Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
GAINESVILLE, FLA. – Georgia Southern Softball opened the UF Lipton Invitational in style with a 3-0 win over Coastal Carolina and a 4-3 victory over Troy.

"I think it was a really good day for us," said Head Coach Annie Smith. "I was really happy with the win over Coastal Carolina. Sarah (Purvis) pitched a great game and the bottom of our lineup got some great hits. In game two, we got a good win over a future Sun Belt opponent. We fought through some early errors and Brooke (Red) pitched a great game. Kourtny (Thomas) came up big with the grand slam."

GAME ONE
GS 3, Coastal Carolina 0

Georgia Southern needed nearly two hours to play a game which lasted nearly seven hours thanks to a lengthy rain delay in the sixth inning. The Eagles survived the storm and took a 3-0 win over Coastal Carolina to open the Lipton Invitational.

The Eagles got all three of their runs in the fifth with the first two coming off a triple by Breanna McLendon. An error later in the inning plated McLendon to account for the balance of Georgia Southern's scoring in the game.

Three runs was all Sarah Purvis needed as the tossed her second shutout of the season. She pitched around five Chanticleer hits to improve to 4-2 on the season.

GAME TWO
GS 4, Troy 3

Friday's second game was a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over future Sun Belt Conference foe Troy. The Eagles pounded out five hits and overcame three defensive errors to pick up the victory to move to 8-3 on the season.

Troy posted a 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and third innings.

Kourtny Thomas did the damage for the Eagles, hitting he first career grand slam in the fifth inning. It was the first slam for the Eagles since Marie Fogle hit one on April 2, 2011.

The Trojans got another run in the bottom of the fifth, but pitcher Brooke Red stymied Troy's offense down the stretch, holding them to six hits while striking out six for her third victory of the season in the circle.

The Eagles are back in action on Saturday, facing Indiana and Coastal Carolina. The Eagles play the Hoosiers at 4:30 p.m. and the Chanticleers at 6:45 p.m. The weekend closes on Sunday afternoon against No. 1 Florida.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics.