fly to center drove home Smith. However, the Eagles would be unable to rally again in the bottom of the 10th as they fell to Binghamton 6-4.
In the opening game of the Eagle Classic, Lipscomb used a three-run first inning and a four- run fifth inning to defeat Oakland. Lipscomb defeated Oakland 8-0 after five innings with the NCAA run rule.
In the second game of the day, Lipscomb defeated Binghamton 5-4. Lipscomb jumped out early on Binghamton before watching its lead evaporate in the sixth inning. Binghamton's Courtney Billington scored on a fielding error off a Christen Campbell line drive to right field in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Oakland meets Binghamton at 10 am. Saturday and the Eagles will play Lipscomb at noon. Bracket play begins at 2 p.m. with the number-4 seed meeting the number-1 seed. At 4 p.m., the number-3 and number-2 seeds will take the field.
Georgia Southern home games are broadcast by The Buzz, 91.9 locally, with Daniel Sallerson and Drew Cheshire calling all the action.
