STATESBORO - Fifth-year Alia Booth hit a pinch-hit walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to give Georgia Southern a 3-2 win and a sweep of visiting Winthrop to kick off action in the 2021 Eagle Round Robin on Friday at Eagle Field. Georgia Southern won Friday's first game between the two teams, 8-2.
The Eagles improved to 3-7 on the season with the wins, while Winthrop falls to 7-8. The Round Robin continues with three games on Saturday, with Georgia Southern and Winthrop meeting at 11 a.m. Georgia Southern then plays the College of Charleston at 2 p.m., then Winthrop and the College of Charleston plays at 6 p.m.
"It was great being back home in front of our fans," Georgia Southern Head Softball Coach Kim Dean said. "I think the girls were extremely happy being back on our field. We had overall solid performances from our pitchers. They were able to keep a competitive team off balance and got us out of some tough jams. We had a lot of different people contributing up and down the lineup and strung together a few big innings to help us push past a good team. Any time you can have a walk-off when you're opening up at home, it's always a lot of fun. I'm extremely proud of this group and I look forward to us getting back on the field tomorrow."
GAME ONE: Georgia Southern 8, Winthrop 2
Georgia Southern sent 13 batters to the plate in an eight-run fourth inning to claim the 8-2 win over Winthrop in the first game of the Eagle Round Robin.
Winthrop took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Lauren King. The fourth inning started for the Eagles with a Janai Conklin double down the left field line. After a walk, Olivia Creamer started the scoring with a two-run single to center field. The Eagles loaded the bases, then got back-to-back-to-back RBI singles from Faith Shirley, Bailee Wilson and Dejah Mills.
After a pitching change, an error and a wild pitch led to three more runs to cap the eight-run frame.
Rylee Waldrep (1-2) hurled the complete-game six-hitter for the Eagles, notching the win. She gave up two runs while striking out a season-high six.Â
Madyson Watson (3-5) took the loss for Winthrop in the circle, giving up eight runs - five earned - and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings of work, walking four while striking out five.
Madi Banks, Dejah Mills and Janai Conklin each had two hits for Georgia Southern, while Creamer had two RBIs.
GAME TWO: Georgia Southern 3, Winthrop 2
Booth pinch hit to lead off the bottom of the seventh and drilled a 1-1 pitch over the center field wall to give Georgia Southern the walk-off win.
Winthrop built a 2-0 lead after five innings by scoring a single run in the third on a sacrifice fly and a single run in the fifth on an RBI single by Ansley Gilreath.
Georgia Southern tied things up in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Bailee Wilson and an RBI groundout by Janai Conklin.
Winthrop threatened in the top fo the seventh inning, loading the bases on three walks, but Harlee Rewis got Ashley Westbrooks to fly out to end the threat and set up the heroics in the bottom of the seventh.
Rewis (1-1) pitched one inning of shutout relief, walking one, to get the win for Georgia Southern. Aidha Weixlmann (4-3) took the loss for Winthrop, giving up seven hits and three runs in six-plus innings of work, striking out five.
Bailee Wilson went 3-for-3 with an RBI to lead Georgia Southern offensively in game two. Ashlynn Gunter also provided two hits.
