BOONE, N.C. – Georgia Southern Softball took a pair of wins over Appalachian State on Friday afternoon to secure the program's first Sun Belt series win, and pad their lead over the Mountaineers in the race for the final spot in the upcoming Sun Belt Tournament. The Eagles needed eight innings to defeat App 6-5 in game one, but poured on the runs in game two, taking a 17-3 victory in game two. The Eagles improve to 10-25, 3-11 Sun Belt while the Mountaineers fall to 9-23, 0-14 Sun Belt. GS and App State return to the field on Saturday for the series finale.

"It was big for us to get these two wins today," said Head Coach Annie Smith. "We battled back in the first game and got past some errors in the field. We got some key hits up and down the lineup and Heather (Felt) pitched a great game.  We came out in the second game and did a great job at the plate. We talk a lot about winning every inning, and we did that. Kierra (Camp) threw very well for us in game two. I'm really happy for the team, they've been working really hard and it is good to see them rewarded with a win."

– GAME ONE – GS 6 – APP 5 –  8 Innings –

App State took advantage of a first inning fielding error to take a 1-0 lead, but a sacrifice fly and a Morgan Robinson single to right put the Eagles ahead 2-1 in the third frame. The RBI single from Robinson landed the Eagles' their first hit of the day. App State scratched a run in the fourth to tie the game back up at 2-2.

Taylor Rogers put the Eagles back on top in the sixth with an RBI single to the gap in left. A leadoff walk to pinch hitter Savanah Coon gave the Eagles a base runner, but back-to-back sacrifice bunts got her in scoring position for Rogers. App State took advantage of an Eagle fielding error in the sixth to level the game again at 3-3.

Morgan Robinson got the Eagles started in the seventh with a leadoff single. Later in the inning following an App State pitching change, AJ Hamilton crushed the first pitch she saw to straight-away center for a go-ahead 2-run homer. The Mountaineers followed suit in the bottom of the inning with a two-run home run to left to level the game again at 5-5.

Rogers got a leadoff single to open the eighth inning and legged her way around when Kaitlyn Johnson laced a double off the bottom of the wall in center. Starting pitcher Heather Felt worked a three-up, three-down eighth to nail down the win, her first in Sun Belt play. She worked around five hits and allowed five runs, two earned. Felt fanned four and improved to 2-5 this season.  

– GAME TWO – GS 17 – APP 3 – 5 Innings –

The Eagles kept that scoring feeling in game two with five runs in the first two innings. The Eagles got their only run of the opening frame with a sacrifice fly, but added four more in the second. A run of five-straight hits with two outs, including a two-RBI single by Robinson got the Eagles off and running in the game.

Georgia Southern rattled off a five-run fourth inning as the Eagles matched their highest single-inning scoring output, matching the sixth inning of the 13-10 win at UT Arlington. Four hits and two walks featured in the inning, while a double from AJ Hamilton plated three runners as the Eagles took a 10-0 advantage.

After the Mountaineers got three in the home half of the fourth, Georgia Southern tacked on seven in the fifth to blow the game open. Five singles, a hit batter, two errors and two walks encapsulated the inning in which Georgia Southern pushed its scoring to the seventh-highest single game total in program history and the second-highest total this season.

Kierra Camp got the win in the circle, earning her fourth victory of the season, and her second in conference play. She scattered six hits while striking out five in the win. Camp allowed three runs with only one going down as earned.

Georgia Southern and Appalachian State return to the diamond on Saturday for the final game of the series. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. in Boone.

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