STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern Softball suffered narrow 5-4defeat to Tennessee Tech in the final game of the 2015 Eagle Softball Classic. Morgan Robinson paced the Eagle offense with three hits, but it wasn't enough for the Georgia Southern side who heads back on the road for two weeks before Sun Belt play starts on March 7th.

"We've got such a young team out there, and I see us continuing to battle out there," said Head Coach Annie Smith. "I thought our pitchers did a nice job over the last few days to keep games close. I always tell the team that as long as we've got a shot in every ballgame, we're going to be ok. We kept fighting today and we had a chance to get the win down the stretch today."

Tennessee Tech sprung out to a 1-0 lead when Angi Sakamoto drove a leadoff home run down the right field line. The Golden Eagles got two runners aboard later in the frame, eventually scoring Madison Taylor on an infield fielder's choice to go up 2-0.

Georgia Southern answered back in the bottom of the first as freshman Rowan McGuire hit her first home run as an Eagle to the gap in right. She plated Morgan Robinson who pounded a single up the middle earlier in the inning. The two-run job leveled the score at 2-2.

The Golden Eagles stuck another run on the board in the second when Sakamoto ripped an RBI double down the right field line. Cruise scored from second on the play after she got aboard with a chopper to third which went down as a hit.

Robinson laced a two-out single down the first base line with two outs in the third to tie the game again at 3-3. Her ball down the line allowed shortstop Alesha Mann to scamper home from third and tie the game for the second time.

Tennessee Tech tacked on two more runs in the fourth, working a pair of hits in the inning and taking advantage of a Georgia Southern defensive miscue to post a 5-3 advantage.

Alesha Mann delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to plate Lindsey Wilcox from third base. The run cut the Tennessee Tech advantage to 5-4.

That, however, would be all the scoring as the Eagles stranded three runners in their final three trips to the plate. Robinson led the Eagles with three hits on the day, while Angi Sakamoto paced Tennessee Tech with three hits and two runs of her own.

Heather Felt got the start in the circle and allowed three runs, two earned in 1.1 innings of work. She left as the pitcher of record, but was handed the no decision when the Eagles tied the game in the third inning. Brooke Red pitched 5.2 innings of relief, scattering three hits and allowing two runs, one earned while striking out four batters.

Georgia Southern's offense got nine hits in the game off TTU pitcher Hannah Weaver, and struck out a season-low three times.

Next up for the Eagles is a trip to next weekend's NC State Tournament in Raleigh. The Eagles face NC State, Colgate, Saint Francis, Saint Joseph's, and North Dakota State in the three-day tournament. The Eagles are back home on March 7th & 8th against Texas State to open Sun Belt play.

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