HIGHLIGHTS:•
A.J. Hamilton had a 2 RBI single in the 1
st game
• Eagles combined for 11 hits in Game-One
• Six Eagles had multiple hits on the day
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Georgia Southern softball team used another big offensive explosion in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader to claim the Sun Belt Conference series over Texas State, winning the first game 5-4 at Bobcat Softball Stadium. The Bobcats were able to win the second game 2-0 despite another great defensive effort from the Eagles that saw them hold Texas State to just three hits.
Game 1 – GS 5, TXST 4Similar to Saturday's Sun Belt-opener, the Eagles (14-8, 2-1) wasted little time jumping all over the Bobcats (18-7, 1-2) in the top of the first inning as senior
A.J. Hamilton knocked a single to left field to score both
Taylor Rogers and
Emily Snider, giving the Eagles the early 2-0 lead.
From there, the Eagles continued to get timely hits at the plate, racking up 11, and complimented that with another stingy defensive effort that didn't give up a run until late in the game.
The Eagles added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the fourth inning when
Rowan McGuire scored on a throwing error by the Texas State third baseman. Rogers followed that up by batting in
Alesha Mann with a single to left field to set the score at 4-0.
Texas State was able to score its first runs of the day in the bottom of the fifth inning when Kendall Wiley and Kimberlin Naivar walked in a pair of runs before the Eagles ended the scoring threat.
Georgia Southern tacked on another run in the top of the sixth inning when Snider reached safely off an error by the Bobcat shortstop, an error that allowed
India Davis to easily score from third.
For the Eagles,
Kierra Camp (5-4) got the start and pitched 4.1 innings en route to earning the win while
Dixie Raley secured her second save of the season in one and two-thirds inning of work.
Heather Felt pitched the other full inning in between.
Paige Williams (5-2) was the pitcher of record for Texas State, going 3.2 innings while Quincy Charleston came in to finish the final 3.1 innings.
At the plate,
Lydia Witkowski continued her solid weekend by going 2-for-4 and was matched by both Mann and Hamilton. Mann was one of five Eagles to score while Hamilton had her pair of RBI.
For Texas State, Taylor Webb went 2-for-3 at the dish with a run scored as the Bobcats finished the game with five hits.
Game 2 – GS 0, TXST 2The day's second game started off with Texas State scoring first with a single run in the bottom of the first when Corrina Liscano hit a single RBI to left field to score Kelli Baker from second.
After that, it was a true defensive struggle as the game progressed scoreless for the next four innings.
In the top of the sixth inning, Davis broke up Randi Rupp's no-hitter when she hit a single to just in front of the diving Texas State left fielder. After that, Rogers and
Hannah Farrell each broke through for hits in the seventh inning.
The Bobcats added on a run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Ariel Ortiz hit a double to right-center field, scoring Kayleigh Norte.
Raley (9-4) got the start for the Eagles in the second game and pitched six innings of three-hit ball that saw her strike out four batters, especially at crucial moments. Rupp (12-4) claimed the win in the circle for Texas State, pitching all seven innings.
COACH SMITH SAYS"It's always great to win a series, especially on the road. Texas State is a good team that plays great defense and has good pitching, so I am really happy for the team to get the first series win this weekend. I thought we did a lot of good things today and competed well in both games, especially on defense. We've worked really hard in the off-season and into the early part of this season on our defense and the team has done a lot of good things. Playing good defense is what is going to keep us in a lot of games and all weekend we played well in the field."
UP NEXTThe Eagles will next travel to College Station on Tuesday, Mar. 15 where they will take on nationally-ranked Texas A&M in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 2:30 p.m. Eastern standard time.
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