Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
STATESBORO, GA.  – Georgia Southern took a pair of games over Elon in the SoCon Home Opener for the Eagles. GS took the opener 7-3 behind 12 strikeouts from Sarah Purvis. The Eagles went to extra innings for the first time this season in game two and came away with a 5-4 win in eight innings to sweep the doubleheader and win the series. The Eagles will go for the sweep on Sunday morning at 11 a.m.

"We got two great team wins today and I'm very happy with the way the team played," said Head Coach Annie Smith. "We had a lot of people step up today and we got some great plays from everyone in the lineup. We made some mistakes today, but I'm happy that we didn't let those mistakes affect us down the line."

Prior to Sunday's series finale there will be an Alumni Day ceremony to honor Eagle greats of the past. Alumni participating in the ceremony should be at the field by 10:30 a.m.

GAME ONE
GS 7, ELON 3

Kourtny Thomas put the Eagles on top in the first inning when she drove the first pitch over the wall in left center. The three-run job was her 11th home run of the season. The Eagles tacked on two more runs in the second inning. The first scored on a throwing error by the Elon catcher and the second scored off a sacrifice fly by Shelby Morrill.

Elon cut into the lead in the third when Carleigh Nester hit a three-run home run down the line in left off a full count with two runners in scoring position. That long-ball cut the Georgia Southern advantage to 5-3 in the third.

A double by Kaitlyn Johnson opened the fifth inning; she scored when AJ Hamilton, the next batter up, hit a single down the line in left to make it a 6-3 advantage for the Eagles. An RBI groundout by pinch hitter Dominique Grossman added another run for the Eagles in the fifth.

Those runs were all starting pitcher Sarah Purvis would need as the senior went the distance, allowing just three hits to pick up her 10th win of the season. She fanned 12 Phoenix batters including seven looking.

GAME TWO
GS 5, ELON 4 (8 Inn.)

Georgia Southern posted a pair of two-run leads, but each time Elon had the answer, tying the score at two and four runs, respectively. The Eagles got a runner aboard with one out thanks to a fielding error by the Elon first baseman. A single by Thomas moved pinch runner Nicole Benton into scoring position with just one out. Five-hole hitter Morgan Robinson delivered a double to the track in right center, ending the game and handing the Eagles a 5-4 win.

The Eagles got on the board in the first frame, taking advantage of a leadoff walk and a pair of hits to post a 2-0 lead, but left the bases loaded in the frame. For the game, Georgia Southern would strand 14 runners, including two when the game ended.

Elon bounced back with a pair of runs in the second, Emily Roper and Johanna Spencer each drove in runs to tie the game at 2-2.
Brianna McLendon opened the second with a leadoff single and worked her way in to score off a hit by Shelby Morrill to put the Eagles back on top 3-2. After an open third frame, an RBI single from Thomas drove Emily Snider in from second after the freshman delivered a leadoff double. That run put the lead back to 4-2.

Elon clawed back in the fifth inning, using Carleigh Nester's two-RBI double to left to score two runs and knot the game at 4-4.

Brooke Red was exceptional in the circle, working around six hits for eight innings to pick up her eighth win of the season. She struck out 12 Elon batters to match her career-high which was set last weekend against UNCG.

The same two teams are back on the diamond for the final game in the three-game set on Sunday. The Alumni Day game starts at 11 a.m. from Eagle Field.

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