Softball Takes Two Over Samford
4/2/2011 9:28:00 PM | Softball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Softball (19-20, 9-2 SoCon) took advantage of a bright and sunny Saturday (April 2nd) afternoon to take a pair of wins over Samford (7-29, 4-7 SoCon) at the friendly confines of Eagle Field. Tabby Douberley's (Clyo, Ga.) walk-off home run gave the Eagles a 2-1 victory in the first game of the doubleheader. In the second game, Brianna Streetmon (Winder, Ga.) tossed a two-hit shutout as the Eagle bats erupted for five runs off 10 hits and the 5-0 victory.
"We are proud of two very solid pitching performances from Allie (Miles) and Brianna (Streetmon)." said Head Coach Maggie Johnson. "The defense was there behind them from start to finish and the offense stepped up when we needed it to. We are very proud with the effort on the field today."
Saturday's doubleheader was Georgia Southern's second-annual "Save Second Base" Breast Cancer Awareness Day. The Eagles wore pink T-shirts for pre-game warmups and donned pink socks for the games. Georgia Southern sold T-shirts during the game to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. This year's event has helped the Eagles raise more than $1,200 for the foundation's efforts to fight breast cancer.
"We truly appreciate all the support from the community and our fans helping to make our event successful," added Johnson.
-Game 1-
The first five innings of Saturday's series opener were a pitching duel with both Georgia Southern's Allie Miles (Dacula, Ga.) and Samford's Kayla Burris keeping the opposing offense under wraps. Miles allowed just two hits while Burris struck out nine Eagles in the first five innings.
Samford took a 1-0 lead in the sixth when a bases-loaded walk brought in the game's first run. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with no outs on a walk and two singles, but a pop-up and a strikeout gave Miles two outs in the frame. She worked ahead in the count to Aaren Fisher, but allowed the walk on a full count. Miles responded with a strikeout to retire the side with just one run score.
Following two quick outs in the bottom of the sixth, junior Mackenzie Williams (Baxley, Ga.) crushed a home run to left-center and tied the game, 1-1. The solo shot was her fifth home run of the season to become the third Eagle among the Southern Conference top-10 in home runs.
After a quiet top of the seventh, Douberley, the leadoff batter, ended game one with her second home run of the season. The walk-off home run was Georgia Southern's first of the season and gave the Eagles the thrilling 2-1 victory.
Miles picked up her ninth victory of the season and ran her SoCon record to 4-0. She scattered five hits and allowed just one run with five strikeouts in seven innings of work for her fifth complete game of the season.
-Game 2-
Junior Hanna Ennis (Snellville, Ga.) went 3-for-4 with two RBI in game two. She opened game two by hitting an RBI double to bring Marie Fogle (Rincon, Ga.) across the plate for Georgia Southern's first run.
In the third inning, Georgia Southern took advantage of a two-out throwing error to blow the game open and take a 4-0 lead. Williams' ground ball would have been the final out of the frame, but a three-base throwing error allowed Ennis to score from first and Williams to speed around to third base. Williams scored on Doublerley's RBI single and Doublerley came home to score on a double by Andrea Tarashuk (Flemington, N.J.).
The Eagles tacked on an insurance run in the fourth inning to take the 5-0 lead. Ennis stroked her third hit of the game to drive Alexa Lewis (Lawrenceville, Ga.) across for the run.
Streetmon was efficient, facing the minimum number of batters through four innings while allowing one hit in the game's opening inning. A second hit in the fifth with two outs was the only other blemish on an otherwise stellar outing by the two-time defending SoCon Pitcher of the Year. Streetmon needed just 80 pitches to record her eighth win of the year and earn her third shutout of 2011. She fanned five and walked just one in the game.
Georgia Southern will look for the sweep on Sunday against Samford. The series finale starts at 1 p.m. from Eagle Field.
Following Sunday's series finale, Georgia Southern Softball will hold a free Little Eagles Softball Camp for children ages 4-12. The camp is open to the public and will start approximately 15 minutes after the game. Camp attendees will receive instruction on hitting, throwing, fielding and base running from the Georgia Southern coaching staff and Eagle players. Registration for the camp will begin at noon and continue throughout the game. For more information about the camp, please contact assistant coach Liz Beirne at (912) 478-0983.
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.
