HIGHLIGHTS:
• Lydia Witkowski recorded three hits on the day
• A.J. Hamilton hit her third home run of the season
• Dixie Raley had six strikeouts in the second game
 
CONWAY, S.C. – The Georgia Southern softball team battled back to split a pair of games with the University of Iowa Friday to open play at the Coastal Carolina Invitational at CCU Softball Field. The Eagles dropped the first game 11-0 in five innings and then rallied from a four-run deficit to win 7-4 in the second game.
 
GAME 1 – IOWA 11, GS 0 (5)
Iowa jumped out to a lead in the first inning after drawing three walks and picking up two hard-hit balls. The Hawkeyes tacked on a single run in the second, third and fourth innings to make it a 6-0 game and then scored five runs in the fifth to end the game early due to the run-ahead rule.
 
The Eagles weren't able to get much going offensively as Hannah Farrell, Lydia Witkowski, Taylor Rogers and Alesha Mann picked up the only hits.
 
Dixie Raley got the start, but was relieved in the first inning before coming back into the game in the fifth inning. She went a combined 2/3 of an inning, allowing three runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Kiera Camp went four-plus innings for the Eagles while Heather Felt pitched 1/3 of an inning.
 
GAME 2 – GS 7, IOWA 4
The second game started the same way as Iowa got three runs in the first inning and another in the second. But GS didn't give up and battled back.
 
The Eagles finally got on the board in the third inning when India Davis reached on an error and made it to third base on Witkowski's single. On the next pitch, Witkowski slowly trotted to second base and drew a throw, allowing Davis to sneak home with the stolen base.
 
In the fourth inning, Rowan McGuire reached on a fielder's choice when India Davis beat the force at second base, which allowed Farrell to score. The Eagles cut the deficit to one when Rogers scored on a double play in the fifth inning. One batter later, A.J. Hamilton hit a solo home run – her third of the season – to tie the game up.


In the sixth inning, the Eagles took their first lead of the day. Michelle Mazur led off with a walk and reached second base on an error and scored on a wild pitch. Davis drove in Mann with a sharp single to left field and Davis eventually scored on the fifth Iowa error of the game.
 
Witkowski led the way with a pair of hits while Emily Snider, Rogers, Hamilton, Davis and Mann each had one.
 
After a tough opening game, Raley responded with a sterling effort in the second game. She went the distance, allowing four runs on 10 hits with six strikeouts against two walks.
 
The Eagles will be back in action on Saturday, taking on host Coastal Carolina at 1:30 p.m. before playing Iowa again at 3 p.m.