CLEARWATER, Fla. –   Georgia Southern closed the USF Under Armour Invitational with a pair of wins over Rhode Island and Maine to take back-to-back victories for the first time this season. The Eagles won 7-2 over Rhode Island in the day's first game, and gutted out a 2-1 win over Maine later in the afternoon. Next weekend the Eagles host Texas State in the opening weekend of Sun Belt play.
 
"I feel like we did a nice job building on Friday's games," said Head Coach Annie Smith. "Brooke (Red) and Kierra (Camp) did a nice job pitching today, and we were solid on defense. We got some timely hitting and got all the hits when we needed them. We had great at bats throughout the lineup, and we really played the kind of softball we need to play going into conference play."
 
GAME ONE – GS 7 – RHODE ISLAND 2
 
Home runs from Alesha Mann, Lindsey Wilcox and AJ Hamilton helped the Eagles snap a three-game slide on Sunday morning in a 7-2 win over Rhode Island. Brooke Red scattered eight hits for Rhode Island and allowed two runs to pick up her third win of the season in the circle.

A first pitch leadoff home run in the second from Wilcox put the Eagles up 2-1 through two. Hamilton smacked a two-run job in the fourth while the Rams clawed a run back in the fifth to make it a 4-2 game midway through the fifth. Mann's home run in the fifth was part of a three-run inning that extended the lead to 7-2 late.

Red recorded two of her eight strikeouts in the final two frames as she improves to 3-5 on the season.

GAME TWO – GS 2 – MAINE 1
 
Freshman pitcher Kierra Camp went the distance and held Maine to just three hits as the Eagles dispatched Maine in the final game of the weekend, 2-1. Camp allowed just three hits and struck out two while working around four walks in the game. She earned her first collegiate win on Sunday, improving to 1-3 on the season.

An Emily Snider single up the middle in the third drove in a run to put the Eagles up 1-0. The RBI single was one of two hits for the sophomore who posted the only multi-hit game for the Eagles. Breanna McLendon drove in another run in the fourth to put the Eagles up 2-0 as a double play after the run scored ended the threat.

Maine got a run with an RBI double to punish Georgia Southern for a one-out walk in the sixth inning. Four-straight outs after the run scored ended the contest and gave the Eagles' back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

Georgia Southern makes its debut in Sun Belt Conference play this weekend as Texas State comes to Eagle Field for the first time in series history. The Bobcats and Eagles square-off for the first time since 1999 with Texas State leading the all-time series 2-0.

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