Ennis Pushes Eagles Past Furman, 1-0
4/17/2011 8:56:00 PM | Softball
STATESBORO, Ga. - For the second consecutive game, Georgia Southern Softball (25-23, 13-5 SoCon) cashed in an eighth-inning run for a 1-0 victory over Furman (13-24, 6-9 SoCon) on Sunday (April 17th) afternoon at Eagle Field. Hanna Ennis (Snellville, Ga.) plated Jorie Walker (Dublin, Ga.) with two outs in the eighth for the victory. The win earns Georgia Southern its second series sweep of the season and seventh all-time over the Paladins.
"Anytime you can sweep a conference series, you know you got a great effort from your team," said Head Coach Maggie Johnson. "Defense and pitching kept us in each game and we came through with the bats when we needed them. I'm so proud of the fight in this team."
Georgia Southern's victory in the eighth-inning came after consecutive two-out hits by Walker and Marie Fogle (Rincon, Ga.) kept the Eagles alive in the frame. Walker ripped a ball through the right side and stole second while Fogle batted. Fogle hit a slow roller to second and beat the throw with a head-first slide at first. With runners on the corners, Ennis lined a curveball into centerfield for the game-winning hit. Walker scampered home to score the game-winning run.
The Eagle pitching staff was locked in its second-straight pitchers' duel with the Paladins' Kayla Suskauer. Brianna Streetmon (Winder, Ga.) got the start in the circle and went the first four innings. She kept the Paladins at bay with two ground balls back to the circle to put an end to a first-inning threat.
She allowed three-straight hits in the first inning that loaded the bases with one out. Streetmon induced two ground balls back to the circle to get out of the jam with no runs scored.
Allie Miles (Dacula, Ga.) worked the final four innings and held the Paladins to just three hits while striking out four. She earned the victory, her 12th of the season, and has not allowed an earned run in her last 15 innings of work. Miles now leads the Southern Conference with 130 strikeouts this season.
Furman's Suskauer pitched her second complete game of the weekend and threw 20 of the 20.2 total innings of the three-game series. She dropped to 8-9 on the season. Georgia Southern recorded six hits in the game, including the first career hit by freshman pinch hitter Gabrielle Story (Swainsboro, Ga.).
The Eagles return to action this Wednesday, April 20th, for a single game against No. 3 Georgia. The game begins at 6:30 p.m. from UGA's Jack Turner Stadium.
Fans may follow all the action of the 2011 Georgia Southern Softball season by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/softball or check in for scores at twitter.com/GSScores or facebook.com/GSAthletics for updates.
