STATESBORO - Appalachian State picked up a 9-2 Sun Belt Conference softball win over Georgia Southern on Thursday afternoon in both teams' league opener at Eagle Field in Statesboro. 

The win snapped a 17-game losing streak for the Mountaineers (11-6, 1-0 SBC) that dated back to when both Appalachian State and Georgia Southern (13-8, 0-1 SBC) were Southern Conference rivals in 2013. The two teams will play game two of the series on Friday at 3 p.m. at Eagle Field.

"It was a good game by App State, they definitely came out aggressive, came out strong and confident," Georgia Southern Head Coach Kiim Dean said. "They took advantage of a few of our mistakes. We had a couple of good things happen to us, so we just have to keep building off of that. We're excited to get back out on the field tomorrow against a good competitor in the Mountaineers."

The Mountaineers started off quick in the second inning, plating a pair of unearned runs, then extended that lead to 4-0 thanks to an RBI double from Haley Stewart and an RBI groundout by Mary Pierce Barnes.

The Eagles cut the lead to two with a two-run bottom of the third inning, thanks to an RBI double by Shelby Wilson and an RBI single by Hannah Farrell.

Appalachian State broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning, highlighted by Ally Walters' RBI double. The Mountaineers then closed out the scoring with a single run in the seventh on a Jenny Dodd RBI single.

Kenzie Longanecker (6-0) stayed unbeaten in the circle for the Mountaineers with the complete-game performance, scattering eight hits and two runs over seven innings, walking one while striking out five. Ashleigh Morton (6-3) took the loss for the Eagles, giving up nine hits and eight runs - five earned - in 4 1/3 innings of work, walking two.

Mekhia Freeman and Farrell each had two hits to lead the Eagles offensively on the day, while Stewart and Sidney Russell had two hits apiece for the Mountaineers.